Badla Movie Review: Gripping tale with its own flaws

Director: Sujoy Ghosh

Cast: Taapsee Pannu, Amitabh Bachchan, Amrita Singh

Badla starring Taapsee Pannu and Amitabh Bachchan is essentially a cat and mouse game with multiple twists and turns. Director Sujoy Ghosh returns to what he knows best- which is creating a very gripping thriller, but unlike his previous movie Kahaani I was not left in shock of the outcome, I was pleasantly surprised.

One of the biggest problems for me were the characters. I was unable to spend enough time with Naina played by Taapsee Pannu, because of this the “business woman of the year award” seemed to be the best descriptor for her. I found the character to be weak and not fleshed out enough, it seemed to be more of a cliche of a young, independent and powerful woman. Taapsee fairs well with the material she is given, but her should is not in the character even her performance seems average, especially for a film relying on her shoulders. The mighty Amitabh Bachchan is extremely convincing as the lawyer Badal Singh. Amrita Singh is also excellent in the short but effective role she plays. She is the strongest out of all the actors, she seems to be in her comfort zone. One thing I couldn’t forget through the movie was Tanveer Ghanis (or Nirmal in the movie) eerie resemblance to Lord Voldemort from the Harry Potter franchise. Eyebrow-less and pale he looks like a splitting image of the chilling antagonist.

What works for the movie is the screenplay and dialogue. There were many places in which the story could have become confusing due to the going back and forth in time but the screenplay holds up and is comprehensible. The dialogue by Sujoy Ghosh and Raj Vasant is filled with symbolism from the Mahabharata which can get exhausting but it is engaging and has genuine moments of comic relief.

Badla is also a capable film due to its background score by Ateesh Chattopadhyay, the music swells when it needs to and builds tension efficiently. There were some moments where the score did get a little out of hand but overall it was engaging and well crafted.

Brooding Glasgow is captured magnificently by cinematographer Avik Mukhopadhyay. The bridges, building, snow and trains make the world feel alien and terrifying. The trees along side the roads also cast mysterious shadows which will surely run chills down your spine. However, the setting is not as important to the movie as it was in Ghosh’s other film Kahaani. Kolkata was the beating heart of that film, here Glasgow is not that important, it could have been set in county where it snows. Since the film itself confines itself to Naina’s dining table, using over the shoulder shots and tight closeups we are unable to witness Glasgow in all its glory.

The end of the movie also didn’t quite fit for me, I left the theatre with many questions. I did not find the end to be satisfying or wholesome. I surely found a loophole or two in it.

The movie is an entertaining thriller and will keep you engaged for its rather short run time. It is a good experience falling for the traps played out by Ghosh and scampering towards the final reveal. Yes the film kept me guessing through majority of its run time, but this movie is missable it is certainly not a must watch. I’m going with 3 stars.