Bamfaad Review: Why always the same story?

Everything about Ranjan Chandel's Bamfaad feels familiar, the performances, the setting, and even the conflict. There's hardly any surprise to be had here!

Bamfaad
On: Zee5
Director: Ranjan Chandel
Cast: Aditya Rawal, Shalini Pandey, Vijay Varma, Jatin Sarna
Rating:  

In Tamasha, filmmaker Imtiaz Ali raised the question- Why always the same story? And Tamasha was not the usual love story the trailer suggested it would turn out to be. A similar question could be asked to Anurag Kashyap. Manmarziyaan and Bombay Velvet were pleasant surprises and audacious choices but sadly failed to receive the recognition and response they deserved and he expected. Perhaps that's why he seems to have gone back to the genre that shaped him and gave his Cinema a voice- Noir.

Kashyap has presented this volatile love story that's nowhere close to being as dark as some of his previous works. It's been directed by Ranjan Chandel, who assisted him in Mukkabaaz, another story about ferociousness and fury. The battle of the protagonist was about love and career, in this drama, it's all about love and fragile egos. Paresh Rawal's son Aditya Rawal makes his debut as Nasir Jamal, a hot-headed ruffian who pretends as if he owns Allahabad, the city the tale is based in. South star Shalini Pandey (Arjun Reddy fame) and Vijay Varma essay Neelam and Jigar Fareedi, and as much as the three central characters attempt to infuse their roles with agony, a sense of familiarity plagues their conflicts.

Chandel, who has co-written the film with Hanzalah Shahid, chooses a template that has been flirted with many times before, more recently in the Marathi blockbuster Sairat. The plot begins to dig deeper once the chaos and cacophony between Jigar and Nasir intensify, and this face-off leads to multiple montages of chases, confrontations and even back-stabbing. There's a volatile love triangle at its centre and college politics and superiority complexes around. It's all very been-there-done-that.

Watch the trailer right here:

Every filmmaker is turned on by one genre that becomes his voice and vision in his career. Kashyap has nearly established the theme of the heartland in the new-age filmmaking. But unlike the Cinema of other directors, his is anything but sweet and saccharine. It's driven by grime and grit, and of course, tons of expletives. The biggest surprise in Bamfaad was the lack of a single cuss word. Characters are able to communicate without even feeling the need to unleash their vocabulary of expletives, something the filmmaker has often revelled in.

But that perhaps could be the only shocking moment while you watch this film that tries to twist the tried and tested formulaic that's now beginning to border on getting nauseous. Maybe it's time to explore the other exciting aspects of the heartland and not just its horrific realities.

Catch up on all the latest entertainment news and gossip here. Also, download the new mid-day Android and iOS apps.

Mid-Day is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@middayinfomedialtd) and stay updated with the latest news

"Exciting news! Mid-day is now on WhatsApp Channels Subscribe today by clicking the link and stay updated with the latest news!" Click here!