Besharam, Monsieur Sans-Gêne

90's masala popcorn films are back thanks to movies like Wanted , Dabangg , Rowdy Rathore. Unfortunate part is that movies are getting repeated and outdone and the essence of the flavor is dying. Besharam tries hard to entertain you but falls flat on the face.

Besharam tells the story of a car thief who had to steal back the car he sold to a gang-lord after he falls in love with a girl whose car he stole.

From the critically and commercial acclaimed director of Dabangg, much was expected from Abhinav Kashyap but the lousy direction , insensible screenplay and terrible story gives you a headache which you never asked especially from star like Ranbir Kapoor. There is no plot here and frequent insertion of songs just spoils the entire mood of the film. Music is a complete letdown. Art direction and cinematography is decent. Ranbir Kapoor disappoints big time. For the first time in his career , he does not do justice to his role. The new-comer Pallavi Sharda is wasted. The chemistry between her and Ranbir Kapoor is terrible which is very much required in this kind of film. The only saving grace are comic relief by Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Kapoor who are good but not great.

Overall, Besharam is loud, lousy and unconvincing. Not recommended. 1/5

Join me on www.facebook.com/FilmyChowk to get more movie reviews

Imagine a day so bad that you'd want to delete it from your memory. A day where nothing went your way and only got worse as the day progressed. A day where you thought you'd hit rock bottom and things could not get any worse... that would be a good day to go watch this movie, cause its then you'd realize how quickly things can get even worse !!! This movie left me with a headache and a sense of bewilderment as to why an actor like Ranbir Kapoor would even consider a movie like this, let alone going through with it. The movie should come with a warning "watch at your own risk" .. so people please please do not go spending your money or bandwidth to watch this movie ... and if you still do please keep some aspirin handy !!

Besharam- the first time i ever walked out of a movie. It was so bad that even i didn't laugh at the 'jokes'. A song at a colorful Mela. Gosh, are we in the 80s?

Were Abhinav Kashyap and Rajeev Barnwal high when they made the film? Nevertheless, Ranbir Kapoor must be really besharam to have signed for such a film.

Actually, screw Ranbir. I feel really besharam to have wasted 95 minutes of my precious IB life watching such a movie.

P.s. A moment of silence for all those who already watched the movie or still plan to do so

I walked into the theatre, expecting to watch a bad film, and still walked out feeling baffled, because the film was way worse than what I had anticipated. I'm just disappointed for wasting my money on this. But I've myself to blame to be honest. The promos were really bad, and the songs were lifeless. The off-screen drama surrounding this film didn't do any good either - and just put me off completely. However, being a huge Ranbir fan, I did hope to at least have fun in the cinema. This could just have been one of those so-bad-that-it's-good films. Alas, no. It's plain bad.

To give credit where it's due, the first half of the film was bearable. It had some funny scenes.... but post interval, the film completely crashes. By the climax, I could have pulled my hair out or poked my eyes with my straw. That would have been more entertaining than the on-screen mess.

Sure people will argue that this is a masala film, and you got to leave your brains behind, etc - and mind you, I've nothing against those potboilers, and I sure know how to enjoy a good masala film. But this was just one big bad, repulsive film. The makers didn't get anything right - which is shocking considering they had a unique cast to work with, and the director's claim to fame is the cult classic - Dabangg. Right from the concept, to the execution, to the humour, to the performances, to the music and to the graph of the film. It was shamelessly poorly executed. And really, what will work against this film is that you do not expect 3such a trash-fest from someone like Ranbir Kapoor.

Abhinav Kashyap might have a hard time finding producers for his next film - unless of course his brother steps in. It looks like his arrogance took away the talent that he promised with his debut film. The writing and direction left a lot to be desired. And the screenplay goes completely haywire. The love angle especially is completely forced, random and brings the film down. Music by Lalit Pandit is shockingly poor. Can you believe this guy helped deliver gems like KKHH or DDLJ? There are too many songs, which sound awful, and act as complete speed- breakers - in a otherwise route-less film. Their picturisations leave no impact whatsoever, expect that the choreography is well weird. I'm guessing Remo was in-charge because I could spot him in the first song, but the steps were a bit crude and too rhythmic. Ranbir danced good though.

If the film was a letdown, the performances were worst. Ranbir Kapoor is a great actor. Period. And I love the fact that he's constantly trying something new. He's versatile. For sure. But picking a different role is not where the story ends. You need to be able to bring it to life, to make the audience believe its you, to pull off the role and deliver a good performance. As Babli, Ranbir leaves all the boxes unchecked. First off, he's just not Babli - and throughout the film, it becomes more and more obvious that he's trying too hard. He struggles to act, and this is the first time I've hated watching him on-screen. I wonder what made him take such a repulsive character, and not add any endearing quality to it? Not even in his performance? And his ''I'm-an-orphan-so-I-can- steal'' act was anything but heartwarming. Giving himself a disgusting look, unfortunately doesn't help make his act convincing. He's over the top and completely hams his way through the film.

Neetu Singh - probably one of the most elegant leading actresses - gives her son some good competition, although she does have a funny role until the cliché part leading to her 'character-growth'. Bad performance. Javed Jaffery is completely wasted and adds nothing to the film, while the leading actress - Pallavi - has nothing going in her favour. She shares no chemistry with Ranbir, is no great-looker, and completely messes up her romantic/emotional scenes.

Rishi Kapoor, for me, was somewhat the 'best' performer. It was however painful to watch him completely ridicule himself in the first ''potty''scene. Did he really have to do this?! Toiler humour & I don't gel well, so this one was repulsive scene for me. That aside, he was cute and acted well, as expected.

Ranbir & Pallavi made the most awkward on-screen couple I've seen in a while. They both looked disinterested in each other. The camaraderie/chemistry between the three Kapoors left a lot to be desired. It pains me that THIS is the film they chose to come together? It's just not going to work in their favour. Whatever happened to Rishi & Neetu rejecting countless of scripts because they weren't ''good enough''.

The ''jokes'' didn't really work. I chuckled a few times, but the humour was too much ''in you face''. And way too crude for my liking. :shrug: Ranbir's butt-crack, getting-hard jokes, constant humping in songs,... it was all way too much to digest.

At the box office, this film is going to prove a disappointment. I'm expecting a big opening, but with the kind of negativity the film has amassed even before the release, along with the atrocious reviews, and I'm predicting poor word-of-mouth, film will shamelessly be out of most theatres soon and fail to leave a mark.

Speaking of which, if anything, Besharam will leave a daag on Ranbir's career. He might just hit the jackpot with this one - worst film, worst performance and biggest disappointment in his career.

Avoid.

Ranbir Kapoor seems to have comfortably established himself as the next biggest superstar after the sun sets down on the Khans who are nearing their fifties. A natural actor that he is, most of his movies have been well received; even in those that didn't make money, his acting was appreciated.

Well, here is his new offering 'Besharam' that has a lot of masala: there's comedy, romance and action and directed by Abhinav Kashyap of 'Dabangg' fame. Predictably, some references and parodies from his earlier film are seen here; the lead character being someone who does wrong stuff but has a heart of gold or naming one of the key supporting characters as 'Chulbul' after Salman's old character.

'Besharam' begins with an introduction to Bheem Singh Chandel (Javed Jaffrey) a hawala kingpin in Chandigarh who needs stolen luxury cars for his business. His need gets him introduced to Babli (Ranbir Kapoor), a mechanic who is also a car thief. And since the hero ought to be a good guy, he is seen donating all his earnings to an orphanage he grew up in.

Wait: Babli is referred to as a smooth criminal and the first car theft that we see of his involves a massive chase drama with cops! And that's supposed to be super smooth, huh! Nonetheless, the chase sequence is used to introduce us to the cop-couple, who are also Ranbir Kapoor's real life parents, Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Kapoor, who are childless and eventually think of adopting someone.

One day, Babli's eyes fall on Tara Sharma (Pallavi Sharda) who is a middle-class girl with big dreams of living a big life and marrying into money. On one occasion she also insults Babli who has been trying to woo her. But it so happens that the Merc she bought to show off to her friends gets stolen by Babli, who doesn't know it's hers and delivers it to Chandel. But then, there's a twist in the tale.

As such, the story has nothing new. Some of its situations are so flawed and are a throwback to the 80's. Silly chase sequences, preposterous plot situations that are simplistic extensions of some weirdly idealistic scenario. And then there's the forced love angle between a lead pair that has no chemistry whatsoever. Of course, there's toilet humor too. Still, some of its better jokes are quite funny.

The film's weakest link is its lead actress. Pallavi Sharda, an Indian- Australian and trained dancer does not have the looks or acting skills or even screen presence to play a lead role. Also, despite the high heels she is seen wearing, she is way too short to be paired with Kapoor. The only plausible reason being casting an unknown girl would've been to keep the focus solely on their superstar!

But despite the weak plot and songs lacking punch, the only saving grace for the film is its lead actor Ranbir Kapoor and his ability to carry off any film; although that didn't apply to his debut film. His antics convince you to believe in his character and feel for him and also laugh at his lines which he delivers with an accent that only makes him seem more authentic.

Nonetheless, no heroic charm can save 'Besharam' unless it makes its money using the hype that surrounded its release and the news that it is being released on 3600 of screens, tad more than 'Chennai Express'. But if audience reactions to simplistic comedies are the way to go by, there is no reason to believe why 'Besharam' won't do well. After all, it has a big star and it's a comedy!

Verdict: Well, there's nothing much to expect as a story and some of its funny scenes are actually similar to old movies. If you are in a mood for masala entertainment and random humor, 'Besharam' would suit your funny taste buds. If you are slightly more discerning, you won't really like it. But, if you are a huge Ranbir Kapoor fan, none of these reasons apply anyways.