Bombay Velvet

"Bombay Velvet", Anurag Kashyap's most ambitious project riding on 90 crores, based on the "Mumbai Fables" by Gyan Prakash. It starts just after the Indian independence and tells the story of how the seven islands become Bombay, the reclamation, corrupt politician, organized crime, Jazz cafés and love story of Johnny Balraj and Rosie.

Balraj comes to Bombay with his mother and wants to become "Big Shot" and he can go to any length to achieve his dreams.

We all admire Anurag Kashyap for the cinematic brilliance and he has taken the affliction of taking the Indian Cinema to the next level. We all have seen "Black Friday", "Dev D","Gulaal", "GOW 1&2" and "Ugly". He is a man with panache and his movies deal with burning issues and fantastic subjects. However, "Bombay Velvet" fell really short on all aspects, it never embraces you as a viewer and it never connects with you.

It has a world-class art direction, awesome sets of Bombay erected in Sri Lanka, fantastic cinematography and CGI. Every nuance of 60's Bombay has been put to the detail. The background score is mostly loud but some songs compliment the scenes. It runs for 150 delirious minutes.

However, the writing is never convincing, it tries to be "Godfather", "Goodfellas" and "Scarface" altogether. The culmination is pretty sour as we never understand the sudden changes. There are many subplots which do not add anything to the story and left open.

Ranbir's character is powerful but it is confused between a gangster and a lover. Anushka Sharma doesn't have much to do except lip sync and some exaggerated scenes. Karan Johar looks phony as a slick and stylish villain but he is flat throughout the movie. Why did he laugh so much on the word "Tender", it looked awful? Satyadeep Mishra has done a good job. Kay Kay impresses as always in a small role.

We could also see Varun Grover's stand-up comedy presentation in the café.

This could have been a way better film if some more time would have been invested in writing because it has some instances of being a masterpiece.

While a lot of reviews have talked about Bombay Velvet being a disappointment (it is considering Anurag Kashyap's stellar filmography), I want to discuss what it could have done to have fared better. The biggest problem - Romance, easily the weakest aspect of the film, the story of Bombay Velvet is overambitious and tries to do a lot of things and romance spoils the entire dish. There is good in Bombay Velvet, the story of a small time crook trying to rise up the ranks to become a "bigshot" is endearing but what's irritating is that while Johnny Balraj wants to be a bigshot he is illogical, falls in love with wrong woman and doesn't realize that it's bigshot or the girl. Romance plot between the wrong woman and the young crook rising up the ranks is so clichéd and badly done it leaves a bad taste in your mouth, you can't help but think that AK could have done better because HE HAS DONE BETTER. AK has done better gangster films than this (Gangs Of Wasseypur) and even better romance films (Dev D) how can such a master of both the genres fall so flat on his face while integrating romance into the gangster genre? Crime aspect often gets clumsy too but the romance is dead weight and should have been a side story not the entire film. I liked the corporate-crime aspect of the film it was interesting, I would like to mention that Johnny Balraj's awe while watching with the classic Roaring Twenties was easily the best scene of the film, the sets are gorgeous, JB's frustration at being nothing more than a hired goon is also well done, Karan Johar's gay villain would have been better if there was no Anushka Sharma and he was more blatant towards his attraction towards Blaraj that would have made him the romantic tension and the villain which would have led to a far better film. The actors are all decent, all do well but are let down by a messy almost borderline 1980's cheesy plot which was not too bad till the interval and then it takes a big nosedive in quality. This could have been a bigshot so much failed potential because there are scenes which are well done and show the brilliance of AK but the ludicrous and predictable plot let it down, while better than most Hindi movies it's not bad but it's still a disappointment. I think AK is more suited to non commercial cinema with smaller names I think there was pressure on him to turn BV into a romantic film first and a gangster film second which ultimately led to it's demise. Second Hindi period film after Detective Byomkesh Bakshy which was a letdown as far as I am concerned. P.S.- I was very angry with how they wasted Kay Kay Menon, easily the best actor in the entire cast and one of the best actors in the country and he gets such a small role.

I read a lot of negative reviews and jokes about this movie.Saw it just to see how bad it really is.I am shocked! This was one of the best movies I have ever watched. From the sets, cinematography to amazing performances from all actors this movie was a treat to watch.

I loved everything including Karan Johar as a badass gangster!

This movie is way better that usual brainless garbage that comes out of Bollywood and deserves to appreciated not ridiculed the way it has been.

A day before watching Bombay Velvet i saw Brazil 2nd time. First time watching it was like okay something is happening on big sets and the director is trying to show me some world of his imagination and in the end i thought it is pretentious, the first time i saw it i was not exposed to much of cinema. So i was getting bored and had nothing to do so i thought lets watch it. The second time i was blown away and was like this one of the best films ever made. The same fate it had when it was released as i have heard.

Now coming to Bombay Velvet, let me be clear its not the usual narrative which is seen in Kashyap's movies. The narrative to be honest is like Brazil but its Brazil with historical contexts of Bombay the city of dreams as it is called in India, what it was, how it came to its current shape. It doesn't have dream like or dream sequences like Brazil. I mean Brazil how the characters are detailed, how the story moves forward and how the background and atmosphere plays a big role in the film With the historical contexts the film shows a person who has dreams and aspirations and how the people in his life are introduced and how in the changing shape of the city his life also changes and problems he starts facing and what he gets involved with.

Its a dream project of director and he has invested a lot of time in the film. But when it finally got released it was not able to connect with the audience as they were not ready with the sudden change and the new form of narrative which is not for everybody as Brazil cannot be liked by everyone. It has to face a lot of thrashing on the Internet.

This film is not flawless as i feel Brazil was. There are some flaws and a bit of exaggeration at the end but it's OK as rest of the film overpowers it. The performances are great but the film really gets you into the world like Brazil does and keeps you holding if you know what you are watching and have an open mind.

Right now as of 17-05-15 this film turned out to be a disaster and people wont like me for this review but in future or someone who has discovered Anurag Kashyap or will do and look at this film and maybe feels a bit let down as you have created an image of Kashyap's style or the narration, re watch it with an open mind when you get time, you will love it. I guarantee! Also who hated it and felt it bored them to death try it again but with an open mind, you will understand that you misjudged and misunderstood the film

Spoiler free.

Remember back in 1999, when George Lucas (almost) completely missed out on what made his Star Wars films so great, with Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace?

As much as I'd hate to admit it, the same case applies for Anurag Kashyap and this movie. Sure, it is ambitious, the set pieces are huge and wonderful, the production values are pretty high, and the film never looks cheap visually. Kashyap has also injected some notable tricks of the director's trade into this film.

But Star Wars was never really about how great it looked, it was about the story that drove it through. I rest my case with Bombay Velvet. The film looks really, REALLY well-made, but the screenplay just doesn't add up. It's glaringly obvious how bad the film *sounds* at some points, due to the below-average writing.

Next time you make a 'studio movie for a commercial market', try on focusing on the 'studio script' more than of the commercial ambition. Until then, Kashyap will remain one of my favorite directors of Indian cinema without a doubt. This movie may not exactly embody that belief, but his other works do, and it's safe to say that A.K. simply took a misstep with this movie. A Phantom Menace, so as to say.

Just don't go into Attack of the Clones territory. Please.