Bamfaad Review – Little to Savour in This Rustic Romance

BOTTOM LINE: Little to Savour in This Rustic Romance

Rating: 1.5/5

What Is the Story About?

In the heartland of Allahabad lies a sleepy, polarised village where a wastrel Nasir wiling away his time in petty activities with his friends, has the first brush of romance with Neelam. There’s considerable mystery about the girl’s past, but Nasir pays little heed to that. Nasir’s path often crosses with that of Jigar Fareedi, the local goon. Jigar imposes himself upon Neelam and misuses her vulnerabilities to his advantage. This doesn’t go down well with Nasir, who is already in trouble with the cops for his misdeeds. Nasir and Neelam make a move to Lucknow in a bid to start life afresh. Their joy is however short lived and Jigar is in no mood to spare Nasir. Are Nasir and Neelam destined for happier times?

Performances?

Aditya Rawal shows a lot of promise as the unabashed, arrogant yet good-hearted lover from UP. He’s not camera shy and the balanced treatment in the film helps him silently slip into the skin of role minus pointless glorification. Though the role isn’t written well, his performance and confidence strike a chord. Shalini Pandey does a lot to give meaning to a half-baked character and is effortlessly natural on the screen – but it remains a mystery how the actor has not got a single role to explore her mettle after Arjun Reddy. Vijay Varma comes up with a gritty performance though it’s a role that lacks any element of aura or intrigue. Sana Sheikh fares well in the brief screen-time allotted to her, but it’s Jatin Sarna who proves to be a show-stealer as a friend whose loyalty remains questionable.

Analysis

It’s hard to understand what about Bamfaad convinced its makers to get the script onto sets. Yes, it’s primary purpose was to be an unconventional launchpad for Paresh Rawal’s son Aditya Rawal. He’s good and so is the bunch of many talented young actors in the film’s lineup. Beyond the fact that it strives to be a showcase for its young lead actor, there’s no meat in the screenplay or the writing of this 100-minute long ride. The love story lacks any zing, the small-town dynamics are ridden with stereotypes, the antagonist merely dons kurta pyjamas of different colours and shouts at the top of his voice, while the protagonist is devoid of purpose in a narrative that painfully crawls.

Bamfaad wants to be a Sairaat-like tale minus the honour-killing angle, but there’s no soul or sincerity in the storytelling. The story is so fragile and vague that it becomes hard to invest in its half-baked setting. The dialogues are surprisingly sharp and witty – however, the uninspiring situations don’t let the writing flourish beyond a point. The characterisation of its female protagonist Neelam and the supposed antagonist Jigar (no, this is a character sans any vigour) are its weakest links. The equation between Neelam and Jigar is rather dubious and the yawn-worthy flashback to justify their relationship only adds fuel to the fire. 

The subplots about Nasir’s friends and their romantic interests do little to further the plot. The director doesn’t care to invest any element of passion into the relationships. These love stories have a weak emotional foundation and are so randomly weaved sans any innocence or depth. The screenplay is a bigger mess with no sense of direction or cohesion.  The cops are puppets in front of the antagonist, the friends are mere vulnerable entities. The clash between Jigar and Nasir isn’t monumental or intense – it’s rather exaggerated with the histrionics of the actors. The climax where the male protagonist becomes a sacrificial goat is painfully sentimental.

Bamfaad was made with an intention that it’s going to be a passionate, epic tale of two young lovers in a small-town setup. The narrative prepares you for a Romeo-Juliet tale in a polarised setting, but somewhere down the line, it loses its essence. The length isn’t exactly its advantage – you hoped that the director took more time to let the viewer soak into his universe. Everything about Bamfaad is so sudden, the flow isn’t seamless. In times of social distancing, you’d rather want a romance that’ll offer you warmth than one that leaves you mostly cold.

Music and Other Departments?

The music is spirited and flavourful in offering a glimpse of the region (more than its visuals) with its lyrical imagery and foot-tapping sounds. The cinematography is befitting – non-indulgent and working purely on the needs of the story and thankfully doesn’t try to be a UP-tourism showreel. The dialogues are superb as long as the film maintains has a slice-of-life vibe in its initial hour. The wavy screenplay undoes all the good work done in the first half and you’re just tired by the time the film ends.

Highlights?

Performances of its lead actors

Humour, dialogues in the first hour

Drawbacks?

Pointless screenplay

Poor ending

No depth in the romance

Did I Enjoy It?

No

Will You Recommend It?

No

Review by Srivathsan Nadadhur

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