Bobby Jasoos

Indian Cinema has certainly evolved over the years with experimental movies Queen, Holiday , Filmistaan to name few. Bobby Jasoos succeeds in experimenting the truth but final act pauses the entire movement of the film.

Bobby Jasoos tells the story of a wanna-be-detective(Vidya Balan) who has been given a secret assignment to search for people whose identities are provided by a multi-millionaire unknown guy.

Directed by Samir Shaikh , Bobby Jasoos starts off well with few hilarious moments in the first half with the doubt factor remains till the end. Unfortunately , the movie tumbles in the climax which could have been made better. Editing is loose. Screenplay is weak . Cinematography and art direction is simple. Music is below par. Background score does not gel well with film. Dialogues are good. It is Vidya Balan's show all the way. The actress gets into the character of Bobby Jasoos and gives a performance with aplomb.

Overall, a very brave niche flick with commendable first half and not so engrossing later half. Average 2.5/5

...........Bobbie Jasoos:3.75/5 Finally the 2 and a half month drought was over.....After 2 states, I went in and out of the theaters to watch something new and good....but disappointed....This time juss keeping in mind that it is a Vidya Balan starer, I started watching the movie, It started Tickling me, giggles, sometime louder ones escaped my lips....so the first part was so full of laughter doses...It was all about Vidya Balan and her acting credibilities.....she wooed me again, simple lines bought to perfection by the Stunner Vidya....As the story Proceeds, It maintains its pace between comedy and the detective part. The twist and turns were simple but created perfectly, and were beautifully portrayed by Vidya.....The Story was simple and subtle, Mughalpuri was Colorful...But Ali Fazal was Like a Ace ....He should get more Films....The pairing was So beautiful, that their age difference was hardly noticeable.....She was Supported by an excellent Supporting star cast Of Supriya Pathak, Zarina Wahab, Tanvi Azmi and Rajesh Gupta...Each and every one of the Supporting crew acted really well.....Director Samar Seikh Did a good job....Applause...Among the tracks....Sweety an Arziyaan my favorites....

Definitely a Must watch.....For Vidya Dons various Disguises and roams around MughalPuri with grace.....

Bobby Jasoos wastes no time. The very first scene introduces us to the antiques of this talented private detective who wishes to make it big but as of now is only making small money on petty cases - like snooping on lovers and working on extra-marital cases.

Set in Moghalpura, Hyderabad, Bobby Jasoos is the story of a woman who wants to become a famous detective. Equipped with sharp mind, polished by detective shows on TV, things are never easy for Bobby. She is a woman after all! More so because a father who is disapproving of her conduct.

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Vidya Balan strikes back as "Bobby Jasoos" wherein she plays an amateurish detective. But does it really create an impact????? In the beginning of the movie you get introduced to the world of Mughalpura in Hyderabad, the place where Bobby Jasoos stays and her struggle to become a famous detective and her immediate family of sisters and Khala's. Life changes for her when a stranger Anees Khan (Kiran Kumar) gives her an assignment to find out a girl Nilofer in Mughalpura. Who is Anees Shaikh and why does he want to know about the girl….forms the rest of the plot.

Written by Samyukta Chawla Shaikh, the story and screenplay emphasizes not only on Bilkis Ahmed's a.k.a Bobby Jasoos's professional adventure but also her personal life and somewhere in the story and screenplay that takes pretence and the movie looses completely on the aspect of edge of seat thriller which is expected from a detective movie. There are many characters introduced in the movie but many of them have no relevance to the main plot. The sequence which involves Bobby's personal life is very well written. After an hour especially post interval is when the screenplay just falls flat and the not so impactful climax does not help either.

Debutant director Samar Shaikh tries his best to make the setting as realistic as possible and is successful as well, right from the dialect of all the characters to the settings, but where the movie falters is the absence of thrill which is expected from a movie based on a detective.

It is the superlative performances of the ensemble cast which lifts the movie. Vidya Balan as Bilkis Ahmed/ Bobby Jasoos does a good job. Ali Fazal as Tasawur is earnest in his portrayal but somewhere he gets overshadowed by the rest of the cast. Other cast like Arjan Bajwa, Supriya Pathak, Kiran Kumar, Aakash Dahiya, Rajendra Gupta, Benaf Dadachanji and Prasad Barve do a fantastic job rising above the writing. Tanvi Azmi and Zarina Wahab are excellent but are wasted in brief roles.

Another highlight of the movie is the Production Design and the Costumes. Production Design by Tariq Umar Khan is spot on and very realistic, the same goes for the costumes by Thei Tekchandaney & Sheetal Sharma which absolutely blends with the narration.

The third highlight is the Cinematography by Vishal Sinha which captures Hyderabad especially the locality of Charminar like a dream.

Shatanu Moitra's music is average excluding one song "Arziyaan"..

After watching the movie I was confused whether I liked the movie or did not like it, so I came to the conclusion that it is a" Thriller without the Thrills" I will go with five Stars, watch it for its performances...

The realization you gather that the whole film could've been done without the title character is ironical. But then the makers would have been jobless and also, the people behind other departments of this film wouldn't have got the opportunity to showcase their talents.

The film is built on a make-believe story: an aspiring female detective finds herself defying odds and in between a mystery where a rich boss hires her to find three specific people. The climax succeeds in disclosing this mystery but it is foolish enough for the audience to actually believe it; the story I mean. That is where Bobby Jasoos stumbles.

The first half is brilliant, funny and entertaining. It creates an aura as Bobby (Balan) spearheads her character with blink-and-you-miss multiple characters, donning various colorful costumes and masquerading as a beggar, astrologer, peon, what-not. It is evident that the film was written with Balan in mind. Rest of the cast are equally supportive of the narration. The screenplay is sweet: while the first one hour is used up to narrate the life of Bobby & her family and her acquaintances, the second half is averagely gripping. It never bores.

Art dept., costumes, make-up, locations & technical dept. all are top- notch. I couldn't bear the songs but they are negligible. There are at least 3 scenes that can be counted in some of the best films sequences in Bollywood this year.

BOTTOM LINE: I hate to sound equivocal. So, Bobby Jasoos is a definite recipe for entertainment, but falters when thinking movie-goers find and deride and ridicule and debate the pretentious story it so heavily depends on. Balan fans rejoice. Watchable!

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES