Bachchan Pandey review: The combo of action, comedy and emotions makes for a decent watch

Star Cast: Akshay Kumar, Kriti Sanon, Arshad Warsi, Jacqueline Fernandez, Sanjay Mishra, Pankaj Tripathi and ensemble.

Director: Farhad Samji

Runtime: Around 146 Minutes.

Rating:- 3/5

Bachchhan Paandey is a remake of Jigarthanda, a Tamil film released in 2014 in which Akshay Kumar plays the titular.

Set in a small town named Baghwa in Uttar Pradesh(UP), Bachchhan Paandey revolves around the life of a menacing gangster jiski ‘dil aur aankh dono patthar ka hai’. He can kill anyone at the drop of a hat.
Fascinated by the terror of Bachchhan Paandey, Myra(Kriti Sanon) a struggling director decides to make her first film on his life and journey. In this journey, she is supported by her friend Vishu Mhatre(Arshad Warsi) who is a struggling actor. He warns her to not take the risk of making a film on Bachchan Pandey. But she goes on narrating her idea to Bachchan Pandey. While she embarks her journey of making the film, many secrets are unearthed.
Will Myra be able to make the film?
Will Bachchan Pandey kill her as well?
The answer to these questions lies in the film.

Performances:
Alshay Kumar who essays the titular role of dreadful gangster, like always is phenomenal.
From the time he enters and his dialogue ‘Bhaukaal banaye rakhne ke liye bhay banaye rakhna zaruri hai’ sets the tone of his character and what can you expect from him in the film. He takes you on a roller coaster of emotions.
Kriti Sanon as Myra and Arshad Warsi as Vishu are descent in their parts. Well, one thing that is common between the two is a desire to make their respective fathers proud. The scene where referential joke of Munnabhai and
Circuit being pitched at Warsi, who played Circuit himself was the scene-stealer and made their camaraderie looks effortless.
Their goofy chemistry do stands out in the film.
Jacqueline Fernandez as Sophie is average as she comes and dies without creating any impact.
Not to forget, there is a fifth lead in the film who apart from Akshay grabs the limelight. It’s Pankaj Tripathi as acting teacher Bhaves Bhopla who acts as a catalyst to the otherwise dull narrative. From the time he enters, his stints didn’t cease to tickle our funny bones.
Apart from him Bachchan Pandey’s companions like Bufferiya Chacha(Sanjay Mishra), Kaandi(Saharsh Kumar Shukla), Pendulum(Abhimanyu Singh) and Virgin(Prateik Babbar) are entertaining enough. Seema Biswas leaves a mark in a tiny role as Bachchhan Pandey’s mother.

Farhad Samji’s direction and cinematography is quite good. Although he has made a technically nice film, he does falter at places in his narration because of straying too much.

The film starts well, but takes time to develop and does not move at a desired pace. A few jokes do run out of pun but that doesn’t affect
the overall experience of the film.
The last 20 minutes of the film is quite gripping with an emotional stint well woven that will leave you teary eyed. But the film does not drift from it’s fun quotient.

The soundtrack of the film is descent. Songs like Bewafa and Meri Jaan stick on to you
even after you’ve left the theatre, Maar Khayega and Heer Ranjhana seems unexciting.

Final verdict:
The combo of action, comedy and emotions makes for a decent watch.