Last updated: 31 March 2023

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Film: Bholaa (Hindi)

Directed by: Ajay Devgn

Cast: Ajay Devgan, Tabu, Sanjay Mishra, Deepak Dobriyal, Gajraj Rao, Amir Khan and Hirva Trivedi

Highs: Concept (Lokesh Kanagaraj), Ajay Devgn’s direction, Ravi Basrur’s background music, performances of Tabu and Deepak Dobriyal, chase sequences and fight scenes (Trishul fight is particularly impressive)

Lows: Too much focus on heavy-duty action instead of making the screenplay gripping (the protagonist does nothing intelligent instead of just killing the bad guys who stop him), unrealistic (one man kills more than hundred people in a single night)

Cinemania rating: ★★★☆☆

Detailed Review

Plot: Bholaa revolves around the titular character (Ajay Devgn) who has been recently-released from prison following a 10-year sentence and is on his way to meet his young daughter Jyothi (Hirva Trivedi) who lives in an orphanage in Lucknow. At the same time, a brave police officer Diana (Tabu) intercepts a truck transporting cocaine worth ₹1,000 crores and keeps the drugs-laden boxes in a secret underground facility in a local British-era police station. Diana goes to meet her senior officer Jayant Malik (Kiran Kumar) to inform him about the confiscation at his farewell party, however the drinks are spiked with a sedative and everyone at the party collapses except Diana. She now needs to take the unconscious policemen to a hospital within eight hours to save their lives.

Diana then accidentally comes across Bholaa and forces him to help. At the same time, the Sikka Gang headed by Ashwatthama (Deepak Dobriyal) have dispatched two groups of their gang members – one group to abduct Diana and assassinate the police officers who are now being transported to the hospital in a lorry driven by Bholaa and another group to raid the police station and retrieve the drugs.

Performances: Ajay Devgn fits the bill as the eponymous character – he performs action scenes with ease and at the same time convincingly expresses his longing to be united with his daughter who he hasn’t seen before. Tabu shines as police officer Diana and gets a terrific introduction scene. Deepak Dobriyal delivers an excellent, scene-stealing performance as the brutal and eccentric Ashwatthama aka Ashu, head of the Sikka Gang. Amir Khan is impressive as Kadchi. Gajraj Rao and Sanjay Mishra do justice to their roles.

Technical departments: The background music by Ravi Basrur (of KGF fame) elevates the action scenes despite being loud. Editing (Dharmendra Sharma) is crisp and cinematography (Aseem Bajaj) is good.

In Bholaa, the goals for each character is clearly established at the beginning of the film and the rest of the plot is about whether or not each of them succeed in their respective missions. The entire story happens over the course of a single night, shifting between different characters and locations.

The film needed an intriguing screenplay to keep the viewer engaged as each character sets out to achieve their respective goals, however director Ajay Devgn has dedicated too much of the screentime to please the masses with overstretched action sequences instead of a gripping screenplay. Some of the action scenes are entertaining – the bike chase scene, Trishul fight scene – but it comes to a point when they dominate the plot and get repetitive. Also logic takes a break as Bholaa single-handedly destroys hundreds of bad guys over the course of the night by just fighting non-stop and doesn’t show a single symptom of fatigue towards the end. The climax fight is over the top.

In summary, Bholaa is an entertaining action-thriller if one takes the logic out and roots for the hero to save the day. The film will be a treat for Ajay Devgn’s fans. Watch out for a surprise cameo after the post-credits.

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