Besharam

Rating : 2/10
Release Date : 2nd October, 2013
Time : 138 minutes
Director & Writer : Abhinav Kashyap; Co-writer : Rajeev Barnwal; Music : Lalit Pandit
Starring : Ranbir Kapoor, Pallavi Sharda, Javed Jaafri, Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Singh, Amitosh Nagpal

You may be the hero (Ranbir), vulgar, ill-mannered, boorishly behaved, stupidly dressed but its all okay and we’re supposed to like you and feel for you because you’re an orphan. And a thief but supposedly with a heart of gold. You can stalk a girl (Pallavi) you claim to love, land up at her office, get down on your knees, say ‘I love you’, mouth dialogues like ‘I’ll change my life for you’ accompanied by many vulgar gestures (crotch, tongue, wink wink, nudge nudge) but that too is ok – even the girls mom doesn’t mind because…well, he is naughty but cant you see his heart of gold ? He may try to kiss you while you’re sleep but he wouldn’t do anything really bad, would he ?

This is a stupid, regressive, senseless film. The villain, Javed Jaafri, in fact, is the only consistent character but even that goes for a toss when he, the havala king of Chandigarh, who deals with crores of cash everyday, is shown unable to calculate 1.8 cr times five towards the end. Rishi and Neetu are bumbling cops, quite useless at what they do. And in the second half, everyone, including the villain, turn into superheroes ! Flying through the air, shooting guns, fighting, yelling, beating multiple persons to pulp as the directors Dabangg hangover shines through…

There are a million things wrong with the film…from the message it sends out to its extremely painful songs (4 in the first half alone!) to how a guy who is supposed to be a great car thief (with jaadu in his fingers) botches up the first car he is shown stealing…but then a little later manages to steal an even more upmarket one without a hitch ! Scatological humour, a gratuitous, awful shower scene, horrible, inane dialogue round up a pathetic, headache inducing film.

Ranbir doesn’t suit the role at all…you cant imagine him being this crass, making the entire film unbelievable. Pallavi struggles with a role which requires her to look angry in the first half and moonstruck in the second. Rishi, Neetu, Javed and Amitosh try their best but are also saddled with ridiculous characters.

I think the disappointment was greater because it was Ranbir, Rishi and Neetu Kapoor, all extremely talented people, doing stuff which you wished they hadn’t, in a film which you really wonder why they said ‘Yes’ to. This film should never have been made. Much less with talent like these.