Born Free Entertainment comes back with its second release and this time with ten times more the confidence. With Love Breakups Zindagi they played it safe but with Bobby Jasoos they take a leap and it pays off.
Samar Shaikh’s is Born Free Entertainment’s weapon of choice and boy do they strike! Vidya Balan leads a cast for the first time since Kahaani and this time for a wholesome entertainer for all ages.
And although ‘wholesome entertainer’ may conjure images of yet another mediocre formularistic Bollywood film let me assure you Bobby Jasoos is anything but.
Set against the culturally rich backdrop of bustling Hyderabad, the film boasts of a high level of detail as far as the backdrop is concerned. From the scenery, to the linguistic to the life style, it all seems to be a slice of life from the heritage city.
As you may have guessed, Balan plays Bobby Jasoos, a wanna-be detective fighting against the odds in a society with the conventional old-school thoughts for its women. The fight for Bilquees aka Bobby begins at home against her own father (Rajendra Gupta) who has given up hope of ever being able to understand his daughter’s obsession with solving mysteries. However, Bobby’s world has many other colourful characters who give her strength to continue fighting the fight. There’s the dotting mother (Supriya Pathak) who speaks up against her husband to support her daughter. Then there’s Munna (Aakash Dahiya) and Shetty (Prasad Barve) without whom Bobby couldn’t manage even the slightest bit of a detective-giri. There’s also the suave TV anchor Tasawwur (Ali Fazal) who has Bobby on retainer to combat all the marriage alliances that he can’t bare to refuse himself in front of his father.
The movie revolves around the time when Bobby meets Aneez Khan (Kiran Kumar) who offers her a grand payment to find three distinct individuals whom he describes simply by name, age and birth mark. How Bobby’s solves the mystery behind Khan’s case, all the while battling the odds against her is what Samar Shaikh has packed into two hours for the audiences.
Rest assured it’s the two best hours you will spend in a cinema in recent times. Shaikh ensures that he delivers all that it takes to keep you glued to the screen for two whole hours. You’re drawn into Bobby’s world almost instantly and find yourself becoming more desperate than her to uncover Khan’s story. You root for her as she interrogates a man in a dhobi ghat and cheer for her as she stands up to the local thug (Lala played by Arjan Bajwa). You weep with her as she tried to win her Dad’s support and dance with her when she finally celebrates the win.
Vidya Balan undoubtedly holds the film together and is the reason you stay engaged for those two hours. However it would be wrong to not share the credit because each and every character is so ri
ch in his/her own story that without them Bobby Jasoos wouldn’t have been half the entertaining outing that it was. Ali Fazal deserves to take a grand bow for stepping up to the job that many men would have no doubt turned down for the sheer fear of being overshadowed by a Vidya Balan. He is charming as hell and oozes great confidence. And no, he does not get overshadowed credit for which goes to him but also to the writers. Best of all, his and Vidya’s chemistry which is fresh, fun and most importantly, real! Needless to say there are no actors in the very extensive supporting cast who let the team down. From Rajendra Gupta to Supriya Pathak to Arjan Bajwa to Kiran Kumar, everyone contributes greatly to the film.
A review of the film would be incomplete without mentioning Shantanu Moitra’s melodious soundtrack and Vishal Sinha’s cinematography both of which aid greatly in bringing to life the Hyderabadi feel that the script demanded.
Above all what shines in Bobby Jasoos is the sheer genuineness to deliver a captivating story. There are no formulas or trends being followed here. If anything, it may just become a trendsetter but rest assured that was never the intention.
This one is a winner all the way. A solid script, masterfully crafted screenplay, intriguing characters and an ensemble of fine actors led by the finest or rather, the bravest actress India has seen in recent times. Bobby Jasoos is a must watch!
