Bholaa movie review: Ajay Devgn-Tabu film is a perfect Kaithi remake

Bholaa
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Deepak Dobriyal, Vineet Kumar, Gajraj Rao
Director: Ajay Devgn
Rating: 3/5

Bholaa movie review: Ajay Devgn has directed four films so far—U, Me Aur Hum, Shivaay, Runway 34 and now Bholaa. All these films have different mood and trajectories, but Devgn’s penchant for grandeur is quite visible in all. All films previous to Bholaa have scenes where you can witness the latent potential of Devgn, the director, in emotionally charged scenes. In Bholaa, he has kept his liking for emotions in the background and put high-octane action in the showcase window. This is the point where Bholaa scores over Kaithi, which at times appears like a typecast mainstream Tamil actioner. 

Thanks to Devgn’s very in-your-face portrayal of a father longing for his daughter, Bholaa (Devgn in the titular role) sets the context within minutes, and you prepare yourself for meticulously-choreographed long action scenes. They never promised anything other than a typical Hindi entertainer, so you can’t really complain. Also, since Pathaan’s super-success, the audience might be left wanting for more. So, here's a film not shying away from playing to the gallery. 

There’s SP Diana (Tabu), who is constantly referred as ‘daayan’ (witch), but she holds her ground, both acting wise and script wise. 

Then there are a couple of deadly villains—Deepak Dobriyal (Ashwathama) and Vineet Kumar (Nithaari). Dobriyal has shown his range in an over the top character, but he is so in sync with the role that you actually want him to steal the limelight. 

There are 5,000 character artists who are there just to be beaten to pulp by Devgn’s brute force. Never mind! After all, you wanted some insane entertainment, right!

The highlight of Bholaa is its crowded action scenes and Devgn has left no stone unturned in making them work. There are a variety of villains—from ‘kachcha baniyan gang’ to people with sickles, with only one motive—to be killed by machine gun Devgn. In between, they try to be funny but of course, fall flat, quite literally.

Devgn and Tabu’s team works one more time and their synergy is the backbone of this mad caper. 

In short, it’s a true remake of Kaithi, but better than Kaithi in many senses. Some whistle-worthy punchlines make it a good time pass. But yes, one would expect Devgn to be a bit more subtle the next time. However, what’s been served can easily entertain you, especially if you don’t mistake it for John Wick 5.

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