'Baaghi 3' review: Tiger Shroff, Shraddha Kapoor's film is an assault to the brain

Tiger Shroff films are a genre in itself. Every year, films are made that enhance Tiger Shroff's talents- of flexing muscles, of dancing, of performing mind-numbing stunts. The stories may or may not have logic, but Tiger rises above the story and his character -to show off his skill set (that may not include acting) much to the delight of his fans. In his latest release 'Baaghi 3', Tiger takes on a country alone, with Riteish Deshmukh and Shraddha Kapoor as his cheerleaders.

If one has to use a single word to define 'Baaghi 3' it would have to be 'Extra'. Everything in the film- from the screenplay to dialogues, to the plot to the performances- goes overboard. The background score is jarring to the point of you going deaf and the story so mindless that you end up laughing out loud at it.

Adapted from a Telugu hit'Vineya Vidhaya Rama' by producer Sajid Nadiadwala, 'Baaghi 3' is a love story of two brothers Vikram and Ronnie. Vikram (Riteish Deshmukh), the elder one, is weak and nincompoop who calls for younger brother Ronnie to rescue him from every situation that requires him to fight back. Let's just say Ronnie is his personal goon who protects him from all evils. Despite being a chicken, Vikram lands a job in the police force and whenever he is sent to nab criminals, Ronnie jumps in to rescue his brother and fight the goons. That seems to be Ronnie's chosen profession- to get into brawls for his brother. Best way to stay fit, I guess!

Vikram gets promoted and then sent to Syria to bust a nexus of human trafficking which involves a local goon IPL ( Jaideep Ahlawat) and get back his countrymen. He goes alone and obviously gets kidnapped by Abu Jalal's men. Abu Jalal runs a terror outfit in Syria and claims to rule the country. Now a man-child like Vikram should ideally not be left alone- but its a Tiger Shroff film and there's no logic to the story. As his brother goes missing, Ronnie along with Siya (Shraddha Kapoor) goes to Syria (city not specified) in search of Vikram. The rest of the film has Tiger Shroff flexing his muscles, running in slo-mo, screaming in exasperation and bashing up the bad guys- in that order.

Illogical plot line, poor acting and cringe-worthy dialogues make the film a tedious watch. Actors like Jaideep Ahlawat, Vijay Verma are wasted in a big-budget actioner which only concentrates on showing off Tiger Shroff's talent in martial arts. The writers' pit Tiger against an entire country! Yes, a country. At one point a sidekick comes running to Abu Jalal to inform that an unknown enemy has infiltrated one of their checkpoints. Abu Jalal wonders out loud- 'Who could it be? America? Russia? The Mossad?" and then the camera pans slowly to Tiger Shroff's straight face. Get it?

One wonders what came upon Riteish Deshmukh to have agreed to play such a character. You wait patiently to understand why his character is shown as vulnerable but no explanation is given.

There are two women in the film as well. Shraddha Kapoor and Ankita Lokhande. Kapoor's character is shown to be potty-mouthed who uses bizarre alliterations while abusing. In her opening shot, the camera first pans at her legs, then her waist and then top her face. This is 2020, and Bollywood still thinks to depict a woman as liberated - she has to be foul-mouthed, aggressive and glamorous. Lokhande, meanwhile, plays Deshmukh's wife and has a total of four scenes.

Jackie Shroff, Satish Kaushik also have cameo roles but leave no lasting impression.

'Baaghi 3' ultimately is the story of a brother taking on a country and terrorism, in general, all for the love of his brother. Moral of the story: familial love can wipe out terrorism from the world. If only our leaders had watched 'Baaghi 3'.

In the season of flu and epidemics, best to avoid movie theatres and 'Baaghi 3'.