'Badmaashiyan' - come, smile a while (Movie Review, Rating: ***)

Mar 05,2015


Film: "Badmaashiyan"; Cast: Suzanna Mukherjee, Sidhant Gupta, Karan Mehra, Sharib Hashmi; Director: Amit Khanna; Rating: ***

A well-intended sawach-aur-saaf-suthri comedy "Badmaashiyan" is a curiously content-driven rom-com with one of the most consistently wicked female protagonists I've seen in recent cinema from Bollywood or Hollywood.

Unlike the over-praised "Dolly Ki Doli" where Sonam Kapoor was hailed as a new-age heroine for conning her way through multiple marriages, newcomer Suzanna Mukherjee ironically named Naari in "Badmaashiyaan" ,is unabashedly moral, money-minded to the point of being vulgar in her avarice. Suzanna plays the character with just the right doses of devilish cuteness to make Naari seductive and palatable. It is quite a debut. The actress' insouciant materialism holds the clever inventive plot together.

The men are hopelessly hooked to the deceitful damsel. The plot divides Naari's con games into three unmarked sections, the first when an unsuspecting well-meaning dude from Chandigarh Dev(Sidhant Gupta, confident and screen-friendly) falls head-over-heels for the con-woman.

In a rolicking relay race of romantic renewal the baton of romancing Naari is then passed to a quirky detective named Pinkesh (played with precocious panache by Karan Mehra).

It is really in the third romantic interlude that the plot tickles the funny bones the most when a dreaded don Jazzy (Sharib Hashmi, a delight to watch) becomes putty in the pretty con woman's hands.

The three besotted lovers' characters are intersected into unlikely junctions . The smartly written comedy(Kushal Ved Bakshi) manages to stay a few baby-steps ahead of audiences. The writing sparkles when Naari does her eyelash-batting coquettish act with her men who choose to get fooled becauseawell, because some believe men think with a body part other than brains when they are in love.

This premise is brought into play with immense vibrancy and surprisingly no vulgarity. Think of it. A rom-com about three guys with healthy appetites lusting after a sexy young tease. And no double meaning? The censor board must have swooned in delight.

I specially liked the sequence where Naari tries to feed a sob story about her mother stricken with cancer to Pinkesh who reminds Naari not too gently that he saw the "ill' mother dancing vigorously.

It's all done in the spirit of a buoyant but clean bordello humour. Not all of it works. At the start there is a horribly mis-constructed bank-robbery sequence with a female actor hamming so hard you fear for the narrative's wellbeing. After a false start director Amit Khanna picks up the threads of the plot and weaves them nimbly into the lives of his characters, all of whom are much less acool' than they'd like to believe.

"Badmaashiyan" conveys a pleasant in-through-the-out-door feeling. The film is set in Chandigarh and delivers some priceless barbs at the city's expensive. A wannabe groom wants to know why so many girls from Chandigarh are named Pooja or Neha , why they are fans of Shah Rukh Khan and why they end up becoming dress designers.

"Badmaashiyan" revels in an innocuous irreverence. It's an original and frequently funny comedy of ongoing errors where various characters including a wholesome conscience-stricken girl (Gunjan Malhotra), a hilariously over-the-top Sardarji and a clueless gangster's right-hand-man (played with fantastic fervor by Nitin Goswami) meet and collide creative a crackling hissing humour. Most of all, the female protagonist is wickedly duplicitous to the last. Talented new actors who know how to juice funny scenes for all they are worth make this a warmly welcome comedy.

Top Stories

Amar Singh Chamkila: 'Justice not done to the family', Chamkila's daughter got angry with Imtiaz after watching the film

Amar Singh Chamkila: 'Justice not done to the family', Chamkila's daughter got angry with Imtiaz after watching the film

 May 01,2024

  Imtiaz Ali's film 'Amar Singh Chamkila' has been liked very much by the audience. Diljit Dosanjh and Parineeti Chopra have appeared in important roles in the film. The story of Amar Singh Chamkila and Amarjot Kaur is shown in the film. Now recently, after t

Ramayana: Lara Dutta is not only playing the role of Kaikeyi, but also the role of Shurpanakha and Mandodari? Photo was leaked from the set

Ramayana: Lara Dutta is not only playing the role of Kaikeyi, but also the role of Shurpanakha and Mandodari? Photo was leaked from the set

 May 01,2024

Ranbir Kapoor's film 'Ramayana' continues to be in the headlines. The actor has geared up to fit into the role of Shri Ram. Along with diction, he is also working hard on physics. The names and looks of some actors from the film 'Ramayana' have been revealed.   Lara's look from 'Rama

Katrina Kaif: Amazing AI! Everyone was surprised to see the video of Katrina speaking fluent French, users said - this is dangerous

Katrina Kaif: Amazing AI! Everyone was surprised to see the video of Katrina speaking fluent French, users said - this is dangerous

 May 01,2024

The trend of deepfake videos is not stopping. A few days ago, a deepfake video of Bollywood actors Aamir Khan and Ranveer Singh went viral. Now AI produced video of Bollywood actress Katrina Kaif is going viral. In this fake video, Katrina is seen speaking fluent French. K

Heeramandi Review: Bhansali's 'Heeramandi' became famous in the OTT market, the top in grandeur lost its shine

Heeramandi Review: Bhansali's 'Heeramandi' became famous in the OTT market, the top in grandeur lost its shine

 May 01,2024

We cannot teach Hindi language and traditions, for this, you will have to go to Hiramandi (the courtesan area in Lahore). Qudsia Begum (Farida Jalal) says this to her grandson Tajdar (Taha Shah) who has returned from studies in London in a scene of the first episode.   We can

Makarand Deshpande: Makarand immersed in the memories of 'Swades', said - Bade Khan was driving the car and was having fun.

Makarand Deshpande: Makarand immersed in the memories of 'Swades', said - Bade Khan was driving the car and was having fun.

 May 01,2024

Makarand Deshpande is making headlines these days for his film 'Monkey Man'. In this film, he will be seen sharing the screen with Dev Patel. Recently, during an interview, Makrand was seen remembering the old days. He also shared many interesting stories 

Mallika Sherawat rejected the role of Ishaan Khattar's mother, left this web series at the last moment

Mallika Sherawat rejected the role of Ishaan Khattar's mother, left this web series at the last moment

 Apr 25,2024

Who does not know Mallika Sherawat, who entered Hindi cinema 21 years ago with the film Khwahish? Mallika, who created a sensation in the industry overnight with her intimate scenes in the film Murder with Emraan Hashmi, is now all set for a comeback.   Recently she had signed pro

Pushpa 2: Good news for Allu Arjun's fans, a big surprise is waiting for the fans of 'Pushpa 2: The Rule'

Pushpa 2: Good news for Allu Arjun's fans, a big surprise is waiting for the fans of 'Pushpa 2: The Rule'

 Apr 25,2024

  The audience is eagerly waiting for director Sukumar's film 'Pushpa 2'. A big surprise is waiting for the fans of Allu Arjun. The filmmakers showed a glimpse of the first song of the film 'Pushpa-Pushpa' on 24 April. Fans were very happy to

Salman Khan Firing Case: No relief for the accused in the firing case outside Salman's house, custody was extended till April 29

Salman Khan Firing Case: No relief for the accused in the firing case outside Salman's house, custody was extended till April 29

 Apr 25,2024

  The police presented both the accused in the court on Thursday in the firing case that took place on April 14 outside Galaxy Apartment, the Mumbai home of Bollywood actor Salman Khan. The court has extended the police custody of both the accused for four days. Now both 

© filmbees.com. All Rights Reserved.