Movie Review: Bhavesh Joshi Superhero
3.0/5
V For Vendetta introduced us to the concept of a masked hero who inspires copycat followers. Then there is Batman who knows that the whole of Gotham is corrupt and he's fighting a lonely war against a system and not individuals.
In Kick-Ass, a teenager aspires to be a superhero and circumstances lead him to become one. From fighting petty crimes Kick-Ass graduates to fighting organised crime. The film flirted with the concept of a common man being influenced by graphic novels and superhero movies to become a vigilante and Bhavesh Joshi Superhero sort of combines elements from all the above mentioned films and makes a case for a proper superhero origins film.
With Vikramaditya Motwane at the helm, one would be assured of the fact that he would stick to reality as much as possible. His superhero wouldn't be shooting laser from his eyes or flying across space. Care has been taken in detailing out the transformation of a common man into a vigilante. It doesn't happen overnight. It's an arduous passage filled with many pitfalls and is as much a test of will as it is of physical ability. Bones get broken, blood gets shed and tears are spilled before our hero turns super. And another thing made clear is that the vigilante is fighting the good fight for a reason. He is there for the long haul. It's not some frivolous project for him. And even afterwards, things don't change miraculously. Foes don't get defeated by magic. It remains a constant struggle.
Bhavesh Joshi (Priyanshu Painyuli), Rajat (Ashish Verma) and Sikander Khanna (Harshvardhan Kapoor) are three friends who long to bring about a change in the society. Ashish is turning his angst into a graphic novel and inspired by that, Bhavesh and Sikander start a website where they post videos commenting against low level corruption. They take to the streets wearing homemade masks and get a kick out of catching people openly urinating or cutting trees. Bhavesh starts taking it seriously and uncovers a plot where unscrupulous elements are drying up Mumbai's water supply. But he's way over his head on this and things steadily go downhill from there. His murder convinces Sikander to take up the mantle and carry on the crusade...
Motwane hasn't gone for obvious choices like Hrithik Roshan or Tiger Shroff to play the masked vigilante and instead has chosen an unknown entity in Harshvardhan Kapoor to play the role. Harsh has been offered a fresh start and he grabs it by both hands, easing into his character by stages and making it believable. He’s earnest in his portrayal, never going over the top in action or subsiding into melodrama in emotional scenes. Keeping it real is Motwane's mantra and the actor subscribes to it wholeheartedly. Another thing Motwane has done is to make the friendship between the three friends sound genuine. They fight, they crib but are ultimately there for each other. And their youthful naivete about changing the world one video post at a time sounds genuine as well. The only grouse is that Nishikant Kamat, who plays a corrupt politician and his gang of baddies look like stock villains. Given the scope of the film, we were hoping for something different than one-dimensional antagonists.
The action scenes don't look overtly choreographed and the cinematography lends a gritty touch to the film, a la Sin City. All-in-all, Bhavesh Joshi is Vikramaditya Motwane's braveheart attempt at creating a DC (not Marvel, as an in-joke explains, because it's darker) superhero movie. Now whether the Indian audience is ready for such stuff and whether it'll take to it is a big question Indeed...
Trailer : Bhavesh Joshi Superhero
Neil Soans, June 1, 2018, 4:09 AM IST
3.5/5
A MOSTLY HUMAN SUPERHERO
Story: A young man discovers he's destined to become a vigilante when one of his friends is killed.
Review: He can’t fly or swing from rooftops. He doesn’t have a million dollar armoured suit with fancy gadgets. He doesn’t have a magic ring to give him powers overnight or super strength. But, he’s our very own homegrown superhero – a simple man made of flesh and bones, with a bleeding heart. In Bhavesh Joshi Superhero, Harshvardhan Kapoor, Priyanshu Painyuli & Ashish Verma play three college mates who are more socially conscious than your average graduate. Kapoor & Painyuli’s characters take this a lot more seriously and begin to intervene in local issues as they champion the cause of the common man. But things eventually escalate and get terribly out of hand. One of them dies while trying to reveal a corrupt plot at the hands of a local politician, played by Nishikant Kamat. The other is then left to choose his destiny.
Bhavesh Joshi isn’t a caped crusader ripped off from most of the comic books we know, but his steely resolve and conscience make him relatable. Director and co-writer Vikramaditya Motwane certainly draws some inspiration from this superhero’s international counterparts but manages to infuse him with motivations and a backstory that’s compelling. More importantly, this masked vigilante’s story hits close to home, which works much in its favour for the first half of the film. The frustration and inability to work around an unethical system is one that we’re all too familiar with, and Motwane, along with co-writers Anurag Kashyap & Abhay Koranne, makes the most of it. This propels the first act quickly with stirring momentum which is missing after the interval when it resorts to being an origin tale.
All is not lost though. French stunt choreographers Cyril Raffaelli and Sebastian Seveau put together some gritty and realistic action. A bike chase sequence is spectacular to behold in its sheer audacity. But then, it comes at the price of dropping its initial reality. This compromise is a costly trade-off as the film becomes tediously long drawn towards its final stretch. Yet, there’s a lot to savour along the way. Gorgeous camerawork and excellent editing allow you to take in all the action. Harshvardhan Kapoor shows growth as an actor in his second outing, but what stands out is the supporting cast. Priyanshu Painyuli deserves a special mention as the most impactful performance in this film. Bhavesh Joshi Superhero needs to be appreciated for what it sets out to do – stirring the common man out of apathy by channelising our anger. It doesn’t entirely succeed, but Vikramaditya Motwane’s take on the superhero genre is worth a look.
प्रशांत जैन, June 1, 2018, 1:38 PM IST
3.5/5
आम आदमी के हीरो पर फिल्में बनाने का ट्रेंड बॉलिवुड में पुराना है, लेकिन भावेश जोशी आम आदमी से सुपरहीरो बनने की कहानी है। यह कोई सुपर पावर वाला सुपर हीरो नहीं है, बल्कि आम आदमी का बिना सुपर पावर वाला सुपर हीरो है, जिसकी ताकत उसका जज़्बा है। फिल्म में भावेश जोशी (प्रियांशु पैन्यूली ) अपने दोस्तों सिकंदर उर्फ सिक्कू ( हर्षवर्धन कपूर) और आशीष वर्मा के साथ कॉलेज में पढ़ता है। फिल्म की शुरुआत अन्ना आंदोलन के बैकग्राउंड में होती है, जहां ये दोस्त भी देश भर के युवाओं की तरह भ्रष्टाचार के खिलाफ सड़क पर उतरते हैं और भावेश और सिक्कू मिलकर इंसाफ नाम का सोशल मीडिया प्लैटफॉर्म शुरू करते हैं, लेकिन आंदोलन फेल हो जाता है। जिंदगी अपनी रफ्तार से आगे बढ़ने लगती है और सिक्कू इंजिनियर बनकर नौकरी शुरू कर देता है। वहीं भावेश अब भी भ्रष्टाचार के खिलाफ जंग लड़ना चाहता है।
सिक्कू को विदेश जाने का ऑफर मिलता है। पासपोर्ट बनवाने के लिए उसे न चाहते हुए भी रिश्वत देनी पड़ती है। वहीं भावेश को मुंबई के पानी माफिया के खिलाफ शिकायत मिलती है। जब भावेश को पता लगता है कि सिक्कू ने रिश्वत दी है, तो उनमें झगड़ा हो जाता है। सिक्कू भावेश का विडियो सोशल मीडिया पर अपलोड कर देता है, तो माफिया के आदमी उसकी पिटाई कर देते हैं। भावेश फिर भी नहीं मानता और पानी माफिया के खिलाफ जुटाने जाता है, तो उसकी हत्या हो जाती है। अपने दोस्त की मौत का बदला लेने के लिए सिक्कू दुनिया की नज़र में विदेश जाकर खुद भावेश जोशी सुपरहीरो का रूप धारण करता है, लेकिन वह विलन बने निशिकांत कामत से बदला ले पाता है या नहीं, यह देखने के लिए आपको सिनेमा घर जाना होगा।
भावेश जोशी भ्रष्टाचार के खिलाफ युवा आक्रोश की कहानी कहती है। डायरेक्टर विक्रमादित्य मोटवाने ने लीक से हटकर फिल्म बनाई है। हालांकि ढाई घंटे से ज्यादा लंबी फिल्म थोड़ी ज्यादा लंबी हो गई है। एडिटिंग टेबल पर फिल्म को 20-25 मिनट काम किया जा सकता था। हर्षवर्धन कपूर इससे पहले राकेश ओमप्रकाश मेहरा की मिर्जिया में नजर आ चुके हैं, लेकिन फिल्म कुछ खास नहीं कर पाई थी। अबकी बार भी उन्होंने लीक से हटकर फिल्म चुनी है। करियर की शुरुआत में वह एक्सपेरिमेंट कर रहे हैं। फिल्म में हर्षवर्धन ने ठीकठाक ऐक्टिंग की है। वहीं प्रियांशु पैन्यूली ने भी अच्छा काम किया है। फिल्म की कहानी अनुराग कश्यप और खुद विक्रमादित्य मोटवाने ने लिखी है, जो कि अपनी लीक से हटकर कहानियों को कहने के लिए जाने जाते हैं। भावेश जोशी देखते वक़्त आपको अक्षय कुमार की गब्बर भी याद आती है। अगर आप लीक से हटकर फिल्में देखना पसंद करते हैं, तो इस फिल्म को देख सकते हैं।
Kunal Guha, June 1, 2018, 2:09 PM IST
3/5
What sets this one apart from most superhero movies, is the fact that its capeless crusader doesn’t possess any superpowers. This renders a realism that makes him vulnerable to blows, ensures he doesn’t always land his uppercuts precisely and only occasionally, manages to dodge the jabs. So essentially, we have a hero who may not be ‘super’ but strives for perfection and is willing to go the extra mile for insaaf, even if it may come at this cost of his inevitable end.
Bhavesh Joshi (Priyanshu Painyuli), Rajat (Ashish Verma) and Sukku or Sikander Khanna (Harshvardhan Kapoor) initially seem like typical rebels of social media. Swapping theories of a better world over puffs and pints, they furnish a stereotype of wasted youth which aspires to change the world, one-social-media-post-at-a-time. When they collaborate on a YouTube series called ‘Insaafman’ which stars a fictional superhero who admonishes those who cross the law while wearing a paper bag over their heads, they don’t exactly become viral sensations. But Joshi is determined and believes that the effort goes beyond clicks and views. A five-year-leap and Sukku and Rajat have resigned to corporate jobs, while Joshi continues his online activism, inviting those in desperate situations to reach out to him for assistance. The film takes a dark turn when Joshi is led into investigating a water scam propagated by a nexus between administration, politicians and an unflinching construction magnate.
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The build-up is very obvious and one can predict early on, as to which character will be the first to be eliminated and who would have a change-of-heart to follow the cause which had been abruptly forsaken. The film follows a typical underdog track where we find the lead training to take on the powerful forces and he even constructs a souped-up bike and a helmet with LED lights that frame the eyes to complete the look. Does he manage to bust the racket and expose his adversaries? Giving that away, won’t make or break this watch.
Following the disastrous-yet-poetic Mirziya, Harshvardhan Kapoor returns much-prepared and proves that he isn’t willing to be written off yet. Apart from that one scene where his character breaks down by lying on the ground and screaming his lungs out, he’s fairly convincing, dare we say, even committed to his Sukku. But the true star here, is surely Priyanshu Painyuli in the eponymous role who dominates the screen in every frame that features him. Needless to say, Kapoor is blatantly outshined in every scene he shares with Painyuli. Nishikant Kamat channels a compressed nefarious streak and abominable manner with distinct flair.
The film plunges in pace before the end of first half and it almost feels like it may never recover from this slump. But director Vikramaditya Motwane carefully constructs daunting scenarios that keep you interested and concerned about the proceedings on the screen. That every blow seems less measured and every high-kick appears to be a spontaneous reaction is a result of the work of action coordinators Vikram Dahiya, Cyril Raffaelli and Sebastien Seveau. The most notable sequence has to be the bike chase which leads into a railway platform and even into a passing local train. Cinematographer Siddharth Diwan uses various techniques to intensify the proceedings — some work, some seem gimmicky and others barely magnify the focus.
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This one had the potential to be the surprise hit of the year. Sadly, it’s too dark for a superhero film and yet distinctly flaky to be taken seriously. The kids won’t appreciate their hero taking the blows and the parents would rather attend the ostentatious romcom in the next screen.
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