Bombay Velvet Review: Going through Anurag Kashyap’s filmography the movie I was most looking forward to was Bombay Velvet because of all the things that have been said online like the movie was so bad and all that.
I still had hope because as I was watching Anurag Kashyap’s filmography he made so many good movies with very little budget.
Storyline
That rawness in his movies was something I have enjoyed so much. As an Anurag Kashyap fan when you know that he is getting a big budget and big stars to star in his movies you could not be more excited. it is natural to be excited and with this excitement, I sat down to watch Bombay Velvet.
The movie starts and we see Johnny played by Ranbir Kapoor as a kid growing up in Bombay slums and wanting to be a Bigshot—someone who wants everybody’s respect and money. Simultaneously we see Rosie played by Anushka Sharma as a little girl who runs away from her home to be free and do something she becomes a bar singer with the dream to be a model.
The story of Bombay Velvet revolves around these two. Johnny wants to be a big shot and falls in love with Rosie so what kind of consequences will he face and what will he have to give up for that?
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With these kinds of stories, the problem is we have seen them so many times so it all depends on the struggles of Johnny becoming a big shot. There were no big sacrifices he made in his childhood; the only thing was his relationship with his mother. They could have explored it more but they did not. And even when he grows up the things he does to get money do not affect him in any way.
Analysis
And even when the opportunity comes to him to be a big shot in the form of Khambatta played by Karan Johar that just happens without any sacrifices. And even further when Rosie died, I was a bit surprised but that also turned out to be a plot twist.
That felt so lame like using a plot twist from the 80s. When I think about that twist it would have been better if Rosie died that would have been a character development for Johnny. That emotional connection with Johnny was missing.
The Characters were written badly (I cannot believe I am saying this in an Anurag Kashyap movie) but the performances were good. Ranbir was good along with Anushka Sharma. Karan Johar was good at some parts but ok in others his character made some decisions that felt so off the mark for his character. But the most unutilized actor was Kay Kay Menon as Inspector Vishwas he was never in a movie.
I mean in the previous Anurag Kashyap movies Kay Kay Menon used to be a solid character no matter the screen time. But this time it did not work out. If his character was given a little bit more screen time the last scene of his throwing his hat could have been the hard-hitting scene.
Looking back on the box office response Bombay Velvet got when it was released, the audience was so harsh on it. The movie has some good points like the production design, the acting, and the chemistry between Jhonny and Rosie.
Verdict
The fact that the movie was 3.5 hours long but they trimmed down most of the intimate scenes between Jhonny and Rosie, and to get a UA certificate they made it 2.5 hours long was not how the director Anurag Kashyap wanted his movie to be released. I hope that in the future, if possible, Anurag Kashyap will release the director cut of Bombay Velvet.
Review By: Aditya Ingale
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