Bombay Velvet - Big shots, Guns and all that Jazz !

Release date -15'th May 2015

One Word which describes the film - Kashyap's Waterloo

Best Dialogue - Abhi to apun small se large hua hai, abhi patiala hona baki hai.'

Genre - Crime/ Drama

Music - Amit Trivedi

Producer - Vikramaditya Motwane, Vikas Bahl, Fox Star Studios

Story - Based on Mumbai Fables by Gyan Prakash

Direction -Anurag Kashyap

Cast -Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Karan Johar, Kay Kay Menon, Satyadeep Misra,  Vivaan Shah

Budget- 90 crores approximately (Including P & A)

‘Bombay Velvet’ is a period drama set at a time when Bombay became a metropolis.
The film starts with Raveena Tandon crooning a Jazz number which has lines like 

'Roothi hai mehbooba

Roothi roothi sharaab hai
Hey aam hindustani teri kismat kharaab hai.' 

We are mesmerized by the elaborate costume of the singer and the grandiose of Bombay Velvet's sets. As the story is set in the sixties, elaborate sets of Bombay's landmarks were specially mounted across various locations in Sri Lanka to recreate the ambiance of a bygone decade. Every minute detail is taken care of. When we see a bus it has the advertisement of products of those times. Every character has the perfect get up and hairstyle. So the question is why Kashyap's magnum opus became the brunt of the audiences jokes ?

When you watch Ranbeer Kapoor playing the role of Jhonny Balraj you are instantly reminded of Tony Montana (Scarface,1983). Balraj is shown watching Hollywood films and he dreams of becoming a big shot. He is temperamental and has no qualms about killing people who come in his way. He is a violent and possessive lover. To give vent to his anger he participates in street fights because of which in most parts of the film he has a scarred face. 

Karan Johar makes his acting debut as Kaizad Khambata. He is the ruthless business man whose ultimate objective is to earn money. His ideology is, 'Main jo bhi karta hoon khud ke liye karta hoon.' Small time crooks like Balraj and his friend Chimman are just pawns in his game. He wears tailored suits and walks around with such elegance that it will remind you of the undulating movements of a snake. He looks down on people.In a particular scene he tells the lead actors that they look like the hired help and a zebra crossing respectively. He maintains a cool composure and in a really hilarious situation he comes outside the room and laughs his heart out and goes inside with a straight face.

Anushka Sharma plays the role of Jazz singer, Rosie  who is the object of desire of almost half of the male cast. She is the star of the Bombay Velvet club and her elaborate costumes and hairstyles reflect it.

Earlier when there was a sudden speculation about her lips Anushka tweeted that she was using a temporary lip enhancing tool and make-up techniques for the sake of her look in her upcoming film.

Satyadeep Mishra as Balraj's friend has the most well defined role. His loyalty is towards his friend. He has expressive eyes and his body language is perfect.

Veteran actors like Kay Kay Menon, Siddhart Basu are totally wasted. Even Vivan Shah plays a totally insignificant role.

The main problem in the film is it's weak screenplay and lack of dialogues. In Indian films special emphasis is paid on the entry of the hero or heroine. Here they randomly appear in a scene. We are shown a man bent on a bank counter and it turns out he is Karan Johar. Shouldn't the man who makes larger than life candyfloss romances get a better introduction than this ?

There is no continuity in the scenes. There are so many songs that in many situations instead of dialogues background music and songs are used. In the full movie there was hardly any scene where the audience can whistle or clap in appreciation.

Bombay Velvet is the perfect example of  'Too many cooks spoil the broth.' A team of writers including Vasan Bala, Gyan Prakash, Anurag Kashyap and S.Thanikachalam wrote the screenplay. When the producers were not satisfied with the results, Prerna Saigal (The Lunchbox) and Academy Award winning editor Thelma Schoonmaker were called to do the editing. 
Till interval the film is fast and manages to hold interest. Afterwards it's just unnecessary blood shed and violence. The much hyped song' Mohabbat Buri Bimari' shown in promos was not in the film. Instead we get to see a different version starring Raveena Tandon which was a big disappointment.      

In a line, Anurag Kashyap despite his passion for gangster films and detailing could not give proper shape to his dream project and so it has turned into a nightmare for the producers and the audiences.

Only for die-hard fans of Kashyap's  kind of Noir films. Time pass.