Bombhaat Movie Review: A dull, rudder-less snooze-fest
With a slow and botched screenplay, this romantic sci-fi film bites off more than it can chew, and eventually leaves us confused and angry
Bombhaat is a film with one too many problems. It is the story of Vicky, played by Sai Sushanth Reddy, whose very birth spells misfortune to his parents. As he goes through the perils of an unlucky life, he holds on to science when he meets and befriends Dr Acharya, a scientist (played by Shishir Sharma). Vicky, eventually, also finds love in the form of his college mate Chaitra (Chandini Chowdary).
The plot shows promise up until this. Even putting aside the overused tropes, the comedy track, with Tanikella Bharani leading from the front, gives us hope. But then, we are soon introduced to the antagonists of the film – a mad-scientist, played by Makrand Deshpande, and a gangster named Dada (Vineet Kumar). This is where the film goes off the rails.
Director: Raghavendra Verma
Cast: Sai Sushanth Reddy, Chandini Chowdary, Simran Choudary, Tanikella Bharani
Streaming on: Amazon Prime
Writer Akshay Polla has chosen to not reveal anything about the conflict till more than half of runtime is past. And yet, he pushes all plotlines simultaneously, leaving us with absolutely no clue of where it is all heading. Is this a film about the fight between a do-gooder scientist and a mad one? Is this a love saga of an unfortunate man? What’s up with this gangster who enters and exits involuntarily? The story, after a lot of yawns, takes a turn towards a humanoid robot, and with the way it all pans out towards the end, we’re left speechless at why such an approach was even agreed upon.
There’s a quote by Alfred Hitchcock displayed at the beginning. It reads, “When drama begins, logic ends and when logic begins, drama ends.” If the director Raghavendra Verma was going for a satirical take on this, by adding multiple plots into the mix, he has failed spectacularly. Even the drama fails to make any impact.
Take for instance a certain car accident scene. A lead character dies in front of his daughter and the protagonist. As the killers approach, Vicky and the girl choose to hide behind a tree. Too many things happen, and yet there is no display of any sorrow or grief. Later on, we understand why the daughter didn’t shed a tear, but considering his character and the equation he shared with the deceased, it's baffling that Vicky also remains stone-faced.
The terrible song placements, meanwhile, add to our woes. The actors do the best they can but are impeded by the terrible writing, dialogues and lack of impactful characters.
A fight sequence in a parking lot is the final nail on the coffin. Even though watching Maya (Simran Choudhary) fight a gang of goons might bring out a quiet ‘wow’, the scene is an unnecessary one. When the fight eventually leads to a ‘huge reveal’, like Vicky, you might start questioning your stars and fortune.