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29 March 2024

Bollywood ‘Beshram’ review: Ranbir Kapoor’s unable to step into Salman Khan’s shoes

Published
By Sneha May Francis

It’s shameful really, when an actor, who initially showed immense promise of being a versatile performer, is slowly turning into just another Bollywood stereotype.

He has evidently abandoned his flair for picking distinctive characters with director Abhinav Singh Kashyap’s ‘Besharam’, where Ranbir Kapoor obediently opts to flex his (lean) muscles for a mindless box-office churner.

It might’ve worked for Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar and Ajay Devgn, but not necessarily for him.

For someone who kicked-off the trend of flying heroes, who shatter cars and crunch bones in slow motion, Abhinav’s second innings appears terribly unimaginative.

While his rivalry with his first hero (Salman) is well-documented, and his adoration for his latest star equally highlighted, its effect is evident in ‘Besharam’s’ pitch. Barring the references to his first hit, and a direct jibe at Salman’s character, Abhinav’s Babli is everything that Chulbul was not.
Babli is a thief, who wears colourful retro shades, while Chulbul is a cop, who’s loyal to the aviators. Babli is clean-shaven, Chulbul wears a moustache.

Babli flaunts his chest-hair, while Chulbul keeps his shirt buttoned up. Babli is an orphan, but Chulbul has a family (although broken).

Babli stalks his woman, while Chulbul plays it cool. Babli falls head over heels in love with an upper-class, grouchy woman, but Chulbul prefers a well-mannered, timid girl.

Barring their diametrically different personalities, Abhinav, who also penned the story with Rajeev Barnwal, decided to pay ode to Hindi cinema of the 80s and 90s. So, the writing duo decided to string together numerous Hindi movie staples into one big story.

It would’ve worked if they had exercised their grey matter, but their laziness impacts ‘Besharam’ and turns it into a clunky affair.

What starts off with promise, soon dips, and turns the next two-hours-and-twenty-five-minutes into a slog.

It’s despicable really that despite winning a casting coup by signing the Kapoor trio – Ranbir, dad Rishi and mom Neetu – Abhinav is unable to give them what they truly deserve.

Although, they aren’t a family in the movie, every frame they come together, their lines hint at their off-screen familial ties. So much so, that Rishi dances to son Ranbir’s ‘Badamez Dil’ track, and even threatens to do Katrina’s ‘Chikni Chameli’, almost putting the rumour mills to rest.

Much like Abhinav’s first, his second movie also focuses on the hero. The camera dutifully follows Ranbir and his cocky tales, and only rarely focuses on his ladylove, the growling villain and the senior Kapoors.

Ranbir’s Babli robs flashy cars, dances with anyone who can match his step, rubs his chest hair, flashes his smile, flexes his lean muscles, plays ‘Mr. India’ and even woos his girl, with aplomb.

He’s talented, no doubt, but this is a genre that doesn’t particularly need any of it.

Kapoor seniors are charming as the bickering police-couple. Even newcomer Pallavi Sharda is fairly tolerable as the lady, who desperately needed to enroll for anger management.

Madhu Vannier’s cinematography isn’t imposing, leaving the cities of Delhi and Chandigarh grim and polluted. Even Abhinav’s tendency to plug vulgar jokes in an effort to be brash is over-the-top, and not quite chuckle-worthy.

While this may have little or no impact on his box-office earnings, as audiences have been known to indulge their favourites, it will, if anything, influence Ranbir’s standing as an actor of substance.

At least, it has with us.