Not all superhero stories are about people with extraordinary powers, it is also about people who have the right motivation and who have honed their vigilante skills like the Daredevil or Green Arrow. And sometimes it is even about people who have the motivation but don’t quite get the hang of being a vigilante and get beaten up more often than they stop a crime, like Kick-Ass. Vikramaditya Motwane’s fourth film, Bhavesh Joshi Superhero, falls between the second and third scenario. Unfortunately, the lack of a convincing protagonist, faulty pacing and an unnecessarily long running time holds it back from kicking any kind of ass.
The film, written by Motwane, Anurag Kashyap and Abhay Koranne, has its heart in the right place, and Motwane very clearly has his finger on the pulse of the youth of today, picking up themes that have brought out the activists in them. The film starts with three friends Bhavesh Joshi (Priyanshu Painyuli), Sikander ‘Sikku’ Khanna (Harshvardhan Kapoor) and Rajat who are idealists, discussing democracy and its problems over drinks, participating in peaceful protests on corruption and revelling in being arrested for them. Bhavesh and Sikku decide to do their bit to give momentum to the “wave of change” and start a channel called Insaaf TV where they post videos of the two of them wearing ridiculously carved paper bags over their heads and stopping people from breaking the law. And their efforts are heart-warming because they do little things like stop people from urinating on the wall, or burning rubbish, or breaking traffic rules. Like many of us, Sikku gets pulled into the corporate world and plans to move to America. But Bhavesh takes his role as a saviour seriously and ends up taking on the water mafia in Mumbai. The movie turns dark and also starts stumbling.
One of the primary reasons for that is that you just can’t take Harshvardhan, who takes on the moniker Bhavesh Joshi, seriously, especially when Painyuli does a far better job as the passionate crusader. Harshvardhan is sweet, and both their earnestness is what makes the first half work, but he doesn’t have the acting chops required to make him believable as a vengeance-ridden vigilante, who takes on the superhero mantle after Bhavesh is termed an anti-nationalist, beaten by an angry mob and then killed by the mafia. All through the requisite suiting-up, building the getaway bike, and training montages (which could have been shorter) as he prepares to become Bhavesh Joshi, the superhero, you can’t wrap your head around the fact that he could be one. Even the villain (Nishikant Kamat) falls as flat as his dialogue delivery.
Then there are those plot holes that leave you wincing. Sikku’s company sends him to America, so how come no one reported him missing after he doesn’t show up? Is accessing immigration records that easy? Why was he roaming around the city without hiding his face? Does Mumbai not have cameras on the roads or shops? Oh and the one that really bothers me… why are there no women in Mumbai? Other than the one token girlfriend, I mean.
The action sequences are not half bad, even though the final fight sequence seems like it is happening one blow at a time, especially when compared to the blink-and-you-miss action blurs in international superhero shows and movies. The Street Hawk-style bike chase sequence stands out, even though it too could have been cut short.
Bhavesh Joshi, the superhero, may have lived to fight another day but whether the film will face the same fate and come back with a sequel that Motwane has clearly set up is something we’ll have to wait and see.
I liked/ didn’t like Bhavesh Joshi Superhero because...
Tell t2@abp.in
