Movie Review:
The story of Bala revolves around Balmukund’s (Ayushmann Khurrana) life. When a kid, he carries the pride for having smooth hair but loses them extensively as he grows up. That hits him subconsciously and he turns out to be insecure about himself. He covers the mirror in his room just to avoid his egghead. Ultimately, he accepts to wear a wig and that makes him one of the most ‘edible bachelors’ of Kanpur.
Balmukund falls in love with Pari (Yami Gautam), a tik-tok queen, who’s unaware of his bald reality. He also has this lawyer frenemy in Latika (Bhumi Pednekar) who turns up to help at the time of need. The rest of the story is all about how Balmukund gets ditched by Pari because of his reality and how Latika comes at rescue.
Writing:
Niren Bhatt’s beautiful story if full of laughs, tears and a hope of inspiration to live within the climax. Tackling issues like the emotional pressure faces because of premature baldness or skin shaming, the narrative is very entertaining yet teaches an important lesson.
Direction:
Amar Kaushik did a brilliant job in Stree, but with Bala, he just hits the ball out of the park. He has the art of catching the nerves of the audience and brings that to his advantage this time too. He keeps the emotions balanced in the second half and none of them are forced.
Music:
There’s just one song that plays fully in the song and that’s Jubin Nautiyal’s Pyaar Toh Tha which works very well. The rest of them are in the background, TaKillYa’s recreation is done well. The title song is brilliant.
Technical Departments:
Anuj Rakesh Dhawan captures the essence of Kanpur and Lucknow through this camera. Hemanti Sarkar’s editing is crisp in the first half but the second half drags in the start, the climax is classy.
Performances:
Ayushmann Khurrana is at his usual brilliant best. He delivers his performance with such an ease that for a while you’ll forget that he’s acting. Bhumi Pednekar is the best of the lot. She carries her ‘born natural’ vibe very well. Yami Gautam is just about average as she doesn’t get a meatier role comparatively. In supporting cast, Saurabh Shukla is brilliant and Abhishek Banerjee brings the house down.
Verdict:
Overall, Bala is pure, unadulterated entertainment layered with a very important message of ‘love yourself’. Ayushmann Khurrana nails it yet again!
Critics Review:
Box Office Review
Thumbs Up
- Ayushmann's brilliant performance
- Niren Bhatt's multi-layered story
Thumbs Down
- 2nd half drags in the start
- Yami Gautam gets overshadowed
