Bawaal Review: Varun Dhawan, Janhvi Kapoor Shine In A Love Story That Stretches Yet Sensitively Uses WW II References
It's worth a watch!
3.5 / 5
Shot across Mumbai, Kanpur, Lucknow, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Warsaw, Kraków and other parts of Poland, Janhvi Kapoor and Varun Dhawan starrer romantic drama film Bawaal is set to release on Amazon’s OTT platform Prime Video on July 21. Directed by Nitesh Tiwari and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and Ashwini Iyer Tiwari, this film revolves around a newly-wed couple as their marriage hits rock bottom but a trip to Europe changes things when they start learning about the bone-chilling facts of World War II. While the film was initially slated for a theatrical release, it was later decided that Bawaal would be released worldwide on the streaming platform. Considering the sensitive narrative of the film also deals with World War II and speaks of dictator Adolf Hitler, I decided to watch it and share my detailed review of the same. So, without further ado, let’s dive in.
The Story Of Bawaal
Bawaal revolves around Lucknow’s well-known history teacher, Ajju bhaiya aka Ajay Dixit (played by Varun Dhawan) and his wife Nisha Dixit (played by Janhvi Kapoor). Ajju is known to focus more on appearances and less on the realities of life but his life gets complicated when he ties the knot with Nisha who happens to have epilepsy. Despite knowing about her condition, Ajju marries her to keep up his appearance but when he witnesses Nisha’s epilepsy fits on the day of the marriage, he’s left shocked. And then begins the trouble in their fresh out of mandap marriage. As Ajay struggles to come to terms with his marriage, he treats his wife in a disrespectful and demeaning manner. Amid all this, the history teacher lands in trouble after he slaps a student who happens to be a relative of a political leader in town. In order to save himself from the drama, he knits a fresh story to maintain his image of a good teacher and heads to Europe with his wife Nisha to explore the World War II monuments and virtually teach the students about the war. But the trip soon brings the couple close as they learn more about how the war affected people, their relationships and their families and learn life lessons from it.
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Performances Are Bawaal
Varun Dhawan as Ajay Dixit aka Ajju Bhaiya: Varun Dhawan has always been a great actor and it’s safe to say that the actor has completely and absolutely outdone himself in this romantic drama. From the light-hearted humour to the serious and painfully emotional moments, the actor has played his part flawlessly. The actor made it easy to love Ajay Dixit for his fun side while making me passionately hate his love for his “image”.
Janhvi Kapoor as Nisha Dixit: Much like Varun Dhawan, Janhvi Kapoor has also delivered an outstanding performance. While I’m not a fan of her dialogue delivery, the actress did not fail to impress this time around with her work. She played Nisha Dixit with honesty and made me feel invested in her story, in her emotions and more importantly, in her journey as she struggles with her marriage to Ajay.
Manoj Pahwa as Ajay Dixit’s Father Mr Dixit: Once again Manoj Pahwa flaunts his acting prowess as he plays the role of a strict yet loving father. And don’t take him for a fool because Mr Dixit knows his son inside out!
Anjuman Saxena as Ajay Dixit’s Mother Mrs Dixit: Anjuman Saxena’s Mrs Dixit doesn’t have much to offer apart from comic relief here and there. It is evident that the actress has given the role her all as she comes out as a typically adorable desi mom.
The supporting cast including the kids who play the roles of students of Ajay Dixit have done their 100% to provide support and further the story. Mukesh Tiwari and Gunjan Joshi play their roles as MLA and Maths teacher Mr Pandey well. Despite the little screen time, the actors manage to make a mark.
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Verdict: Emotional But Entertaining Romantic Drama Amped Up By Performance
Let’s start with what works for this film. Varun Dhawan’s character arc is emotional and mindblowing and the actor plays it to near perfection. After all his light-hearted roles in romantic comedy films, this screen outing was a risk worth taking and the actor aced his role. Janhvi Kapoor’s performance was noteworthy. I’ll be honest, I’m not a big fan of the actress but she manages to hold your attention every time she’s on the screen. More importantly, she has played the role of Nisha Dixit, a woman who has epilepsy and from what I’ve seen on the screen, it doesn’t look like the actress had an easy time enacting the epilepsy attacks and yet, she does not falter at all.
The music is exceptional with soundtracks composed by Mithoon, Tanishk Baghi, Akashdeep Sengupta and lyrics penned by Kausar Munir, Manoj Muntashir, Shloke Lal and Arafat Mehmood. FYI, ‘Tumhe Kitna Pyaar Karte’ is an earworm that is tough to get over. In terms of cinematography, the film fares well. From moments of panic in the Auschwitz Concentration Camp to shots of Janhvi Kapoor’s clenched toes as she gets an epilepsy attack in the gas chamber, everything about the film has been shot and edited beautifully.
Now, if I were to be brutally honest, the script does not have much to offer in terms of the story which focuses on a troubled marriage. But it’s the learning graph of the characters that makes it interesting. Varun Dhawan’s Ajay Dixit takes a trip to Europe to set the maahaul to save his career after he fails to be a good history teacher and lands in trouble for slapping a kid. It’s the problems in his professional life that propel his life and love story forward but what keeps the viewers engaged is how he not only learns life lessons and understands the struggles faced by people in World War II but also teaches it to his students well. And more importantly, these very struggles make him realise the error of his ways.
For me, it was the moment where he comes across the place where the most feared dictator Adolf Hilter died and realises that the place is just a simple car park and there is no monument. At that moment, Ajay Dixit realises that he has spent his life building an “image” that is worth nothing. Another such moment is when he is in a World War II museum and sees a small bag that was packed by someone during the war which had nothing but essentials and mementoes or things that had emotions attached to them. He then imagines himself in the situation where he only had 30 minutes to pack his essentials and sees himself removing clothes from his suitcase and packing his memories with his family and his wife Nisha. Carefully directed by Nitesh Tiwari, the film manages to showcase the World War II references with immense sensitivity without trivialising it.
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Further, it is the story of Ajay Dixit’s redemption after a history lesson teaches him to value life and love. The makers have kept the film light-hearted and fun in the first half, followed by some serious life-changing lessons in the second half that focus on many issues like the education system that is all about ratta maarna, the societal pressure to keep up an “image” and how disorders like epilepsy are looked down upon in our society among other things.
This film is a full package with loads of comedy, satire and punchlines that will make you laugh and emotional moments that will make your chest constrict and your eyes water. And you definitely won’t miss the cliché Gujarati family on the flight with their dhokla, khakhra and fafda and the embroidered and floral printed shirts and whatnot. Now, ideally, we’d all be offended by the clichés but Nitesh Tiwari has played it well by ensuring that the clichés are there for some comic relief without making it seem offensive because in the end it was the rajma chawal packed by a Gujarati man that saved Ajay and Nisha from hunger in a foreign country!
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Coming to what does not work for this film, the first half of this 2 hours 18 minutes long film Bawaal has been used to set the background and weave the story of Ajay and Nisha’s marriage which seems rather stretched. Despite the comedy, drama, romance and punchlines, the first half does not justify the time it takes up without furthering the story too much which then makes the second half seem too cramped with information. While Nitesh Tiwari has carefully weaved the World War II narratives with the love story, in several moments it seems overwhelming and unnecessary. Many moments of being transported back to The Holocaust like the moment in Auschwitz concentration camp and gas chambers were justified but several moments seemed unnecessary much like the scene where Varun Dhawan’s Ajay Dixit is transported to Normandy’s Omaha Beach during Operation Overlord during World War II as he listens to an audio guide narrating the incidents.
One big red flag in Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor starrer Bawaal was the moment when a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp tells his story which is solely focused on his relationship with his wife. It seemed stretched and forced because more than a survivor’s tale it sounded like a story created only to further Ajay and Nisha’s love story and nothing more. We really wouldn’t have missed if we the makers skipped this bit or were a little more sensitive with the matter.
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Having said that, considering how the narrative has been weaved with loads of fun, comedy, drama and balanced with heavy emotions and romance, I’m rating Bawaal 3.5 out of 5 stars. I have to say I was sceptical about how the makers would handle the storytelling with the World War II narrative but Nitesh Tiwari managed to do it beautifully and created a nearly flawless story making it worth a watch.
FYI, Bawaal is currently streaming on Prime Video.
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