Bholaa review: Calling action aficionados and Ajay Devgn fans

The Hindi film Bholaa is now playing in cinemas across the UAE. Ajay Devgn directs and stars in it along with Tabu, Deepak Dobriyal, Sanjay Mishra, Gajraj Rao, Vineet Kumar, Kiran Kumar, Markrand Deshpande, Amir Khan.

Hindi film Bholaa review

Many recent Hindi remakes of hit South Indian movies have left much to be desired, with things lost in translation- literally and figuratively. As it happens, Ajay Devgn’s Drishyam 2, a reprise of the gripping thriller in Malayalam, somehow failed to recreate that sense of looming suspense. So as I walked into the theatre for Bholaa — a recreation of Lokesh Kanagaraj’s spectacular Tamil hit Kaithi starring Karthi in the lead — I was understandably uneasy, and the expectation a bit low-key. 

But Bholaa has one thing going for it. Kaithi’s core was built on action set pieces. And we all know Ajay Devgn has earned his spurs as a Bollywood star through his adrenaline-pumping action scenes. With Ajay Devgn himself being the director of Bholaa, he is on the home wicket, as it were.

Bholaa, by and large, sticks to the original except that a pivotal inspector role in the story of a male character has been made into a woman cop. And it is played by Tabu, who has played several memorable roles with Ajay Devgn on screen. That familiarity and ease also help. 

The film starts with hard-as-nails cop Diana (Tabu) capturing Rs 1000 crore worth of cocaine in the badlands of Uttar Pradesh. The drug lords are desperate to get back the huge haul. The mafia, with a few moles in the police force, lay low many of them into a stupor. The drug gang, led by Ashwatthama (Deepak Dobriyal), is about to take down the police station held fort by the spunky old cop (Sanjay Mishra) and a bunch of youth who had been detained for some typical boisterous roadside fun.

As there is a shortage of hands, Diana enlists the help of ex-convict Bholaa (Ajay Devgn), who has been released and is on his way to meet his 10-year-old daughter. Diana wants Bholaa and his accomplice to drive out the cocaine cache in a lorry, adroitly escaping the many impediments that the drug mafia has put en route.

As you can understand, the story unfolds through one action sequence after another. If Lokesh had kept his hero a bit low-key, Ajay Devgn has chosen to play it up with more masala overtones. Devgn does the superhero act with aplomb. With limited dialogues, he has to use his brooding and simmering presence to convey a menacing coolth.

Tabu’s role is nothing much to write home about. But she manages to leave her impact even here. One of the scene stealers is Sanjay Mishra. As an old hand in the police station, he has to rise up to the occasion with a bravura show to save the police station. And his performance, too, is heroic. (It is a role a little-known actor George Maryan had aced in Tamil). Sanjay Mishra is equally impressive.  Deepak Dobriyal as the main villain, is adequate. Two actors – a Hindi star and a southern actress – have a surprise cameo show.

The camera work by Aseem Bajaj is a bit funky in some places. And it can be a bit off-putting if you catch it in the 3D version. The music, by Ravi Basrur, is a tad loud, but it comes with the territory of an action movie.

Overall, Ajay Devgn, by choosing a movie for a remake that plays up to his strength, has scored more than pass marks, both as an actor and also as a director.