By: Shaheen Raaj
Badla Is A Smart & An Impressive Suspense Drama With A Highly Shocking Climax
Banner: Red Chillies Entertainment & Azure Entertainment
Producers: Gauri Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Sunir Khetarpal, Akash Puri & Gaurav Verma
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Star Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Tapsee Pannu, Amrita Sing, Tony Kuke, Manav Kaul, Tanveer Ghani, Denzil Smith, Antonio Akeel & Shome Makhija
Music: Clinton Cerejo, Anupam Roy & Amaal Malik
A genre where Bollywood has lagged whereas the Western movie industry has progressed by leaps & bounds is the suspense. When it comes to Hindi Cinema, very few such films are made out of which only a handful are memorable. One of them is Kahaani of the year 2012, directed by Sujoy Ghosh. Kahaani is one of the best films, of the new millennium, in this category. As a result, the expectations are naturally high for his latest directorial venture, Badla. What has also added to the curiosity is that it reunites the actors of the much-loved courtroom drama Pink of the year 2016, Big B & Taapsee Pannu, that it is a remake of the much loved Spanish suspense thriller, The Invisible Guest.
So the scripted scenario of Badla is the story of a murder accused trying to prove her innocence. The opening scene of the film reveals Naina Sethi (Taapsee Pannu) is a successful businesswoman in London & married with a daughter. Naina Sethi’s life turns around when she’s accused of murdering her lover, Arjun Joseph (Tony Luke). All evidences are against Naina Sethi since she was the only one in the hotel room where Arjun Joseph was killed. But Naina Sethi claims that a 3rd person was also present there who carried out the murder & even went to the extent of hurting her on the forehead. But the preliminary investigations revealed that the room was locked from inside. Witnesses outside the room confirmed that nobody came out of the room. Naina Sethi’s lawyer Jimmy Punjabi (Manav Kaul) realizes that it’s a tricky situation. Hence he hires an expert defense attorney named Badal Gupta (Amitabh Bachchan) to ensure that Naina Sethi doesn’t have to go to jail. Badal Gupta reaches the residence of Naina Sethi & he begins his own investigation. Upon talking to Naina Sethi & insisting that she tell him the truth, a lot of skeletons tumble out of her closet. Naina Sethi reveals that the murder of Arjun Joseph has something to do with the disappearance of a young man from a small town of Aviemore named Sunny Kaur. What happens next forms the rest of the crux of the film.
Oriol Paulo’s story, also the original writer of The Invisible Guest, is quite impressive & very much unlike the other murder mysteries. Sujoy Ghosh’s adapted screenplay tries it’s best to do justice to the original film & its plot. A lot of scenes are well written. However the film is complicated in the middle. For a layman, it might be difficult to ascertain what’s going on. Moreover, the Rashomon style of narrative can get a bit heavy on the viewers. Sujoy Ghosh & Raj Vasant’s dialogues are sharp & witty. A few dialogues however needlessly stretch the narrative.
However Sujoy Ghosh’s direction is exemplary & tries to keep the essence of The Invisible Guest alive. There a few loose ends, which were present in the The Invisible Guest as well. Yet Sujoy Gosh’s direction is such that one won’t mind since there’s so much happening in the film. Also with the shocking climax, Sujoy Ghosh scores a brownie point. On the flipside, Badla could have been shorter. The Invisible Guest was just 106 minutes long whereas Badla is 14 minutes longer than the original film The Invisible Guest. These extra minutes in this frame-by-frame remake are also because of a few dialogues that were not needed. Moreover, Sujoy Ghosh adds a crucial dialogue in the 1st ever half that is a give-away of the film’s climax & it’s really surprising why Sujoy Ghosh did so. Also unlike the movie Kahani, this film is slightly niche & this could affect its box office turnstiles prospects.
In fact Badla’s opening credits are quite interesting & slick. The beginning portions of the film are a bit dragging. Too much time is wasted in Badal Gupta persuading Naina Sethi to part with the truth. It’s only when Naina Sethi starts talking that the interest levels of the film starts increasing. The best part of the 1st ever half however is Arjun Joseph meeting Rani (Amrita Singh) & Nirmal and the shock he gets in their house. The intermission point too is interesting as it sets the mood for things to come. Post interval, the film remains engaging but at the same time, it also starts to drop at places. It’s only in the last 20 minutes when the tables turn is when the film arrests attention. The climax is definitely a bolt from the blue as no one could have seen it coming. But it should have been executed well for a better & more mainstream impact.
Badla is a song-less film, with only the title song, by Amaal Malik, played during the opening credits. Clinton Cerejo & Anupam Roy’s background score is engaging & it really suits the mood of the film. Avik Mukhopadhyay’s cinematography is appropriate & the outside the country scenes are well captured. Kaushik Das, Subrata Barik & Paul Rowen’s production design is fine although it could have been a bit more realistic in the hotel room scene. Dipika Lal & Anirudh Singh’s costumes are spot on. Christian Tinsley & Dominie Till’s prosthetics is damn good as it plays a very important part in the film. Sham Kaushal & Alister Mazzotti’s action is real. Monisha R Baldawa’s editing is sans complaints except for a few chosen scenes in the 1st ever half & middle of the 2nd hour.
Big B delivers a bravura performance as always & his scenes are only with Taapsee Pannu in an enclosed room. But he does it very well & adds to the dramatic & even funny quotient. Taapsee Pannu is exceptional & the way she brings out the various shades of her character to the forefront is praiseworthy. Throughout the film, it’ll be difficult to know if she’s the victim or not & this is possible majorly through her convincing performance. Amrita Singh is natural & has a crucial part in the film. She proves yet again that she deserves to be seen more. Tony Luke has an accent but that works for his character, but performance wise, he is 1st rate. Manav Kaul is fine in a small role. Denzil Smith as a cop & the actors playing Sunny Kaur, Naina Sethi’s husband Sunil is just about okay.
Tail Piece: On the whole, Badla, a highly recommended movie, is a smart & an impressive suspense drama with the shocking climax & topped with a riveting performance of most of the actors being its USP.
At the box office turnstiles, its prospects might be limited only for the multiplex audience.
