'Bholaa' review: Ajay Devgn overshadows all in this high-octane actioner
What's the story
Seen in a triple role of a director, producer, and of course, the lead actor, Ajay Devgn's Bholaa is a one-man show.
An official Hindi remake of Lokesh Kanagaraj's 2019's Tamil movie Kaithi, Bholaa has a dance number, a few emotional moments, tad bit of humor but runs high on action. It's a high-octane actioner meant for the masses.
Read our review.
Plot
Story about a released prisoner, daring cop, and drug mafia
SP Diana Joseph (Tabu) seizes over 900 kilograms of cocaine. Her feat is soon turned into an action-filled night as the drug lord, Ashwadhama (Deepak Dobriyal) swears to take his consignment back.
A conspiracy leads to policemen, barring Joseph, being drugged. However, she finds support in Bholaa, a convict released from jail who fights about 100 odd men to save Joseph and other policemen.
Solo act
'Bholaa' runs largely on Devgn's performance
Devgn has outplayed every other actor in the movie. The team of scriptwriters comprising Aamil Keeyan Khan, Ankush Singh, Sandeep Kewlani, and Shriidhar Dubey, has put Devgn at the front and back of the film, keeping the entire focus on him alone.
With bare minimum dialogues, Devgn has pulled off the job but his performance is about action-packed sequences and bearing a poker face.
Casting
Not a fair share of space for other actors
Bholaa features seasoned actors such as Tabu, Dobriyal, Sanjay Mishra, Gajraj Rao, Vineet Kumar, and Makrand Deshpande. Despite such a strong cast, enough justice was not given to the characters, as Bholaa rides highly and solely on Devgn.
Dobriyal as psycho coke-snorting drug mafia and Mishra as constable were fantastic but came with limited roles. Tabu was also limited as a second lead.
Visuals and cinematography
A visual treat for the masses
As a director, Devgn has done a good job of delivering a visual treat.
The camera work by Aseem Bajaj deserves a special mention for the lighting, given that the story unfolds on a single night, keeping the lighting on each character and scene to near perfection.
However, the work on creating it as a 3D film could have been so much better.
Loopholes
A hazy flashback
Devgn's identity as Bholaa isn't revealed till the very end. He is on his way to meet his daughter at an orphanage. His persona is like Lord Shiva - the destroyer and the protector. But it's all that's known about him.
The flashback scenes appeared hazy, even though they were paving a way for the sequel. The overall flashback scenes lacked writing.
Verdict
Watch it for the element of surprise at the end
If you're someone who doesn't like too much action in a movie, then Bholaa isn't an option for you. From start to end, it's an out-and-out actioner.
One of the highlights comes right at the end when Abhishek Bachchan is introduced as the antagonist for the sequel.
Overall, Bholaa is a one-time watch with mediocre dialogues.
It gets 2.5 stars out of 5.