After making thrillers like 'Kahaani', 'Ahalya' and the screenwriter for movies like 'Kahaani 2', 'Te3n' etc. Sujoy Ghosh, one of the best directors of Indian Cinema delivered these intense thrillers but soon after made 'Kahaani 2', which made his credibility in danger. He delivers 'Badla' this week, starring Amitabh Bachchan, Amrita Singh and Taapsee Pannu in lead roles and all that can be said is, 'Revenge is best served COLD'. 'Badla' is an official adaptation of the Spanish film, 'The Invisible Guest'.
What's Good: Performances: Amitabh Bachchan is at his usual best as Badal Gupta. Amrita Singh as Rani is an absolute delight and we need to see more of her. Manav Kaul as Jimmy is good in his small cameo. Dialogues: The dialogues are decent enough. The Twists: The twists are good and unexpected and bring the much-needed thrill. Story: The story is an absolute delight. Screenplay: The screenplay adaptation is decently done by Ghosh. Mahabharat References: The references for the epic Mahabharat are absolutely ingenious and delightful.
What's Bad: Taapsee Pannu: She seems to have walked directly from the sets of her movie 'Pink', it is an absolute let down from someone who delivered a scintillating performance in her last movie, Manmarziyaan. Being too smart for its taste: Director Sujoy Ghosh tries to act smart with his twists as if the audience would not see it coming, which they definitely see coming. Too many Twists: A simple, neat plot is turned upside down and complicated for its own taste. Thrills: Apart from a very few moments, the thrill seems to be missing, Bigtime!
Overall, Badla is a major disappointment which could have been so much better had not the movie been too smart for its own good! I am going with 2.5 stars for the movie and an extra half for the terrific act of Amrita Singh. The movie will probably rake in 45-50 crores lifetime considering the credentials involved. It could have actually been so much better had they stuck to the original premise.
P.S. Apparently it seems to be Taapsee Pannu's 'Badla' with the audience for letting down 'Manmarziyaan'.
Good review!
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