Baawal Review: Varun, Janhvi, Nitesh’s Film Is An Entertaining Lesson From The Past, Present And Future

Name: commotion

Director: Nitesh Tiwari

mould: Varun Dhawan, Janhvi Kapoor

Rating: 4 / 5

‘The heart of the film is in the right place’ – this is an overused phrase that we often hear and read in film reviews. However, after watching Nitesh Tiwari’s Baaval, I believe it fits well in the context of the Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor starrer slice-of-life drama. The director is known for portraying the human story, emotions and journey in the most authentic manner, and Nitesh Tiwari has written it all.

plot

Set in Lucknow, India, Ajay Dixit (Varun Dhawan) has transformed his life into fairy-tale perfection with a respectable job, dashing looks, strong position in society and a beautiful wife. His decision to marry an educated and beautiful Nisha (Janhvi Kapoor) also stems from his desire to rise in his social status. However, this image-conscious history teacher’s plan backfires when his wife doesn’t exactly match his idealized description of perfection. This coincides with failure at work, and Ajju Bhaiya’s falsely created innocent image becomes a hindrance. To rectify this complication, Ajay and Nisha embark on a trip to Europe to explore World War II, unaware of the fact that some life lessons await them in the continent. Now what these lessons do for the couple, you will have to watch in Sajid Nadiadwala, Ashwini Iyer Tiwari and Prime Video backed Baawal.

What is the latest?

We often hear people saying that ‘the story is king’, and it is true in the case of Bawal. It’s not an easy script to tell, unravel and execute, but kudos to director Nitesh for bringing it to life on screen with his empathetic, non-judgmental point of view. He has co-written it with Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, Nikhil Mehrotra, Piyush Gupta and Shreyas Jain and the team has brought its A game forward for this impactful tale of perception and liberation.

Having said that, the most important component of cinema is entertainment, and the makers have been able to achieve that organically, while also making statements on important topics like the education system, methods of teaching, empty marriages and the effects of social pressure on it, betrayal, friendship and parenting. Some of this has already been told, and some has been subtly plugged in to read between the lines.

While the first part of Baawal largely relies on comedy of all kinds, the latter part is more emotionally driven, serving something for everyone who looks for balanced content driven by all kinds of narrative devices including drama, intense emotions, satire, romance and history. There’s also a funny scene involving a Gujarati family, and while Nitesh and his writers create caricatures, at no point does it come across as offensive or forced. It looks quite adorable when you look at it.

On the technical front, cinematographer Mitesh Mirchandani beautifully captures the world of Bawal through his lens, production designer Aditya Kanwar lives up to his director Daniel B’s vision. George’s background music is in sync with the emotions portrayed on screen while Mukesh Chhabra’s casting for each character is on point.

Last but not the least, the most surreal part of the film for me was Nitesh and his writers questioning their own script by adding an element that tests the teaching patterns propagated through the film. That extra sequence adds reality to the approach, and confirms the story and the filmmaker’s intent.

what is not

This is not so much a criticism of the finished product, but if the same story of Bawal had been set against the backdrop of Indian history, I believe it would have appealed to a larger theatre-going audience. Also, the running time of around 2 hours 18 minutes could have been reduced by a few minutes, while the soundtrack composed by Mithun, Tanishk Bagchi and Akashdeep Sengupta could have been more memorable.

Exhibition of

Varun Dhawan’s character has an emotional arc which he portrays beautifully on screen, making liberation a serious emotion through his character. Janhvi Kapoor’s subtle yet impactful performance leaves a mark, making Nisha her best screen outing till date. They both make a good pair onscreen too, I would love to see this together in the future as well. However, my favorite characters in Baawal are Ajju’s lovable parents, played with ease by Manoj Pahwa and Anjuman Saxena.

It is also necessary to mention all the children who have been a part of the ruckus. All of them have played their part very well, and a huge credit must also go to Nitesh Tiwari, who always brings out the best out of child actors – be it in Chillar Party, Dangal and now Baawal.

final call

If you are looking for quality content that will entertain as well as make you think, then look no further. Nitesh Tiwari’s film Baawal, directed by Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor, promises this, and much more…

Read also: EXCLUSIVE: Salman Khan will work with Sooraj Barjatya again in 2024 only after completing this big project

Name: commotion

Director: Nitesh Tiwari

mould: Varun Dhawan, Janhvi Kapoor

Rating: 4 / 5

‘The heart of the film is in the right place’ – this is an overused phrase that we often hear and read in film reviews. However, after watching Nitesh Tiwari’s Baaval, I believe it fits well in the context of the Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor starrer slice-of-life drama. The director is known for portraying the human story, emotions and journey in the most authentic manner, and Nitesh Tiwari has written it all.

plot

Set in Lucknow, India, Ajay Dixit (Varun Dhawan) has transformed his life into fairy-tale perfection with a respectable job, dashing looks, strong position in society and a beautiful wife. His decision to marry an educated and beautiful Nisha (Janhvi Kapoor) also stems from his desire to rise in his social status. However, this image-conscious history teacher’s plan backfires when his wife doesn’t exactly match his idealized description of perfection. This coincides with failure at work, and Ajju Bhaiya’s falsely created innocent image becomes a hindrance. To rectify this complication, Ajay and Nisha embark on a trip to Europe to explore World War II, unaware of the fact that some life lessons await them in the continent. Now what these lessons do for the couple, you will have to watch in Sajid Nadiadwala, Ashwini Iyer Tiwari and Prime Video backed Baawal.

What is the latest?

We often hear people saying that ‘the story is king’, and it is true in the case of Bawal. It’s not an easy script to tell, unravel and execute, but kudos to director Nitesh for bringing it to life on screen with his empathetic, non-judgmental point of view. He has co-written it with Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari, Nikhil Mehrotra, Piyush Gupta and Shreyas Jain and the team has brought its A game forward for this impactful tale of perception and liberation.

Having said that, the most important component of cinema is entertainment, and the makers have been able to achieve that organically, while also making statements on important topics like the education system, methods of teaching, empty marriages and the effects of social pressure on it, betrayal, friendship and parenting. Some of this has already been told, and some has been subtly plugged in to read between the lines.

While the first part of Baawal largely relies on comedy of all kinds, the latter part is more emotionally driven, serving something for everyone who looks for balanced content driven by all kinds of narrative devices including drama, intense emotions, satire, romance and history. There’s also a funny scene involving a Gujarati family, and while Nitesh and his writers create caricatures, at no point does it come across as offensive or forced. It looks quite adorable when you look at it.

On the technical front, cinematographer Mitesh Mirchandani beautifully captures the world of Bawal through his lens, production designer Aditya Kanwar lives up to his director Daniel B’s vision. George’s background music is in sync with the emotions portrayed on screen while Mukesh Chhabra’s casting for each character is on point.

Last but not the least, the most surreal part of the film for me was Nitesh and his writers questioning their own script by adding an element that tests the teaching patterns propagated through the film. That extra sequence adds reality to the approach, and confirms the story and the filmmaker’s intent.

what is not

This is not so much a criticism of the finished product, but if the same story of Bawal had been set against the backdrop of Indian history, I believe it would have appealed to a larger theatre-going audience. Also, the running time of around 2 hours 18 minutes could have been reduced by a few minutes, while the soundtrack composed by Mithun, Tanishk Bagchi and Akashdeep Sengupta could have been more memorable.

Exhibition of

Varun Dhawan’s character has an emotional arc which he portrays beautifully on screen, making liberation a serious emotion through his character. Janhvi Kapoor’s subtle yet impactful performance leaves a mark, making Nisha her best screen outing till date. They both make a good pair onscreen too, I would love to see this together in the future as well. However, my favorite characters in Baawal are Ajju’s lovable parents, played with ease by Manoj Pahwa and Anjuman Saxena.

It is also necessary to mention all the children who have been a part of the ruckus. All of them have played their part very well, and a huge credit must also go to Nitesh Tiwari, who always brings out the best out of child actors – be it in Chillar Party, Dangal and now Baawal.

final call

If you are looking for quality content that will entertain as well as make you think, then look no further. Nitesh Tiwari’s film Baawal, directed by Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor, promises this, and much more…

Read also: EXCLUSIVE: Salman Khan will work with Sooraj Barjatya again in 2024 only after completing this big project