A little mute girl from a Pakistan village gets lost on her return back from a trip to India. In Kurukshetra, she meets Pawan – a devout Hanuman Bakth – who is in the midst of a challenge posed by his lover’s father. In trying to discover her parents, he develops an unshakable bond with the kid. He tries to get into Pakistan through a path righteous to his conscience and later, with a smart Pakistani news reporter for company and makes the search, a story that captures the imagination of the public in both countries.
Language:
Hindi
Running Time:
159 min
Rating:
U/A
Release date:
17 July 2015
Directed by:
Kabir Khan
Produced by:
Salman Khan
Rockline Venkatesh
Written by:
Kabir Khan
K. V. Vijayendra Prasad
Parveez Shaikh
Kausar Munir
Starring:
Salman Khan
Kareena Kapoor
Harshaali Malhotra
Nawazuddin Siddiqui
Meher Vij
Kamlesh Gill
Om Puri
Music by:
Pritam
Julius Packiam
Cinematography by:
Aseem Mishra
Editing by:
Rameshwar S. Bhagat
Distributed by:
Eros International

What’s Hot

  • Director Kabir Khan & ‘Star’ Salman Khan deserve the success that the film has had for the manner in which they seem to have trusted in Vijayendra Prasad’s story/screenplay and let it direct the cast and not vice versa.
  • Salman Khan has played his role quite well displaying his immense screen presence and fine comic timing & he deserves credits for side-stepping and letting the kid & Nawazuddin own the show in the two halves. The star of the film is Harshaali Malhotra who plays the adorable kid Shahida. Credits again to the director for using her expressions at the right places for the right duration to get the audiences connected to the duo.
  • The supporting cast is pillared by the stellar showing of Nawazuddin Siddiqui who brings to screen a character based on a true story – That of news reporter Chand Nawab. Kareena, Sharat Saxena & Om Puri (in a short yet sharp role) do their work just fine.
  • Dialogues deserve a mention for bringing in a lot of India/Pakistan, Hindu/Muslim touches without playing deterrent to the base storyline.
  • In Pritam’s music, the foot-tapping Chicken Song and Adnan Sami’s Qawwali evoke the relevant emotions. Julius Packiam’s background score presents itself to the forefront in the Hotel stunt & Climax scenes. Aseem Mishra’s camera & Rameshwar Bhagat’s editing carry us vividly through the montages in the Pakistan segment.

What’s Not

  • The film takes its own time to warm up & that lets down the first hour or so , the predictability of scenes not helping the cause either.
  • The same cricket match (and same over) is shown LIVE on two separate occasions split by 6 years & both being prominent scenes, such a noticeable error is inexcusable.
  • Even though the film is not your typical Salman Khan vehicle, it doesn’t breakaway all shackles to be termed a revelation. There is only so much you can deviate from a star-driven formula film.

Badges

Verdict

Verdict Stamp

Through Bajrangi Bhaijaan, its makers have proved that one can look beyond the excuse of having to make a tactless story for a commercial star & fit that star into a story that can be emotional and have ample scope for at least two other lead characters. But don’t expect a classic – there are constraints!