Bombay Velvet is worthy to watch once for Kashyap's most visually appealing movie and the performanc !!

Bombay Velvet is worthy to watch once for Kashyap's most visually appealing movie and the performances too.

 

The best aspects of Bombay Velvet are its evocative visual texture and its lush and layered sound design.

But these, unluckily, can only be external accessories for an aspiring movie that clearly aspires to be infinitely more than the sum of its superficial parts. 

The Bombay Velvet plot is scattered with street fights, shootouts and murders on the one hand, and jazz soirees, bitter tabloid wars, fierce political rivalries, deadly depredations of land sharks and labor unrest on the other. 

The unusually redolent period detailing, however, stays largely on the surface. It does not seep into the core of the crime thriller set against the transformation of Bombay into a city of dreams and deep divisions.

All things considered, Bombay Velvet is, at best, a satisfactory story of vaulting ambition, all-consuming love and destructive greed. 

A carefully crafted and gripping first half gives way to a boring second-half account of stylishly attired men plotting to defame and destroy each other and take control of all the reclaimed land that is up for grabs. 

 

The screenwriters (Gyan Prakash, Thani, Vasan Bala and Anurag Kashyap) are forced to be selective with what they focus on in Bombay Velvet.

As a result, the chief character of the movie, the city of Bombay, is seen only in random snatches, beautiful but not fully defined. 

 

Khambatta makes Balraj the owner of the swanky Bombay Velvet club, which also brings him closer to the object of his love Rosie Noronha (Anushka Sharma), who may not be what she seems. As time progresses, Balraj ends up being a pawn in a game played by Khambatta and rival media baron Jimmy Mistry (Manish Choudhary), with the city as the prize.

 

Does Balraj manage to stay being a 'big shot'? Watch the movie to see the rest…

 

After playing suave and romantic roles in most of his movies, Ranbir Kapoor manages to take your breath away in Bombay Velvet. Kapoor's Balraj has this animal charisma that pulls you in and refuses to let you go. His ruthless behavior coupled with a child-like naiveté, which pops out at times, is sure to leave you spell-bound. Mind you, Balraj is no 'hero' as such, for he doesn't think twice before bumping off people to achieve his ends, but at the same time, there is a 'flawed angel' quality to his character, which is quite attractive and impressive.

 

Anushka as Rosie too puts in a solid effort and the chemistry between her and Kapoor is something to watch out for. A vulnerable damsel-in-distress as well as a no-nonsense woman, who throws a chair at her lover's head for slapping her, Sharma's Rosie is a woman who cannot be bracketed in a single category, a far cry from the typical Bollywood heroine that we are used to seeing on silver screens.

 

Karan Johar as Khambatta, who shines through in his full-fledged acting debut.  Khambatta might be slightly effeminate, but that doesn't dilute the aura of threat that he throws out with a raised eyebrow or a smirk. Khambatta's mixed feelings towards Balraj is what makes their clash even more interesting to watch. Indeed, Johar has put in his heart and soul in the act. Special mention must also be made of Manish Choudhary, Vivaan Shah and Satyadeep Misra, who lend valuable support to the story with their extraordinary performances.

 

As for the direction, Anurag has gone all out to pay attention to great detail in the movie, but with the lack of a solid narrative, the efforts seem to be in futile. The plot is quite expectable and has been explored countless times in movies before- the thug with a heart of gold, who takes to crime and has a fall out with his mentor for the sake of love is somewhat that is not new. What is indeed new is the way Kashyap has presented the story. The way Kashyap has represented the 50s era is visually delightful, but it must also be said that at times, the filmmaker seems to focus more on show than substance. The second half of the movie too has been stretched a lot and the plot could have been crisper and tighter. The movie is supposed to be based on Gyan Prakash's book 'Mumbai Fables', but whereas the book was a serious historical journal, the film only seeks to borrow the milieu and set a filmy story in it.

 

The music of the movie is something that makes the movie worth a watch for sure, Amit Trivedi has created magic for the movie and the background music and the jazz score, which enriches the movie, will unquestionably own you.

 

Overall, it is worthy to watch once for Kashyap's most visually appealing movie and the performances too.