Bandar movie review: Bobby Deol’s prison drama fizzles out after the intermission

First and foremost, it's great that Anurag Kashyap is back directing a film. Kashyap has, in the past, delivered some of the most iconic films of our time, which have been lauded for being gritty and real. The man has, in the last few years, forayed into acting (he is earning praises in that department, too) and has publicly admitted that he is disillusioned with Bollywood and its ways. Which is why his latest directorial venture, Bandar, featuring Bobby Deol in the lead, is a special film. The film has been written by Sudip Sharma and Abhishek Banerjee, the men behind web series like Pataal Lok 2 and Kohhra. Expectations, thus, were high from Bandar. But does it live up to those expectations? Here’s what I thought.

What's the plot of Bandar?

Deol plays a has-been TV star, Samar Mehra. Much like his career, his finances and personal life are dwindling. He is falsely accussed of rape by a jilted ex (Sapna Pabbi) and taken into police custody at the middle of the night. And while his current girlfriend Khushi (Saba Azad), sister (Sanya Malhotra) and lawyer (Riddhi Sen) run pillar to post to get him out, Samar is put behind bars with other under-trial accused men.

Samar is a complicated man who is aware of his fading career but is too entitled to admit he needs to work hard and do better. He also has high self-esteem, so he doesn't want to ask his parents for help. He hates the idea of marriage and is on a dating app where he mostly swipes right to women much younger than him. All personality traits come to bite him as he is locked up in jail with some of the most hardened criminals. While initially he is at a loss and constantly harps that he is innocent, he eventually finds his way to survive, even as he waits to get bail.

What works

Much like Kashyap’s other films, there is a sly humour amid all the grim, intense thriller. Kashyap, along with writers Sharma and Banerjee, manages to find humour amid everyday mundanity. Casting couch is mispronounced at the heat of the moment as couch potato, a police officer gets into the nitty-gritty of swiping right or left, and a frustrated lawyer curses in Bengali under his breath.

Special compliments to the casting director of Bandar as the film not only features known faces from Bollywood but also has well-known actors from regional cinema playing key roles. There is Malayalam actor Indrajit Sukumaran playing gang leader Lijo who takes Samar in his gang, Kannada actor director Raj B Shetty as the inamte lizard man, theatre star Sukant Goel as another inmate, Marathi actor Jitendra Joshi as head cop and Bengali actor Riddhi Sen as Samar’s lawyer.

The film, however, centres on Deol, who delivers a fine performance as a delusional, entitled actor whose days of glory are in the past. Deol exudes the right amount of madness and vulnerability for Samar and plays an ageing man who refuses to accept his prime days are over.

The women in the film -Sapna Pabbi, Sanya Malhotra, and Saba Azad- are equally good, but their characters are there only to enable the lead character of Deol.

What does not work

The film begins with a lot of promise. It has an engaging narrative that jumps right into the plot. However, it lacks a clear stance. It is a prison drama which also looks at the problematic judiciary that delays justice for those who deserve it. It also gives a perspective of the other side of the #MeToo movement, the men who have unnecessarily been vilified. But the messaging is sketchy. At some point, you also feel Samar is an entitled prick who deserves the treatment in jail for not respecting the women in his life.

Bandar also suffers from the curse of the second half, where the story shifts to the jail and its way. Too many shots of the soiled toilets is also not appealing. I understand the intent but it is overtly shown far too many times.

Final verdict

Bandar delivers in parts. Bobby Deol and other actors are in good form. Deol in particular plays the flawed Samar with perfection. The narrative also raises pertinent questions about perception around rape accussed and how easily society puts a label on them without knowing the full story. But Bandar’s lack of clarity in the second half dampens an otherwise good narrative. Bandar, ultimately, is a middling affair.

Bandar is running in theatres across the country.