Movie Review: Bhavesh Joshi Superhero

'Bhavesh Joshi Superhero' review: This vigilante fails to save the day

Movie Review: Bhavesh Joshi superhero                                       2.5/5

| Thriller | 2018-06-1 | 2 hours, 35 minutes

CAST

Harshvardhan Kapoor, Priyanshu Painyuli, Ashish Sharma, Nishikant Kamat

Director - Vikramaditya Motwane
Producer - Vikramaditya Motwane, Anurag Kashyap, Vikas Bahl, Madhu Mantena Varma
Banner - SRT Entertainments
Music - Amit Trivedi

Story:

Two friends – Bhavesh Joshi (Priyanshu Painyuli) and Sikander Khanna (Harshvardhan Kapoor) – are keen to bring about a change in the society. The film begins in the year 2011, where inspired by the anti-corruption movement, the two buddies decide to set up their own digital channel, 'Insaaf TV.' During the agitation that the two participate in as part of the movement, they meet Rajat (Ashish Sharma), who prefers to watch the two deal with local problems, like people urinating in the open or chopping off trees, from the sidelines. Five years later, Sikander, who works in a multinational company, has resigned to the fact that he can’t change the system. However, Bhavesh refuses to give up. The two friends even argue about various issues like bribing officials and jumping signals. Bhavesh starts investigating the severe shortage of water in a colony and stumbles upon a scam while doing so. A mistake on Sikander’s part causes havoc. The rise of Bhavesh Joshi Superhero and his fight against corruption is what the rest of the movie is about.

Review:

In one of the early scenes in the film, Harshvardhan Kapoor compares his universe to the dark, edgy and cooler world of DC (read Batman and Gotham city) and not the cinematic Marvel one. That should give you an idea about the stage that director Vikramaditya Motwane is trying to set up here. While one does give him credit for being original, the film is also severely lacking on many counts. Its long duration is one of the main issues here. At around 155 minutes, the movie stretches quite a bit.

The thing that seems to have really worked for superhero films is the humor element in them. However, sticking to the DC template, this one stays off that route for most of the time, raising a chuckle here and there. Some more dark humour could have elevated the movie.

Coming to the performances, while Harshvardhan is effective, it’s Priyanshu Painyuli, who deserves a special mention. The conviction with which he plays the character makes you root for this superhero. He is a great find and, hopefully, filmmakers including Vikramaditya and Anurag Kashyap, offer him more such interesting characters. Harshvardhan’s performance is sincere, but doesn’t tug at one’s heartstrings. The scene where he comes face-to-face with the bad guys in a bar should have you on the edge of your seat, but that doesn’t happen. Ashish, who plays their third friend, is in good form, too. The supporting cast is well picked and add authenticity to the environment that the writers and director have tried to create. Nishikant Kamat as the politician, who lures people with jingoistic words, is noteworthy.

Vikramaditya does a good job of making this vigilante one of the most relatable one. It’s refreshing to see a superhero, who doesn’t have any supernatural powers, unlike most Hollywood (Superman, Spider-Man) or Bollywood (Krrish and A Flying Jatt) ones. Insaaf-Man doesn’t start kicking and punching like a pro the minute he becomes a vigilante. The director also manages to point out evils like jumping the signal or giving bribes without following it with a lecture on morals. Stunt choreographers Cyril Raffaelli and Sebastian Seveau do a fantastic job with the action sequences. The long bike chase towards the end is one of the high points of the movie. Writers Vikramaditya, Anurag Kashyap, and Abhay Koranne come up with a script that accurately reflects the current socio-political scenario. However, the Insaaf-Man fails to do justice to their vision.

Final Verdict: Noble intentions, but poor execution. 

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