This poorly paced film is too dull to be a drama and lacks the hallmarks (or suspense) of a thriller, notes Sukanya Verma.
Bob Biswas can’t remember.
Sounds like a fun idea for a spin-off about a middle-aged insurance agent moonlighting as a cold-blooded hitman in Calcutta.
Back in 2012 when we first met him as Saswata Chatterjee in Sujoy Ghosh’s film. Kahaanihe left us stunned by his casual approach to violence.
It came as a real shock when an ordinary 9 to 5 office worker, humiliated by his boss at work, ran over a harmless old lady a few hours later.
Despite this, Bob is a model of composure. There is no transformation, no terrible background assessments indicating a split personality.
Rather, he greets his prey sweetly and hilariously points out that she is using a wig before proceeding to kill the next person on his list.
Saswata’s brilliant portrayal of such a dark, unnerving character endeared us to his dispassion in an unforgettable way.
Fan favorite creation Sujoy Ghosh returns in an origin story directed by his daughter Diya Annapurna in the fairy tale of the same name for which he received credit for story and writing.
As the new face of Bob Biswas, Abhishek Bachchan shrewdly uses his character’s amnesia to his advantage, masking his own inexperience, calmly exploring life, its history, until he masters it enough to make it his own.
What’s not so subtle is Bachchan’s conscious effort to replicate the physicality of Bob Biswas, which is paunchy, bald, puffy-faced. He doesn’t seem as organic as Saswata.
The only person Bob can scare or scare is Bob himself.
As soon as Abhishek understands this, the comparison stops.
Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for this sluggish film, too dull for drama and devoid of the hallmarks (or intrigue) of a thriller.
Bob Biswas lost his memory in an accident.
But his wife Mary (an agitated Chitrangda Singh) and kids, Benny (Ronit Arora), a schoolboy son, and Mini (Samara Tijori), a stepdaughter studying for her medical entrance exams, don’t make a fuss about it and go. business, as usual.
Bob travels through his past life and present, interacting with family and acquaintances, priests and police, only to realize that a tiger never changes its stripes.
Killing comes naturally to him.
Between his loose connections on the home front and a hitman digging up a plot pointing to a police-drug mafia connection, there’s something about the attention-boosting blue pill in the marketplace targeting university campuses and an arms dealer (the mesmerizing Paran Bandhopadhyay) running a pharmacy like cover for your John Wick– as a business.
There are endless story arcs and sub-plots about unsafe jobs, school bullies, career pressure, hidden robberies, remorse, drug addiction, karma, blah blah blah as far as the eye can see, and yet nothing significant happens in the supremely boring Universe Bob Biswas.
For a story set in Kolkata, there’s almost no flavor, and greasy Hakka noodles Dhonu (Pavbitra Rabha) just doesn’t fit.
Many prominent figures in the Bengali film industry, such as Paran Bandhopadhyay, Barun Chanda, Rajatava Datta, appear fleetingly and speak words of wisdom in roles that do little to reflect their immense talent.
In just seven scenes Kahaani, Bob Bees was inspired by a sense of myth and mystery built solely on simplicity and shocking value. But after diving too deep into his cult, without any exciting information to share, the Goshas turn the menacing figure into a mockery.
Bob Biswas starts as a study of strangeness.
But the pointless deconstruction of his morality, the obviousness of his narrative, the clumsy connection of the dots, and the utter confusion into which the characters and their destinies plunge for foolish rewards can be summed up more ruefully than whimsically.
Bob Biswas broadcasts on ZEE5.
Rediff Rating:
