Bombay Velvet

If I try to draw comparisons between Martin Scorsese's 1990-blockbuster Goodfellas and our very own Kashyapish Bombay Velvet, they will look like twins, though born in different eras. While the former has already proved itself a masterpiece, the latter simply looks like a wanna-be to that classic.

No wonder that Director Anurag Kashyap credits Mr. Scorsese during the initial credits. He seriously attempts to replicate the master's magic in order to weave out a rather clichéd film. The 60's era looks spectacular; the jazz music (wonderfully composed by Amit Trivedi) throws in an indispensable nostalgia; the Italian costume designs nudge us back to the good-old mobster classics -- everything looks gorgeous in this fantastical post independence Bombay.

But how long you could stare at something beautiful without being talked back to. Bombay Velvet lays itself somewhere in that category, where a beautiful art fails to form a viable communication with its spectator.

The problem lies within the screenplay, oddly written and interweaved with no complex empathy towards the characters. The First Act seems to be the only good asset, where characters are build impressively; wonderfully focusing on traits and motives that build up the next act.

But it is where the narrative loses its pace. Writers -- Vasan Bala, Anurag Kashyap, Gyan Prakash and Thani -- fails to live up to our expectations of genuine conflicts (something Kashyap spectacularly created in the Gangs of Wasseypur duo-logy). We therefore face a regular Bollywood-clichéd tale, where twins arrive out of no where, murders get overdone, songs take over the impressions, and suspenses are injected for the sake of injecting.

Even the ride seems slow and boring at places, the actors make sure to impress us whenever they are allowed to. Ranbir Kapoor (as Johnny "Big Shot" Balraj) conveys madness with style, never losing the grip of the character and giving us a memorable performance. Anushka Sharma (as Rosie) plays a perfect eye-candy amid the distasteful mafia wars. Watch her emoting a sad song with such conviction that it might have reminded Ranbir of his Jordan act in Rockstar. She owns the voice of her playback singer, literally.

Among the supporting actors, only Satyadeep Mishra (as Balraj's childhood friend Chimman) makes a long lasting impact. While other talents (Kay Kay Menon, Manish Chaudhary, and Vivaan Shah) amply justify their skills in their limited screen time. A special mention for Karan Johar for pulling out a calm and restraint act. The script however doesn't allow his Kaizad Khambatta to emote further than a relaxed homosexual mobster.

On whole, I do not want to call Bombay Velvet a bad movie; in fact it is far better than the regular nonsense we are served on most of the Fridays. But being a true Kashyap fan, I believe Bombay Velvet to be only an iota of his previous works, created to prey further on the mainstream audience, with only style but no substance.

Although Bombay Velvet has not been doing well, it is a movie that you must watch. The story is very interesting; you keep anticipating what will happen next. The movie is made extremely well; the characters are believable, and the sets make you feel you are in the '60s. The storyline is a bit slow in the first half, but the second half picks up speed. The love story between Anushka Sharma and Ranbir Kapoor is one of my favorite elements of the story. I was a little hesistant to watch this movie based on the reviews, but I do not regret watching it at all. This movie makes up for Ranbir Kapoor's last two flop movies, Besharam and Roy. Overall, this movie is a must watch and you will regret it if you do not watch it.

Spoiler free.

Remember back in 1999, when George Lucas (almost) completely missed out on what made his Star Wars films so great, with Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace?

As much as I'd hate to admit it, the same case applies for Anurag Kashyap and this movie. Sure, it is ambitious, the set pieces are huge and wonderful, the production values are pretty high, and the film never looks cheap visually. Kashyap has also injected some notable tricks of the director's trade into this film.

But Star Wars was never really about how great it looked, it was about the story that drove it through. I rest my case with Bombay Velvet. The film looks really, REALLY well-made, but the screenplay just doesn't add up. It's glaringly obvious how bad the film *sounds* at some points, due to the below-average writing.

Next time you make a 'studio movie for a commercial market', try on focusing on the 'studio script' more than of the commercial ambition. Until then, Kashyap will remain one of my favorite directors of Indian cinema without a doubt. This movie may not exactly embody that belief, but his other works do, and it's safe to say that A.K. simply took a misstep with this movie. A Phantom Menace, so as to say.

Just don't go into Attack of the Clones territory. Please.

While a lot of reviews have talked about Bombay Velvet being a disappointment (it is considering Anurag Kashyap's stellar filmography), I want to discuss what it could have done to have fared better. The biggest problem - Romance, easily the weakest aspect of the film, the story of Bombay Velvet is overambitious and tries to do a lot of things and romance spoils the entire dish. There is good in Bombay Velvet, the story of a small time crook trying to rise up the ranks to become a "bigshot" is endearing but what's irritating is that while Johnny Balraj wants to be a bigshot he is illogical, falls in love with wrong woman and doesn't realize that it's bigshot or the girl. Romance plot between the wrong woman and the young crook rising up the ranks is so clichéd and badly done it leaves a bad taste in your mouth, you can't help but think that AK could have done better because HE HAS DONE BETTER. AK has done better gangster films than this (Gangs Of Wasseypur) and even better romance films (Dev D) how can such a master of both the genres fall so flat on his face while integrating romance into the gangster genre? Crime aspect often gets clumsy too but the romance is dead weight and should have been a side story not the entire film. I liked the corporate-crime aspect of the film it was interesting, I would like to mention that Johnny Balraj's awe while watching with the classic Roaring Twenties was easily the best scene of the film, the sets are gorgeous, JB's frustration at being nothing more than a hired goon is also well done, Karan Johar's gay villain would have been better if there was no Anushka Sharma and he was more blatant towards his attraction towards Blaraj that would have made him the romantic tension and the villain which would have led to a far better film. The actors are all decent, all do well but are let down by a messy almost borderline 1980's cheesy plot which was not too bad till the interval and then it takes a big nosedive in quality. This could have been a bigshot so much failed potential because there are scenes which are well done and show the brilliance of AK but the ludicrous and predictable plot let it down, while better than most Hindi movies it's not bad but it's still a disappointment. I think AK is more suited to non commercial cinema with smaller names I think there was pressure on him to turn BV into a romantic film first and a gangster film second which ultimately led to it's demise. Second Hindi period film after Detective Byomkesh Bakshy which was a letdown as far as I am concerned. P.S.- I was very angry with how they wasted Kay Kay Menon, easily the best actor in the entire cast and one of the best actors in the country and he gets such a small role.

I read a lot of negative reviews and jokes about this movie.Saw it just to see how bad it really is.I am shocked! This was one of the best movies I have ever watched. From the sets, cinematography to amazing performances from all actors this movie was a treat to watch.

I loved everything including Karan Johar as a badass gangster!

This movie is way better that usual brainless garbage that comes out of Bollywood and deserves to appreciated not ridiculed the way it has been.