Badlapur

Dear Sriram Raghavan,

Let me first moan because i just went into a film orgasm after watching your movie 'Badlapur'. Aahhhhhhhh. The last time this happened was during 'Wasseypur'. (I am like a married housewife who doesn't climax easily, even if you use tongue). But on a serious note, with Badlapur you wash off your sins (Agent Vinod) and remind us of your masterpieces (Ek hasina thi & Jhonny Gaddar).

Badlapur is India's first Korean styled revenge drama about a hero (Varun) slowly becoming the anti-hero to take revenge against the Villain (Nawaz) who killed his family. But as the film progresses, lines between the hero and the Villain slowly blur out.

The film is sluggish in the first half and builds up too much without progessing in the story (All Korean films are like this). I wish we didn't have an interval for this film because we could have judged it as one film since the majority of the meat is in the second half. But once the film starts pounding post interval, you feel the pleasure of cinematic ecstacy. There are shades of the korean trilogy called the Venganance series, but the film is an original item.

The long single shots are expertly crafted. Its the moments in the story which makes this film stand out. For example - Nawaz trying to escape Jail, Varun & Radhika's intense bedroom scene, but the pick of the lot is where Varun and Nawaz have a conversation in the end. Both are flawed and both have valid reasons for the flaws. Whom do you support is the question ?

Varun is superb and acts with his eyes. He faulters in some scenes like the initial scene with Divya dutta but then he quickly regains his form in the violence. Its a big step for a mainstream actor to take such a risk by playing a 43 year old violent anti hero. But it paid off buddy.

Huma, Divya Dutta, Radhika Apte all are dependable actors and have done well but its Nawazzuddin Siddiqui who gives you Indian cinema's Joker. He is sly, evil, funny and human at the same time. He just takes all the other actors in a juicer, grinds them and gulps them down without even burping.

Overall, Badlapur might not be a classic like Jhonny Gaddar but its seriously haunting. Not many people would like such violence but its a refreshing changing face of Indian cinema so go ahead and grab this Violent, crazy, brilliant film and feel the pleasure of cinema (without the use of lubrication)

Rating - ***.75 (it would have been **** if it didn't have an interval)