BOBBY JASOOS MOVIE REVIEW

Vidya Balan has been the poster girl of female oriented scripts in Hindi cinema over the past 3 years or so as she has proven her capabilities in films such as The Dirty Picture and Kahaani which also set the cash registers ringing. Bobby Jasoos is another movie which hopes to cash in on the Vidya magic.

Vidya plays a not-so-young Muslim woman belonging to a large, orthodox household in Moghalpura, Hyderabad. She is an ambitious but smalltime private detective, whose roaming ways don’t entertain her father one bit. After struggling with low-profile clients, she nets a big fish and starts earning handsome amount of money too. But with time, she realizes that her rich client has a shady side to him and her conscience starts coming in the way of her duties.

Vidya’s much publicized makeovers would make us smile and she pulls off all the garbs and looks with the ease of a pro. Aside from her, there is little to talk about Bobby Jasoos, a movie which moves at a sluggish pace and feels longer than its running time of just over 2 hours.

Till around the interval point, the movie is set up nicely and when we expect the big thrilling reveal in the second half, the film doesn’t offer that. The climax becomes muddled, melodramatic and is sort of an ode to fatherhood. Whether it would bring about the desired effect on the audience is highly questionable.

The different romantic equation between Vidya Balan and Ali Fazal can be counted as another plus point of the movie. Ali looks seriously handsome and has a certain charm about him. Though he looks much younger to Vidya, he performs capably and doesn’t seem to have been overawed by Vidya’s powerful screen presence. But the romance number featuring the two was totally unwarranted.

There are more good actors in the frame in the form of Supriya Pathak and Rajendra Gupta, playing the role of Bobby’s parents. There are a few good scenes between parents and their children in the movie. The traditional Muslim way of life, their customs, beliefs and their attire have been portrayed authentically.

We get to see good candid shots of Hyderabad and the hustle-bustle of the city, through DoP Vishal Sinha’s eyes. The segment showcasing the famous Biriyani joints in the city is lip-smacking. As expected, the Charminar has also been shown beautifully. Bobby Jasoos ought to perform particularly well in this city. But the music by Shantanu Moitra is a downer.

On the whole, we have an average fare which doesn't live up to its pre-release billing.