Baadshaho movie review: A drink with no fizz

Director: Milan Luthria

Cast: Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, Ileana D'Cruz, Esha Gupta, Vidyut Jammwal, Sanjay Mishra

Director Milan Luthria marked his directorial debut with the multi-starrer Kachche Dhaage (1999) and no one thought it was good back then. Later, he went on to direct films like The Dirty Picture and Once Upon A Time In Mumbaai, which not only gave him the tag of a great storyteller but also a commercially viable director. If one notices, Milan has always made period films and Baadshaho too is one of them, which is set in the time of Emergency. But this time, he  completely loses the plot and fails to even entertain.

Gitanjali (Ileana D'Cruz) takes over the empire after her father's death who was the king of the state in the 1970s. She is loaded with tonnes of gold and the government has an eye on it. Sanjeev (Priyanshu Chatterjee) is the corrupt politician who tries to woo the princess but to no avail. Soon then, Sanjeev seeks revenge from her, but Gitanjali appoints Bhavani (Ajay Devgn), her personal assistant to protect her and the gold.

Seher Singh (Vidyut Jammwal), a tough and loyal cop, is appointed to safeguard the gold from Rajasthan to Delhi, but Bhavani has his own plan to steal it. He calls Dalia (Emraan Hashmi), Tikla (Sanjay Mishra) and Sanjana (Esha Gupta) to help him in this robbery. Will Bhavani and his team be able to save the gold from Seher Singh or Sanjeev will win in his egoistic game plan?

Baadshaho definitely has an interesting premise, but execution of the plot turns out to be the big hurdle. Film kicks off very slow, but the twist in the interval holds promise to surprise post intermission. However, the film just turns out to be a drink with no fizz. The climax is abrupt and questionable. The main agenda of the film shifts from who gets the gold to who gets the girl in the end, really? Baadshaho is a major setback to the sensibilities of Indian audiences. However, the film is shot well in the exotic palaces and desserts of Rajasthan, but again, when the plot is slacky, then nothing goes right.

The film has great action and chase sequences, typical single screens background score, but to no avail. Except for Rashke Kamar (that too is taken from the original soundtrack sung by Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan), the rest of the songs are hardly bearable. Putting Sunny Leone half-naked in a barrel filled with water doesn't do any wonders too. This tale of conspiracy and betrayal is merely a one-time watch even for Ajay Devgn fans who consider him a megastar of a different league.

Ajay Devgn, who has a grey shade of a fiercely loyal disciple of the princess, is good, yet very consistent in his expressions and dialogue deliveries. With kohl and droopy eyes, catchy one-liners, Ajay might be the highlight for his fans. Ileana D'Cruz, as a ruthless greedy princess, is not too good. Though she looks of that era, her performance is too urban for 1970s.

Emraan Hashmi is watchable, but his so-called love interest Esha Gupta has nothing much to do in the film. Sanjay Mishra yet again hits the right chord with his comic timing in this serious period drama. Vidyut Jammwal is the saving grace of the film. His lusty scene with Ileana is to drool over. Priyanshu Chatterjee, who underplayed the role of Sanjay Gandhi, is just about average in his short role.

In totality, Baadshaho could have been a far much better film, but the execution should be blamed. Watch it if you won’t get tickets of Shubh Mangal Saavdhan since it is a must-watch family entertainer and it will surely run house-packed over the weekend.