Director: Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Bobby Deol, Sapna Pabbi, Indrajith Sukumaran, Saba Azad, Jitendra Joshi, Sanya Malhotra, Raj B. Shetty
Where: In theatres
Rating: 2.5*
Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap needs no introduction
to the dark genre of filmmaking. This time round, he has joined hands with Bobby Deol to make ‘Bandar’. Whether this film shines at the box office or simply fades out is what we will be analysing.
The film introduces Sameer Mehra (Bobby Deol), the once-celebrated pop sensation who is now struggling to stay relevant in today’s world. On the personal front, just as he finds himself blessed with ladylove Khushi (Saba Azad), cops come knocking at his door to arrest him!
The reason? Well… his ex-fling (or girlfriend?) Gayatri (Sapna Pabbi) has accused Sameer of raping her. This leads to a series of interrogations by the cops (led by Jitendra Joshi’s character), all of which result in Sameer being transferred to a larger prison with challenging inmates around him.
Is Sameer really guilty of raping his former love or is he merely being framed by someone? What ultimately happens to Sameer and his life unravels as the film progresses.
Actors' Performance
Bobby Deol shines in his role and does total justice to the array of emotions his character undergoes in the film. Be it his desperation, helplessness, casual dating, arrogance … the list is endless. Bobby’s portrayal of these emotions makes his performance near-flawless.
On the other hand, there’s Sapna Pabbi who also shines in her role as the personified version of the saying, ‘hell hath no fury like a woman scorned’! She brings layers of emotions to her character. Then, there’s Sanya Malhotra, who embodies the pain and suffering of a sister whose brother has been framed.
There’s Saba Azad who portrays her character with conviction, although one does wonder whether she spoke a single Hindi line in the entire film. Other actors include Jitendra Joshi, Indrajith Sukumaran, Nagesh Bhonsle, and Raj B. Shetty help carry the film forward.
Direction, Music And Aesthetics
While we have seen many films based on jails and their inmates, Bandar sees Anurag Kashyap’s attempt at a jail and inmates’ story. Even though he does a decent job, one feels the utmost need to tweak the police interrogation scene a bit, as it immediately reminds you of the stellar ‘Papa calling’ scene by Girish Kulkarni in Anurag Kashyap’s Ugly.
While Bandar is laced with expletives, one surely misses hard hitting one liners. While the film’s cinematography (Shaaz Rizvi) is top-class, the editor (Aarti Bajaj) definitely could have done away with a few scenes in the later first half and the early second half.
The film’s music (Amit Trivedi and others) is good with ‘Come on Baby’ topping the charts. Shivhari Varma tries his best to blend the background music with the film’s narrative.
FPJ Verdict
If you are a lover of the dark genre of filmmaking, Bandar is just the treat that you should ‘jump upon’… no pun intended!
