Bhaiyya Ji

Deepak Kingrani's story is routine. Deepak Kingrani's screenplay shows some flashes of novelty initially. But it soon turns out to be flawed. Deepak Kingrani's dialogues are okay but, in a few scenes, they are clapworthy. Apoorv Singh Karki's direction is average. To give credit where it's due, the first half has some arresting moments. One does feel the pain and anger when Ram Charan's world comes crashing down. The manner in which Ram Charan picks up the spade is massy and exciting. The use of the 'Bhaiyya Ji' symbol is unique and adds to the fun. Even the confrontation between Ram Charan and Chandrabhan Singh is memorable. However, things go downhill in the second half.

Most of Bhaiyya Ji is all bark and no-bite (In a scene, Abhimanyu suggests that Ram Charan shouldn’t be called with respect, he should be called kutta (dog)). When we get down to the showdown, the editing is haphazard. The action is more camp than kitsch. As the story dawdles, the film becomes more and more absurd. Characters exhibit secret skills which are explained via flashbacks. Actually, a lot of narrative building is done in flashbacks, for instance Bhaiyya Ji’s love for his brother, Vedang’s relationship with his mother. You facepalm and let your hand stay over your eyes for long because it has become unbearable to experience what is unfolding on the screen. The narrative resorts to exposition to fill up gaps in the screenplay. I even spotted a continuity error during the climax (Focus on Abhimanyu’s clothes).

Wandering around, no matter how many times Bhaiyya Ji himself rises from the dead. Then Mithali, a nicely well-rounded Hussain – giving us another hope that Karki is embracing a body type more natural to an older woman – drops in to lend a hand and her sniper-shooter skills. Her parents back in Bihar at one time appear to warn her about hanging around with a man of violence like Bhaiyya Ji,