Bhavesh Joshi Superhero

An artist is someone who responds to the societal flaws through his work, an artist is someone who boldly expresses his politics through his creation and an artist is also someone who manages to do all that through a compelling story. Vikramaditya Motwane, the man who made Udaan, has come up with a desi Batman kind of film titled Bhavesh Joshi Superhero. Anyone who watches this movie from the perspective of a foolproof story with precise reasoning will have a lot of reasons to get frustrated. But if you have an eye for understanding the politics of a cinema, Bhavesh Joshi Superhero has an undercurrent of statements that are pretty much the need of the hour.

Bhavesh Joshi and Sikandhar are really close friends. They have this online channel that sort of catches small illegal activities which garnered them likeability. While Bhavesh continued to do the Insaaf activities, Sikandhar aka Siku was drifting away from it. At one point both of them ends up in a big fight arguing over being ideal or practical. The film Bhavesh Joshi Superhero actually tells us the fate of this friendship after Bhavesh reveals the mystery behind the water scarcity within the city. The revelations of the sting operations are the focus of this movie.

If somebody says Bhavesh Joshi Superhero is the weakest film made by Vikramaditya Motwane, I would definitely agree. But hey! It’s the weakest film of a man who made movies like Udaan, Lootera and Trapped. Those areas of this film where the writing becomes a bit escapist in being convincing on a technical level are the problem. The movie starts off with the typical quirky style depicting the fun side of a bachelor life with energetic activism. But the film suddenly shifts to the vigilante mode. And the midpoint of the film has one hacking scene which was necessary but wasn’t really convincing logically. (Spoiler Alert) I was sort of confused when they kind of ignored the fact that the hero was supposed to be in the US working for a company and that company had no reaction to what he did. The usual drill of making the superhero costume and learning the fight and tricks was also there and it felt like Motwane’s tribute to Batman. Well, what I liked about the movie is the fact that the superhero is totally human and he is frequently getting misinterpreted as a terrorist or an outlaw. Through the several hurdles, we see Bhavesh jumping across, Motwane is making a subtle statement to the viewers to fight till justice is delivered.

Harshwardhan Kapoor just looks convincing to be the Bhavesh Joshi figure. His character is constantly in one frustrated mood and the movie sort of gets that from Harsh. The real charmer for me was Priyanshu Painyuli. He had grace in his presentation, depth, and clarity in what he spoke. Even in that abrupt jump of the film from cool – rough banter vigilante mode to patriotic vigilante mode, it was his earnest performance that sort of pulled the movie back to a stable zone. Ashish Verma gets a good role as the friend of the two and director Nishikant Kamat delivers an impressive performance as the bad guy.

Bhavesh Joshi Superhero isn’t your usual superhero film with the glamour of budget to its credit. In fact, there is a whole chase sequence in the film that ends in the hero escaping in a nitrous-boosted Duke bike, and to be honest I was impressed by the fact that they made a really intriguing sequence without making a great amount of sound over the logistical hurdles of its execution. And the natural realism Vikramaditya Motwane keeps in his treatment is definitely there. In one of the first operations of the LED masked Bhavesh, we have him getting beaten up terribly and almost getting caught by the bad guys. There were instances in the making that reminded me of Batman Rises. The screenplay co-written by Anurag Kashyap does address the modern day scenario where those who speak against the system are crucified as Anti Nationals. In the movie, we get to see how Bhavesh Joshi remains a terrorist in the eye of the people and there is also one dialogue towards the end from a flashback sequence that talks about the importance of putting up a fight in democracy. The cinematography was done really well, especially in those chase sequences. Even those montages that appear while we hear the narration had a great feel to them. Cuts were good. I loved Amit Trivedi’s tracks in this film.

Bhavesh Joshi Superhero is Vikramaditya Motwane’s political statement towards a generation that democracy is one place where you should fight for justice as it ensures that. You will always get accused of something when you are against the narrative the larger power wants people to believe. The film’s logical issues are there for sure, but as a viewer, I was moved by the political undercurrent in the whole story.

Rating: 3/5