Sunday 4 October 2015

Film Review- Bangistan



 

Not Enough Bang For Your Bucks
Film: Bangistan
Cast: Riteish Deshmukh, Pulkit Samrat, Kumud Mishra, Jacqueline Fernandez
Directed by: Karan Anshuman
Duration: 2 hrs 15 mins
Rating: * * 

Like many countless other films, Bangistan also has a promising plot somewhere in there but it never realizes it potential. It has a tough time finding its footing as it oscillates between comedy and some serious sermonizing and the two have to be handled with great care like a chef mixing ingredients to make a dish. 

There are a few laughs and chuckles but for most parts it lacks fizz. Religion seems to be one of the latest buzzing topics in Bollywood, particularly Hindu Muslim unity. Bangistan also tries to make a point that religion is not something that particularly enhances lives but it doesn’t really push the envelope while dealing with the subject. 

In this country called Bangistan, Riteish Deshmukh and Pulkit Samrat play a hard lined Muslim and Hindu respectively. They land up in Krakow, Poland for the world religion conference and though they are on a similar mission, their identities are reversed.  

That gives some scope for a few gags and some satire but the film never really takes off.   Jacqueline Fernandez plays a bar girl who is presumed to be Christian but turns out to be an atheist, pity there isn’t much elaboration on that. 

To be fair the script is an equal opportunity offender but sadly the proceedings are drab. Anshuman, a film critic turned director has a tough time juggling between main stream Bollywood song and dance routines and making sense of the story on hand. But in what appears to be a tribute to Kubrick’s The Shining, there’s also a scene in the restroom with red colored walls.  

There is nothing much to harp about as far as the cast is concerned, Pulkit Samrat puts his best foot forward while the otherwise reliable Riteish Deshmukh fails to make much of an impression here. 

In sum, Bangistan doesn’t give enough bang for your bucks. 

Published in The Navhind Times on 9th Aug 2015


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