Bangistan

Another lame Bollywood attempt to support the arbitrarily coined notion of Hindu terror. The motivation for the plot for why any Hindu would go to Poland to blast a human bomb is ridiculously weak.

It feels bad to see such good movies not getting their due, I watched this movie very late from its release but I am happy that I did. From the day I saw promos of this movie, I so badly wanted to see this. The imagination and art direction of this movie is amazing, something really really innovative and new. The whole concept, cinematography, costumes, dialogues, locations and acting, everything is commendable. I accept this movie may not be funny as those brainless Bollywood comedies rather it is more subtle with genuine smile on your face throughout the movie. As I watched this I didn't feel bore for even a second. I wanted this movie to go on and on, there are several small small yet thought provoking lines that shows the brilliance of the writer.

I would recommend this movie to any movie lover, watch it for its simplicity, sensibility, and subtle comedy. You wont come out laughing but surely thinking and smiling :)

As an idea it really feels exciting to assume a film about two amateurish suicide bombers from a fictitious (Indian) land, planning to sabotage a World Peace Conference held in Poland. And the excitement increases further when in this comic plot, the Hindu bomber poses as a Muslim and the Muslim one portrays himself as a Hindu, trying to fool the authorities and participants together. However as experienced many times before, the plot that looks like a killer one on the paper doesn't turn out to be anything even close to average or fairly enjoyable when transformed into a film unfortunately.

Beginning on a positive note, revealing the hidden secret behind every communal riot happening in the city, BANGISTAN commences as a political satire with all Indian characters in the script, but then slowly gets into the mold of a western comedy, unable to make any kind of substantial impact on the viewer due to more than one reason. Apart from all (unexpectedly) over the top performances, it has many weird sequences like a hotel room (in Poland) with a big hole in the roof connecting it with the upper floor, a goat brought in the same hotel for Eid without the owner's permission, an over- clever Hindi speaking taxi driver being the informer, the two Russian/Chinese eccentric bomb suppliers with their hidden laboratories and the two foreign police officers behaving like fools. The dialogues that ought to be the backbone of such message oriented satires, have been written pretty casually with only few enjoyable lines coming after long gaps.

Having a decent opening 15 minutes, the pointless script keeps progressing with all forced, supposed to be funny moments post interval too. And then it eventually comes to an end with a long, preachy unimpressive climax that is unable to convey any kind of social message of 'One Religion' to the viewers. In short, though director Karan Anshuman might have had all good intentions to make an entertaining comedy with a message of World peace, the film fails to deliver the same and disappoints badly. In other words, following a western pattern of satirical comedy featuring all Indian characters, BANGISTAN keeps hanging in between and remains far away from impactful attempts such as the recent FILMISTAAN and more.

In the performances, Ritesh Deshmukh tries his best but also looks like uninterested and unconvinced with the content throughout its two hours of duration. On the other hand, Pulkit Samrat puts in much more energy than required going over the top and so do the actors in the supporting cast, particularly the hamming Arya Babbar. Moreover its really confusing to see Jacqueline in such a poor role of a local waitress doing simply nothing in the film other than providing the glamour.

Summing up, BANGISTAN has a poor direction, below average soundtrack but a better cinematography that unsuccessfully tries to give a significant message of 'One Religion of the World' to its audience.

However mentioning its only merit, there is a thoughtful song coming towards the end with the lyrics,

"Mujhko Kuchh Bhi Pata Nahin Tha, Waqt Bada Hi Achha Tha, Mera Koi Dharam Nahin Tha, Jab Main Chhota Bacha Tha"

At this point in the Hindi film industry, when it has become so easy to follow a convention and earn a few million, it's refreshingly stimulating to watch a movie that is not only formula-free and original but also is brilliantly made. Its clever cinematography, witty, dry humour (every scene packed with it) and inspiration-driven plot (just shy of being preachy or cloying) make the film a much-needed breath of fresh air. And every breath is, of course, laced with laughter thanks to the satirical approach to serious topics, with a sharp lack of insensitivity. Heavy irony, cheeky puns, and visual humour are only a few of the myriad devices employed with such skill that the only real let-down of the movie becomes its cringe-worthily, predictable end (that I shall very carefully not reveal)- which is the reason I scored this work of near-genius an 8 instead of a greater rank.

By the promos, one expects a hilarious laugh riot which sounded amazing, extremely novel and different. But what the film offers is a big let-down. The film runs with a snail's pace. The director is unclear whether he wants to deliver his message through humour and satire or moralizing lecturing.

Initially Bangistan promises a bang and showers hints of satire in almost every scene, dialogue and frame; but runs out of impressive ideas and additions soon after the successful take-off. In this supposedly comedy film, there are just handful of moments that bring a smile on your face and most of the time, you just stare in horror at the pointless stuff happening in front of you. The film's music somehow is a relief.

Riteish Deshmukh was the eye among the blind. Though he was confused most of the times. Pulkit Samrat was the epitome of over-acting. Jacqueline Fernandez's role was a mere blink & miss in 3-4 scenes & 1 song. She was not required at all & was used as a prop. Aarya Babbar was funny in 1 or 2 scenes. The performances of rest were unsound.

The problem with ‪‎Bangistan‬ is that it tries to be too many things at the same time. The film's promos promise a comedy however, the jokes soon start falling flat one after the other. Then the director suddenly decides to make a preachy film with a social message on religious harmony. It's ultimate undoing lies in its desperate lunge towards delivering a message in the climax (which was the saving grace).