Bawaal Review: This Janhvi Kapoor, Varun Dhawan Film Is Bawaal in Hindi & Disaster In English

This Varun Dhawan, Janhvi Kapoor film directed by Nitesh Tiwari mixes space and time; from WWII backdrop with a modern day middle-class family setup and naturally the result is - 'Bawaal'.

New Delhi: 'Bawaal' on Prime Video is an actual disaster. This Varun Dhawan, Janhvi Kapoor film directed by National Award winning director Nitesh Tiwari mixes space and time, from WWII backdrop in Europe with a modern day middle-class family and school setup in Lucknow and naturally the result is as the name of the film says- 'Bawaal'.

If the story of the film had time travel, forgotten memory, or a decent subplot about epilepsy( yes, you heard that right, lots going on in the film) or personal loss, I would understand the film; but the almost ridiculous and ambitious idea of correlating the life of a History teacher in Lucknow to the horrors of  World War II and the Holocaust is almost frightening, if not trivializing.

One can have a really hard time understanding 'Bawaal' and making something of it. It felt that the filmmaker tried too hard to justify this idea of a plot to even himself.

In 'Bawaal', this is done by explaining and teaching what we as humans can draw life lessons from history after all what history teaches us, 'apni purani galtion se seekhna' as Mukesh Tiwari (who plays the role of an MLA) says in the film.

But, the expanse of imagination used to bring such a story idea into reality is just mind-shuddering. 

Perhaps, one may be labelled a conservationist for not accepting a new way of understanding history or as some have suggested, a kind of informative film you can watch with your children, but what does 'Bawaal' suggest in the end?

That, Varun's almost simultaneous comparison to Hitler is given a change-of-heart when he accepts Janhvi's character's reality; of a woman living with epilepsy? Or that, trivialising a phase of 20th century history and patronizingly giving life lessons to 13-year-olds in a Lucknow school is okay? Is Ajay Dixit's coming-of-age transformation only possible after he has been through the grind of understanding the actual history of Holocaust, and the list goes on.

'Bawaal' is a story about a history teacher, Ajay Dixit ( played by Varun Dhawan) who, being an average student all his life, has created an image inside his head to stand up to, to maintain no matter what the reality or how hurtful he can be to others.

On the other hand, Janhvi Kapoor plays a business family girl Nisha, well-educated, independent, beautiful but with only one drawback, which is that she suffers from epilepsy. 

These two characters are married and at the wedding, Janhvi gets an epileptic attack. What follows after is what 'Bawaal' is about.

Nowhere in 'Bawaal' is epilepsy given a decent space; the two times it happens, it's used as a device to further the narrative and nothing else.

On the other hand, Ajay Dixit undergoes a transformation and change of heart to make him a more tolerant man who accepts the reality of life as opposed to the image of what could/should be after learning from the WWII history which Nisha teaches him in Europe.

Despite the biggest story anomaly, Varun Dhawan, Janhvi Kapoor starrer 'Bawaal' does nail a lot of things. 

Music of Bawaal

One for instance, is the background score. The music of 'Bawaal' compliments the film's narrative. It is funky in places especially where it mixes opera with desi soundtrack ( one genuinely good comic scene in the film despite feeling inspired from an episode from Mr. Bean). 

At other times, the score is predictable, suggestive and yet never overarching. 

The two songs in the film also fit well, one as the typical opening credits song and the other, a romantic track in the second half.

Experiment with form in Bawal

Another thing that the filmmaker does well in 'Bawaal' is some experiment with form.

As audiences, one can appreciate the black and white sequences replaying key historical moments ( like, Omaha Beach Landing in Normandy, Auschwitz and gas chambers) interlaced with the lives of characters on screen. 

Scenes of emotion and intensity are taken in mid-shots taken from a side, almost never indulging in the emotions of the characters in closeups; in a way suggesting more than there is to it. 

Another noticeable layering in 'Bawaal' was using places like Paris, Amsterdam and Auschwitz, Berlin to suggest the state of relationship between the two characters. 

When in Paris, there is romance; in Amsterdam, some fun and Nisha and Ajay's relationship is tested in Berlin with the final culmination in Auschwitz.

An interesting scene is where an Auschwitz survivor breaks down recounting the story of his wife at the camp; even there Tiwari uses no closeup. 

But, this problem scene stood out for three reasons. 

One, as mentioned earlier, a distance from characters in the film and two, as pointed out before, this looks like Tiwari trying to justify his ambitious plot by taking this scene and humanizing the struggle that no matter what the horrors in magnitude of the Holocaust; to the people who survived the Holocaust, it was the small things in life that mattered. ( A big problematic statement to make)

Nevertheless, this one black and white sequence towards the end of the film in which Nisha and Ajay imagine themselves in a gas chamber and Nisha gets an epileptic fit, is problematic on so, so many fronts; it is just heartbreaking.

Performances In Bawal

Varun Dhawan plays Ajay Dixit with conviction. 

As this everyday desi middle-class typical alpha husband, ill-informed about many things in life, Ajay is a character shade we have seen in many Bollywood movies now. However, the brutally honest evil in his character is a nuance to relish.

Janhvi Kapoor's character is not-as-well etched out as Ajay's as the film is primarily his story. However, Janhvi does justice to her character as well.

Underutilised actors like Mukesh Tiwari, Anjuman Saxena, Manoj Pahwa are also good.

Conclusion

It looks like Nitesh Tiwari took the dialogue 'mahaul aisa banao, ki sirf mahaul yaad rahe, end result nahi' too seriously. In creating a film set on the premise of World War II backdrop, and mixing it with the temporality of this day's Lucknow; the filmmaker forgot what the final film would look, feel and suggest.

Perhaps, many would differ after watching 'Bawaal', some might say that it is a sweet film that Hollywoodizes a desi middle-class family template Bollywood has been churning out for the last few years.

Some may say that 'Bawaal' gives an  informative lesson on life by drawing from WWII history, a film even children can see. But, it's better that this time, these 'children' for whom Tiwari has made many films do not take 'Bawaal' seriously.