Banner: T – Series & Legend Studios
Producers: Bhushan Kumar, Sandeep Singh & Omung Kumar
Director: Omung Kumar
Star Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Aditi Rao Hydari, Sharad Kelkar, Sidhant Gupta, Puru Chibber, Veer Aryan, Riddhi Sen, Shekhar Suman, Sunny Leone et al
Music: Sachin – Jigar & Ismail Darbar
Omung Kumar has given brilliant films in the past but he failed to deliver the goods in Bhoomi.
Post the shocking Nirbhaya gang rape in 2012, a major section of the society has begun to see the problems faced by women more seriously and in a new light. It has also led to Bollywood making multiple films on this subject. Pink, Kaabil, Maatr, Mom et al dealt with this growing menace in recent times and now Sanjay Dutt chooses this hard – hitting topic for his comeback film, Bhoomi.
The scripted scenario of Bhoomi reveals that Arun (Sanjay Dutt) is a widower based in Agra who has single – handedly raised his daughter Bhoomi (Aditi Rao Hydari). An eligible boy Neeraj (Sidhant Gupta) gets interested in Bhoomi & she too falls for him. Arun is happy with this union. However, Vishal (Puru Chibber) from her neighborhood also loves her. He asks her out a few days before the wedding. An enraged Bhoomi slaps him. Vishal narrates about his ordeal to his cousin, the evil Dhauli (Sharad Kelkar). Dhauli instigates Vishal kidnap Bhoomi & then rape her. Vishal goes ahead and does it. But not just him, as even Dhauli and his henchmen Ghulam (Veer Aryan) rape Bhoomi. Arun’s world comes crashing down when he learns about it. How he hits back & avenges Bhoomi’s rape is what the rest of the film is all about.
Omung Kumar’s direction is very weak. He has used all the Bollywood clichés and made the film extremely violent. Everyone is corrupt and the society is full of hypocrites in this story. Some of the scenes however are very well executed, when Sanjay Dutt gets new shoes for Aditi, the courtroom scene where Sanjay Dutt gives a hard hitting speech and when Sanjay Dutt informs about the punishment for rape in different countries of the world to one of the victims.
The story written by Sandeep Singh has been done to death multiple times in Bollywood and has no novelty. Raaj Shaandiliyaa’s screenplay comes across as clichéd & outdated. Bhoomi suffers heavily from 2 major problems. 1stly, it comes too late in the day. Audiences have already seen Pink, Kaabil, Maatr, Mom et al which were also similar films dealing with rape & revenge. Hence the impact of Bhoomi gets diluted. 2ndly, the film takes too long to really get into the revenge drama zone. The narrative is so slow, dragged & boring that nothing happens until the last 20 minutes when Arun finally starts taking revenge. However Raaj Shaandiliyaa’s dialogues create the necessary impact, though only at a few places. Interestingly, the film has dialogues about women empowerment, progressive thoughts, women safety et al, but it shows violence against women through the major part of the runtime.
Sachin – Jigar’s music is weak. “Will You Marry Me”, played during opening credits, is the only one that works. “Jai Mata Di”’ played in the climax enhances the impact. The Sunny Leone item song “Trippy Trippy”’ looks forced!!! Ismail Darbar’s background score is strong. Arthur Zurawski’s cinematography is very good. Vanita Omung Kumar’s production design is authentic & rustic. Jayesh Shikharkhane’s editing is disappointing. The 135 minute long film should have been trimmed by 15 – 20 minutes to create the necessary impact. Javed – Aejaz’ action is too gory & might put off the family audiences.
Coming to performances, Sanjay Dutt is brilliant and his emotions look genuine. He looks convincing as a helpless father and also powerful when he takes revenge in the final scenes. The way his eyes do all the talking in the police station scene is seen to be believed. Aditi Rao Hydari is good in her part and her portrayal of a rape survivor is very impactful. You genuinely feel for her in the film. Sharad Kelkar is the best out of all the villains. He looks very convincing. Riddhi Sen (Jeetu) delivers an effective performance and he has a crucial part in the film. Veer Aryan (Ghulam) gets little scope but does fine. Puru Chibber is quite nice as the rapist as well as the helpless target of Arun. Shekhar Suman (Taj) is wasted. Sidhant Gupta does well in his cameo.
Tail Piece: Bhoomi comes across as a decent entertainer with power packed performance by Sanjay Dutt. At the Box – Office Turnstiles it is still struggling to score.
