Bombay Velvet Review  

Bombay Velvet Review  

Bombay Velvet Review  

Bombay Celvet is an outcome when a director of low budget critically acclaimed movies tries to make…  

Bombay Celvet is an outcome when a director of low budget critically acclaimed movies tries to make movie for the masses. Ranbir and Anuska do well and Karan Johar makes a decent debut especially in one scene with that evil laughter. But not anything close to films like Gangs of Wasseypur. 

Super Duper flops and bore movie. I have seen thousands of movies in cinema but first time in life…  

Super Duper flops and bore movie. I have seen thousands of movies in cinema but first time in life I left cinema after one hour tolerance of this movie. I advise to all not waste your money and time over it.  

One feels slightly intimidated and/or browbeaten to review Anurag Kashyap's films. His films are…  

One feels slightly intimidated and/or browbeaten to review Anurag Kashyap's films. His films are like the songs of American rock band Coldplay - most of them don't make much sense and because they don't make much sense, they can mean anything. Bombay Velvet is one such product. Set between the late 40s and the late 60s in Bombay, story of a migrant, Balraj (Kapoor), who lives his life to grow exponentially on his own terms is hardly convincing. He begins his life with the monies hauled through pickpocketing and starts living his puzzling dream when he falls into the clutches of a bootlegger called Khambata (Johar). The build-up is faint as the story picks up pace to set the theme, which is about greed for power and fame that fixates our little, glam-doll protagonist. Fear of anachronism is visible from frame one, and the brutal attention to details - to recapture (one prefers "reinvent" though) 50s'-60s' Bombay - is the greatest highlight of the film. This means the story is absorbingly clichéd. The history of Bombay is heavily dealt with as the plot carves itself out, ending the crime drama with an epilogue that has a punctuation error in it. The touch of politics that drives the crime genre in the film is a cooler depiction of the developments that led to a city now called Mumbai, which became of Bombay and, is where I sit now and write this review. Now, THAT is fun to watch. Few familiar twists and turns drive the screenplay to a highly cribbed climax. Humor, if you can detect it, is wicked and forced. Kapoor is phenomenal as the hero of the film, but my heart hardly ached for the lad as he went about gun-wielding to rip off men who denied his own way of maddeningly narcissistic life. The whole cast, including Sharma, Menon, and Basu do a beautiful job by staying in their characters. Debutante (that's what the intro credit says) Johar seems to have borrowed his natural effeminacy into the screen as he puts up a rather bad show at being a cool tycoon. His character is like a headless chicken who flounders (sic) after having pecked for cereals with other characters of the film. Pardon me for using a dialog from the film. If the makers can plagiarize (sorry, the right phrase is "be inspired"), why can't I? I am tired of watching rip offs of that Godfather gun-in-the- flushbin idea, and that is when the film starts to fumble. With a soundtrack for the climax that reminds you of the Oscar Best Picture Birdman (2014) and FX TV show Fargo (2014), one can confirm the imagination quotient of the film. But do watch out for the mildest anti-smoking statutory warning in the history of Bollywood. All said and done and having used few superlatives to describe the film's richness, I cannot use the word "original." And at a time when people go and die by originality, and partake in copyright fights, does a film made from ripping off old cult classics and popular ideas work? The audience have to decide. And boxing, if you wonder, from the trailers and the posters, is a gimmick. Apart from that, it is exhaustive at 150 long minutes. BOTTOM LINE: Bombay Velvet, as an ambition, can be lauded for its art setup, which it never fails to brag about. But, with a phony villain and an over-smart hero, their joint saga is as raw as the blood that glimmers off the bodies of the men they kill. 5/10 - average. Can be watched with a typical Indian family? 

If I try to draw comparisons between Martin Scorsese's 1990-blockbuster Goodfellas and our very own…  

If I try to draw comparisons between Martin Scorsese's 1990-blockbuster Goodfellas and our very own Kashyapish Bombay Velvet, they will look like twins, though born in different eras. While the former has already proved itself a masterpiece, the latter simply looks like a wanna-be to that classic. No wonder that Director Anurag Kashyap credits Mr. Scorsese during the initial credits. He seriously attempts to replicate the master's magic in order to weave out a rather clichéd film. The 60's era looks spectacular; the jazz music (wonderfully composed by Amit Trivedi) throws in an indispensable nostalgia; the Italian costume designs nudge us back to the good-old mobster classics -- everything looks gorgeous in this fantastical post independence Bombay. But how long you could stare at something beautiful without being talked back to. Bombay Velvet lays itself somewhere in that category, where a beautiful art fails to form a viable communication with its spectator. The problem lies within the screenplay, oddly written and interweaved with no complex empathy towards the characters. The First Act seems to be the only good asset, where characters are build impressively; wonderfully focusing on traits and motives that build up the next act. But it is where the narrative loses its pace. Writers -- Vasan Bala, Anurag Kashyap, Gyan Prakash and Thani -- fails to live up to our expectations of genuine conflicts (something Kashyap spectacularly created in the Gangs of Wasseypur duo-logy). We therefore face a regular Bollywood-clichéd tale, where twins arrive out of no where, murders get overdone, songs take over the impressions, and suspenses are injected for the sake of injecting. Even the ride seems slow and boring at places, the actors make sure to impress us whenever they are allowed to. Ranbir Kapoor (as Johnny "Big Shot" Balraj) conveys madness with style, never losing the grip of the character and giving us a memorable performance. Anushka Sharma (as Rosie) plays a perfect eye-candy amid the distasteful mafia wars. Watch her emoting a sad song with such conviction that it might have reminded Ranbir of his Jordan act in Rockstar. She owns the voice of her playback singer, literally. Among the supporting actors, only Satyadeep Mishra (as Balraj's childhood friend Chimman) makes a long lasting impact. While other talents (Kay Kay Menon, Manish Chaudhary, and Vivaan Shah) amply justify their skills in their limited screen time. A special mention for Karan Johar for pulling out a calm and restraint act. The script however doesn't allow his Kaizad Khambatta to emote further than a relaxed homosexual mobster. On whole, I do not want to call Bombay Velvet a bad movie; in fact it is far better than the regular nonsense we are served on most of the Fridays. But being a true Kashyap fan, I believe Bombay Velvet to be only an iota of his previous works, created to prey further on the mainstream audience, with only style but no substance. 

Anuraag is an answer of Indian Cinema to the Hollywood. He has shown how to make a commercial and…  

Anuraag is an answer of Indian Cinema to the Hollywood. He has shown how to make a commercial and sane movie which has fine finishing, research, relevance, content and elegance. Ranbir is superlative and above excellence. Anushka is brave lovable and royal. Karan has given justice to his role.Kay Kay and Mishra are brilliant. Music composition fulfills the demand of the film. Amit Trivedi again has done great job. Overall the movie inculcates the jazz era, the world in 60's, the then prevailing virtues of certain sectors who are somehow responsible for today's Mumbai. The movie is a Great example of honest labor and Excellent Team Work. It has to succeed for the betterment of Indian cinema. Keep up the good work Anuraag, Ranbir, Anushka and team. All the very best guys!! 

First things first, BOMBAY VELVET is Anurag Kashyap's weakest film till date. Made on a hefty…  

First things first, BOMBAY VELVET is Anurag Kashyap's weakest film till date. Made on a hefty budget of 120 crores, I as a cinema lover is feeling cheated. The film industry runs on the money paid by the audience which the production houses earn from previous films. And later these production houses sign various directors with whom they think that they have the potential to deliver. But with the same budget Anurag Kashyap could have made a much greater film in terms of style and substance. Well to be honest, I am confused about Ranbir Kapoor's character in the film as Johnny Balraj. I mean who is he in the film, yes, we know that he wants to become a Big Shot but who is he? Coming to Anushka Sharma as Rosie, she excels! For me she is the saving grace for this horrendous film. She is absolutely gorgeous and her act in equally disappointing climax is absolutely fantastic. Karan Johar as Khambata in his debut, makes up a good villain as per the script demanded, but what was the script? Anurag Kashyap has big films to his name like Gangs of Wasseypur, Ugly, DevD etc but he fails miserably this time. He attempts to make a commercial entertainer which falls flat on his face. No doubt, he has presented the movie very well, but the nutrients like entertainment, story, style, content, etc are thoroughly missing. Music by Amit Trivedi grows slowly upon you. Songs like Dhadaam Dhadaam and Behroopia are my favorite. Due to clichéd plot the background score didn't intensify my viewing experience. On the whole, BOMBAY VELVET is a huge let down. Unnecessary violence plays a huge contribution in its letdown. Audience will reject it, because for me GOW had set a benchmark but this one was not even near Anurag Kashyap's credentials! Watch it if you want see how Anushka Sharma is the saving grace of this film. Otherwise skip it! DISASTER! 

BOMBAY VELVET - Its a serious case of Anurag Kashyap trying to be commercial gone wrong. "Dear…  

BOMBAY VELVET - Its a serious case of Anurag Kashyap trying to be commercial gone wrong. "Dear Anurag Sir - You are such a great talent of of uniqueness in modern film making that you have got a different group of fans following your movies. You have given us hope that Bollywood is not just about only Nach Gana , beautiful foreign location and larger then life heroes doing anti gravity action sequence. So why did you tried to make a film using such a plot which has been already overused and doing nothing new with it just upgrading the technical department. But let me tell you , the brilliance of technical department can make a good movie brilliant but cant do anything good to an above average movie " Speaking of the technical department the production design has done a brilliant job. The whole movie has been shot in Sri Lanka but right from the start the movie takes you to the era of 50s and 60s of Bombay. In fact after watching the Premiere Rishi Kapoor has tweeted that Anurag Kashyap has transformed Sri Lanka into the Street of Bombay he use to play in his childhood. Second department to be appreciated is the music department. Amit Trivedi has brought us the real Jazz alive in front of us. The drum beats of back ground music are still ringing in my ears. But i have a little complain with the genre of music chosen by him while making the songs. Trivedi has chosen the typical Jazz genre which is not at all famous in India and only can be appreciated by Die Hard fans of Jazz. Instead of this he could have used the soft romantic genre of Jazz which has been used in Bollywood and quite liked by the audience in 50s and 60s (For example - The FIFI song.). Leaving the Jazz collection there is a non Jazz song 'Beherupia' which has been sang and represented in a soulful manner. Next we come to the screenplay which is the real enemy of the movie. Just because it tries to play too much safe , the movie doesn't even make you feel like it has been made my Anurag Kashayp. Anurag has a quality to dig out comic situations in serious and dark stories. And in spite being a light hearted film there were very few comic situation in it which you can count in your finger. Plot of the movie has a lot of element the movie doesn't describe any of them. That's actually shocking thing as Anurag has been a director of detailing , remember how he made us experience the evolution of Bihar and Jharkhand in Gangs Of Wassypur. The same doesn't happen is case of Bombay. The movie tells us that the base of Bombay has been put up on conspiracies and scams but the screenplay is such a haywire that you can't actually understand what is the conspiracy going on. Neither the actions of opposite parties clears any of their intentions. And how could you relate to characters if you don't know their intentions. Speaking of characters Ranbir is back after Roy , he always give his 100% and he does the same here. His madness for becoming BIG SHOT and his childish intensity in love are something to watch out. Anushka has been disappeared from Bollywood for 1 and a half year after Matru Ki Bijli , as she was working in 4 films together releasing in a time period of 7 months. She has given powerhouse performance in P.K and NH10 selecting unique characters not the usual glamorous characters of Bollywood heroins . In Bombay Velvet the character of Rosie is although glamorous but there is a grounded attitude in her. She knows her boundaries , she know this glamour life is not her own and is gifted by someone else . Also for an extra applause Anushka as a singer has done a tremendous job. In fact in a song called DHADAAM DHADAAM she has given such an intensity to it that you will forget for sometime that she is only lip-sing and not actually singing. That brings us to Kjo the debutant here. Karan Johar's character could have been a little better if he would have a real maniac which actually he is but in a gentlemen manner. He is not a kind of person who will beat his enemy to death by his own hand rather he will ask his man to do that job while watching it simultaneously eating his food. Some of the good comic scenes has been given to him related to when on using wrong English by the other person he goes out of the room to laugh and also some indications to his likeness of gender in sexual preferences(i hope you can understand what i am saying.) . K K Menon has been lost in the first half only comes in the second didn't getting much chance to do anything. Length of the movie is a question which actually feels long but the fact is that you will not actually able to detect scenes which are not required. So have get bored with the length. I would have liked if Anurag have tried to make the same kinds if movies he makes with a bigger star for gaining more audience(like Badlapur with Varun Dhawan) rather then making a commercial film which is not his kind of genre. With this film he has lost his touch. Hope he will come back. That too with a hard hitting effect.. 6.4/10 By ANuP APu KuMaR 

What works: - The immaculate detailing in recreating the 1960s Mumbai - Few bright moments - Ranbir…  

What works: - The immaculate detailing in recreating the 1960s Mumbai - Few bright moments - Ranbir Kapoor as Johny Balraj - Kay Kay Menon What could have been better: - There's nothing new in the story or the script. Umpteen times you get the feeling 'I have seen this before'. - Trying to create the magic of Godfather, but failing to do so - Karan Johar (better stick to production and direction!) What fails miserably: - More attention to the 'velvet' than to the soul of the story! 

It has become quite a trend nowadays where everyone declares the next project as "dream project"…  

It has become quite a trend nowadays where everyone declares the next project as "dream project" but it is totally unacceptable for director of Kashyap's caliber to be a part of this queue. Bombay Velvet is a result of being impatient and excited, AK was in excitement to show that he could also be a so called 100cr. club director or he could also handle the big commercial stars. I enters with a lot of expectation and it was neither for Ranbir nor for Anushka but just for AK. Bombay Velvet is a movie that takes you in to Bombay of 1960's and just the time when you start understanding the things around you ...it left your hand and you find yourself lost. The movie really starts on a good note and you feel the breeze of AK's special but it is the loose script and small plot that give something is missing kind of a feeling and then you start to think that may be the climax will change all this but your assumptions remains fails. The only thing that you could appreciate is the art direction, it is perhaps the best among what we have seen so far in this year. the team had did everything to make you believe that this the Bombay of 60's and they succeeded in this. The only stand out performs in the movie is of Ranbir Kapoor, this man definitely shows his charm and as the surprise package Vivan Shah stands up. KJo also gives sudden sparks in some scene. All and All the movie BV is like that beautifully crafted arrow that misses its targets but it happens especially with dream projects.