Bunty & Babli

Let me preface my comments with this disclaimer, I am a nonIndian. Forgive my obvious ignorance and any misspellings, and proceed at your own risk.

I rented B&B from Netflix because I've seen KHAKEE with Bachchan. the father and Ash Rai, plus KUCH NAA KAHE WITH Bachchan, the son and, again, Ash Rai. The father is obviously an national Indian treasure as a wonderful, serious actor. The son is clearly a gifted comedian and maturing, sensitive actor. Ash Rai? She's one of a kind too, and she clearly knows how to pick 'em in her leading men. By the way, Ajay Devron, her leading man in Straight From the Heart, Raincoat, and as that nefarious terrorist in KHAKEE, is another example of her very good taste in who appears opposite her on screen.

B$B is delightful especially for Bachchan the son, who did great work here in various con man roles and in his interaction with his perky, little costar, Rani Munkerjee. Of course, the whole thing is a bit of fluff from beginning to end, and anyone who expects more, should leave as soon the first energetic musical number hits the screen.

The narration by Bachchan, the father and his eventual, inevitable appearance as the world-weary cop chasing these carefree, con kids is worth the wait. Of course, it is just like every other American cops 'n robber spoof that I've ever seen; nobody really gets hurt.

Now the surprise and joy for me was the so-called 'item number' in the bar with father, son, and their co-star from other recent movies, Ash Rai. The drunken banter (no, I don't speak Hindi and had to rely on the subtitles) and body language was very funny to me despite, or maybe because of, this obvious handicap. Their interactions with Ash prior to the dance number were perfectly timed comedy reactions too. The dance number itself ripped up the place and Ash looked as if she was having a lot of fun "flirting" with two of her favorite men. Now that's entertainment in my book, and in any language.

Go rent B&B, or, even better, buy the DVD and add it to your Bollywood collection. That's what I'm doing right after I finish this review. Thanks to both Bachchans, Ms. Munkerjee and Rai for sharing their talents with all of us.

Not very much influence by movie, Abhishek and rani acting was good.. Screen stealing performance of Amitabh Bachchan. You can watch once I watch after 16 years of its release.

the story got lost...Rani and Abishek are not convincing as 20 somethings in the opening scenes in which the characters struggle against their parents. These two are too old to be playing 20 somethings!

I wonder about Amitabh Bacchan these days - we seem to be watching him going through mid-life crises more and more in films these days. This was no exception, and we get to watch an aging 60+ year old man behaving 20 years younger on screen, flirting with women who in real-life are soon to be his daughter-in-law (ick!) It was sad to see him sort of beneath himself but if he doesn't mind...why should we? (p.s sorry to all his fans). He plays a "cool" tough cop in this film. He doesn't really act, as much as the dramatic music, cool shades and clothes, plus cheesy dialogue, sort of do the acting for him. His acting was terrible in this film, overacted scenes.

About the other actors in the film, both Rani M. and Abishek respectfully ought to tame it down a little. Over-acting tends to be the style of Bollywood, but it would be nice if they tried something more subtle.

Rani is probably the most natural, graceful Indian actress there is, in comparison to her peers like Aishwarya Rai, who hasn't mastered the emotional range and groundedness of her parts. But, Rani's acting style has mostly one dimension in this film - she seems to perceive everything as a joke, and is laughing in every scene, which is infectious and fun to see.

The chemistry was unfortunately just not there in the pairing of the main actors. Abishek and Rani M. seemed more like brother and sister to me, than a passionate couple. Perhaps it's because Abishek and Aishwarya Rai are married now...knowing this works against the chemistry with them. I'm not sure I really want to see the chemistry between actors who are married to other people (!)

The saving grace included the costumes - of which Rani goes through probably 100 literally; plus, the dance scenes in Bollywood films are always mesmerizing and spectacular in choreography and costumes - like wonderful mini-musicals.

I was questioning at times why Rani M. and Aishwarya Rai are both willing to be half-naked, publicly exposing themselves, in their films, but I'm not sure they have a choice (?), and certainly male viewers aren't complaining.

There was a little depth in the film too. I related to the struggle between the dual sides of Abishek's character - Bunti vs, Rakesh. Rakesh is his given name, and represents the life of his family, who are middle class and get up every day and work for a middle class living, and this lacked appeal to the young Rakesh. He used the name "Bunti" to describe the part of him that desired much, much more - things every human being wants at some point - lust and thirst for power, riches, glory, fame, and good looks. Isn't that battle within everyone?

Abishek character's struggle with this identity is very real, a saving grace - I loved it.

Well, if someone has just to kill time and entertain himself with a juvenile crazy motion picture, then Bunty aur Bubli is the right choice.

After all, its not boring and not filled either with overly volatile sequences and neither with cheap, synthetic and temporal cinematic representation that have lately become the hallmark of most of Bollywood films.

Above all, the versatile Big B is there to come to the rescue of these scoundrels turned thugs who had mastered the skill to be-fool and trick even the state authorities. The swindling acts of the freedom loving couple played by Abhishek and Rani Mukherjee is laden with interesting script and imaginative screenplay. The Kajra Re song bearing the dance sequence with guest star - Aiswarya Rai, Amitabh and Abhishek added color to the robust story line. The moral lesson should not be lost as primarily; "the Law should be used to reform the criminals and not only to exercise futile punishment !"

When I think of comedy in bollywood, I think of Govinda, who I detest. Fortunately for me, Abhishek and Rani were the stars of this light hearted and fun film. The first 20-30 minutes of the movie are a bit slow and could have been constructed better to develop the characters. However, after the brief introduction to each, the audience is quickly taken on a ride with the duo, Bunty and Babli, as they travel from city to city cheating people out of their money. Abhishek does a terrific job as Bunty and of course Rani is perfect as his accomplice, Babli. The film has enough laughs to last through to the very end. Even Amitabh, the veteran Indian actor, is comedic in his role as the police officer chasing the two. Aishwarya's dance number was a pleasant addition to the film. Some of the songs seemed to drag on for one too many minutes. In short, Bunty Aur Babli is a refreshing and fun experience worth watching.