Bawaal has its heart in the right place and proves to be a sweet, heart-warming love story. Varun Dhawan balances the humour and emotion of a narcissistic protagonist well. Janhvi Kapoor too has done a commendable job, proving that she’s honing her acting skills with every new project.
Read Full Bawaal Movie Review –
Rating: 3.5/5
Director: Nitesh Tiwari
Cast: Varun Dhawan, Janhvi Kapoor
Running time: 2h 16min
Storyline:
Varun Dhawan stars as Ajay Dixit – a small-town history professor. Ajay or ‘Ajju Bhai’ as he’s fondly known – is one narcissistic asshole, carefully manipulating everyone to maintain a ‘good image’.
He gets hitched to the soft-hearted, sweet Nisha – who suffers from epilepsy and her disorder though manageable, bothers Ajay extremely. The two lead a loveless life existing in this doomed marriage but things take a turn when Ajay and her take a trip across Europe.
While taking a tour of the World War 2 locations and reminiscing about the historical conflicts of the past, the two examine their troubled relationship deeply. Will they be able to salvage it?
What Do We Think:
While the trailer of Bawaal was quite underwhelming, the film is a pleasant surprise and it does deliver with substance! The title of the film still feels like a mismatch though.
The movie takes a while to hit its stride but when it does, it’s refreshing. The plot feels a little repetitive and predictable in the middle and meanders a bit. But they have closed with a sweet, feel-good ending.
The concept of using World War 2 parallels to explore the conflict in the couple’s love story is unique… and some of them land but some feel a little cringe. Acting-wise, Varun has nailed his role – expressing a versatile range of emotions. His comic timing is on point, he evokes disgust in the viewer when needed and is understated in the emotional moments. You’ll start off absolutely hating his character but soften towards him in the end as he redeems himself.
Bawaal is another feather in the cap for Janhvi – a meaty, content-oriented role allowing her to fully display her acting chops. Janhvi adequately embodies Nisha’s doe-eyed innocence, hope and empathy. Varun-Janhvi have good chemistry and in the emotional moments, they are playing off each other’s energy quite well.
The comic scenes with the stereotypically Gujarati travellers are hit-and-miss. Coming to the songs – most of them don’t really register apart from Tumhe Kitna Pyar Karte. Overall, Bawaal is a rather entertaining, sweet, heartwarming, feel-good love story.
Hit Or Miss:
Worth watching once! Both the actors have acted commendably. Streaming on Amazon Prime now!
(Also Read: Bawaal Movie Cast FEES; Varun Dhawan & Janhvi Kapoor)