Subhash K. Jha speaks about Bittoo Boss

By Subhash K. Jha -

April 13, 2012 - 4:48 PM IST

Bittoo ka to pataa nahin,lekin Pulkit Samrat to sab ki lega. The sheer relief of watching a discernibly gifted new actor

Subhash K. Jha speaks about Bittoo Boss

play, for a change, a goodhearted idealistic hero who sets off to make blue films and ends up sorting out problems between copulating couples, is enough to

make us not wince at the jagged edges which stick out here there and everywhere in the narration.

The presentation could have done with some more finesse, and a lot better packaging. But hey, the heart is in the right place.

Indeed Bittoo Boss for a large part ambles forward with no seeming purpose. It opens with an elaborate Punjabi wedding which, quite vocally, pays its

homage to Sooraj Barjatya. Lording over the shaadi ka dhoom-dhaam is our endearing videographer Bittoo who shoots, in his words, not weddings but

emotions, not bodies but the feelings within. As played by debutant Pulkit Samrat, Bittoo is a bit of brat, but enormously sincere and idealistic. Ranveer Singh

would not approve. We don't get heroes like this anymore.

The script written as a series of episodes representing 'Adventures In The Life Of A Small-Town Videographer' gives the protagonist a chance to romance

sleaze and then pulls him out of the morass just in time.

This is a film that's breezy but never stormy in its impact. It works because of the director's sincerity of intent. While most filmmakers today prefer to dwell on

the dark side of heroism, debutant director Supavitra Babul doesn't shy away bringing in a shiney idealism into Bittoo's character.

Pulkit Samrat in spite of an unreal hairstyle, comes across with endearing sincerity. Expressive earnest and quite impressive in his interpretation of the

character's embarrassing, he is a welcome addition to Hindi cinema's hero club.

What brings down Pulkit's performance as a videographer who would rather break bones than bend self-rules, is the scattered narrative. More often than not,

Bittoo Boss rambles aimlessly through what looks like episodes of a television serial strung together in a movie form. Also, the central performer hardly

gets support from the other actors who all seem to be briefed to behave like Punjabi middleclass freeloaders.

Curiously leading lady Amita Pathak's dialogues and demeanour seem directly derived from Anushka Sharma's Band Baaja Baaraat. Amita's character

is a part of that recent movement in our cinema whereby small-town North Indian girls are shown to be self-willed, headstrong, defiant and slightly

wackyâ€¦Kangna Ranaut in Tanu Weds Manu and Anushka in Band Baaja Baaraat define that movement.

Bittoo Boss is filled with some genuinely endearing moments where the protagonist comes close to losing his stubborn values but retrieves them just in

time. This film is an uneven but likeable experience held together by the debutant Pulkit Samrat's performance. He's undoubtedly a star in the making.