B.A. Pass

The movie is an adaptation of the story railway aunt and its just fine noir The highlight was the aunt character played by Shilpa Shukla, who stole the entire movie. The thing that made me like this movie is the uneasy ambiance surrounding the poor boy throughout the movie. The scenes when the boy takes his feelings to the zenith when his sisters were troubled and when he is treated as a servant in his own relatives' house were shown so aptly. Had few issues like the reason the boy took up 'that' job/gig (see the movie and you'll know it) is still questionable to the book writer/director. The screenplay is cool for a débutant but could've made far better with such a twist in the climax.

Victimized and exploited by the neon-lit dreamy world of pleasure & passion, middle-class aspirations & expectations for a better life often find a road going nowhere but to a convinced end near the dark dell of death.

Ajay Bahl's erotic but sensitive adult-thriller B.A.PASS dares to replicate-recreate a modern-day 'quite harsh & dark in reality' real world set in the Pahargunj area of Delhi, celebrated or rather infamous for banned provisions of ideas to get high on life. Prostitution and sex-rackets is just one of them and also the premise of the film that hasn't been touched before on such brutal level.

Adopted from a short story 'The railway Aunty' by Mohan Sikka, it is a saddening story of a young man who, after losing his parents in an accident, is now bound to live with his 'not so-kind' aunt. To make things worst, purposely he becomes a sex-slave to a sensuously attractive lady of seduction. The game of passion & pleasure that too with so much of easy money involved in it, soon lands him in the darker and deeper world of male prostitution. The more colorful it looks in night, the more drained & hollowed it sounds in daylight.

Beautifully shot, smartly conceived, nicely written and confidently performed by first-timer Shadab Kamal & the immensely impressive and bold Shilpa Shukla make it an honest effort that touches you with its bravura but brutal portrayal of sex, seduction, depression, desperation, dejection, oppression and betrayal. Divyendu Bhattcharya & Rajesh Sharma provides a good supporting cast. Deepti Naval in her 2-scene guest appearance leaves a mark.

But at the last, it is Ajay Bahl who impresses you with his confident take on the story to create a sensitive thriller out of it, rather than lurching on making it a sleazy sex-drama. Though the aesthetically shot love-making scenes are an essential part but sometimes they look just a distraction from the gritty story-line.

Subject may sound as a pleasurable watch but I would not misguide you as the sensuously bold posters of the film suggest you. It is a film of merits but not for masses who fancy tickling in the lower part of body more than sensing 'staying for long' bleak human emotions.

A movie so great that it simply blows your heads off. Every character is grey. No one is moral and every body is a victim of circumstances.

The film is the pinnacle of movie making. the sheer audacity, rawness, and unrealistically realistic treatment creates magic on screen. and believe me one time is not good enough.Director Ajay Bahl has handled sexuality in a very mature manner, without being sensationalist.

I'm the kind of person who watches movies for their rawness and realism.Udaan,Dev.D,Gangs of Wasseypur,Shaitan and Kaminey are among my favourites.Now I'll add B.A Pass to my list.

Don't miss this one!

In a voice-over during the film's opening scene, as he stares emptily at his parents' corpses before him, Mukesh, the protagonist of BA Pass describes their untimely deaths as a betrayal. It's the first of many to come for this unsuspecting young boy, played by Shadab Kamal, who's at the cusp of discovering that it's every man for himself in the world outside.Adapted from a short story by Mohan Sikka titled Railway Aunty, which appeared in the 2009 anthology Delhi Noir, the film traverses the neon-lit streets of Paharganj, even poking and probing its way into the city's posh parts to ultimately lift the veil on the seemingly simple veneer of middle class life in Delhi.Taken in reluctantly by his aunt after being orphaned, Mukesh seems destined to live a life of humiliation and quiet desperation, until one day he encounters bored housewife Sarika (Chak De India's Shilpa Shukla), who seduces him Mrs Robinson-style. What starts off as an illicit affair quickly spirals into a dangerous web of prostitution and deceit, and we're mostly transfixed by this tale of innocence lost and conscience compromised.A little over ninety minutes, BA Pass is crisp and compelling because director Ajay Bahl, also the cinematographer of the film, reveals a firm grasp over the unflinching narrative. With minimal flourish or show-off, Bahl creates a moody noir that is at once irresistible. Yet, where the film slips is in the superficial, surface-level manner in which it addresses macro themes like empty marriages, sexual power games, and the frustration caused by extreme poverty.It doesn't help either that Shadab Kamal delivers a one-note performance as Mukesh, turning him into a singularly uninteresting fellow, and seldom allowing us a glimpse into his heart. Shilpa Shukla, as the ravenous cougar, is inscrutable throughout…but that approach works for her character, whose motives must remain sketchy till the end. The pair is surrounded by good actors in bit roles, including Geeta Sharma as Mukesh's unwelcoming aunt, Dibyendu Chatterjee as a chess-loving undertaker, and Rajesh Sharma as an angry husband who must take charge.BA Pass exposes a cold, dark, and bleak universe that is in equal measure grotesque and intriguing. Bahl creates the right mood, but doesn't leave you with much to think about when it's all over. Still I'm going with eight ratings as bollywood has started making real movies.Not perfect, but nicely done.

The film is chopped, crisped, short and feasible. This one is an erotic tale (will not leave you high and dry, no matter even if your 'hunger' is sated on the grandiose stage). Its sexually charging A-rated flick and hence we'll be digging into this with the same mood in the review.

B.A Pass has its moments of the harsh truth and reality that's still subliminal in India's 'culture' and ethically followed under the four walls of a closed room. Though in order to tackle a personal pseudo- fiction or psyche-trauma and similarly revealing the social scale 'dhanda' (business) of prostitution, it made too much altogether to cover up in the runtime of 95 minutes. The 'camel of the desert' (director) tried to do justice to everything he wanted to show or unravel but then it was so much so, that despite of the débutant director's honest and struggling effort..things were left untold, mummed, and eloquent (negatively) due to its not at all good editing, lacking story and the runtime it had. The messages that the director or writer wanted to showcase were outstanding and deserve a flawless 10/10 but the movie is not judged upon the ideas, it depends on the execution of those ideas on paper and then on the screen..and that's where it lacks partially.

Its based on a short story 'Railway Aunty' and has been adopted nicely by Ritesh Shah (story and screenplay) but lacks to transform it into a larger picture. The film tells about how easy it is to get laid in New Delhi (kidding..a Lil' bit)..it tells about the vicious circle of eroticism and prostitution that's easy to get into because of its luring attractions and ease of income but hard to get out due to its worse than a nightmare consequences. (remember the piece of cheese in the rat-trap?!). It explains the need of the money and utilitarian approach of attaining the most of it by a consumerist society, deals with morality, emotions and the true colors of life in a realistic fashion. It also reveals the truth about the ongoing and prosperous rackets in even the urban (highly accessible law & order) cities of the 'modern' India (pun intended). Then it even deals with the sexual frustrations after marriage, helpless individuals seeking 'social services' in form of prostitutes or gigolos, how the innocent lives are ruined due to this NEVER GONNA END vulgarity, and also it traps that how your life reacts onto the choices that you make.

Direction is good and honest. Screenplay and story should have been worked upon. Editing disappointed me due to its lack of power to let the viewers shove their heads in the theme of the movie or to feel its continuity. The cinematography was brilliant and justified the script with its dark look. The camera work was nice and again justifying and locations were raw (as required). There is no song in the movie (I think) but the theme during the climax is haunting and gets you going along with the situation. The performances are great and the lady (Shilpa Shukla) deserves a standing ovation for her magnificent portrayal and marvelous acting, the way she carried her role..with so much ease, it made me a fan of her work, and well not to forget her physique in the movie. She looked smoking hot all the while with her colorful bras, dark lipstick and natural yet flamboyant moaning.

I'd rate this lot to be told but less delivered cult erotica as 7.5/10.