Media Magick

Bollywood is known for romantic films from Mughl-e-Azam to Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and Raam Leel. Most of the films bear similarities pre-90 they used to be set up in college or university with urban lifestyle surrounded by old-fashioned ideologies, and post millennium (i.e. 2000s) it’s all about same storytelling in the backdrop of rural India or small-towns. Sairat, Raanjhana, Kaidarnath, Ishaqzaadey and many others followed the same settings and grounds tbh. Bamfaad is no different, in my opinion. Bamfaad features two debutants Aditya Rawal (son of Pares Rawal) and Shalini Pandey with Vijay Varma and Jatin Sarna (Bunty from Sacred Games). What makes Bamfaad interesting after all the cliché? Let’s find out.

Bamfaad is Ranjan Chandel’s debut film as a director and he has done a fairly decent job. The story of Bamfaad is a little hard to believe, set up in the backdrop of realistic cinema yet missing the realism in the story is something that a slight turn-off. If you are a Bollywood freak and are exposed to 90’s films then you cannot help but recall films like Baaghi (Salman Khan’s) and QSQT with slight doses of here and there. The execution is a little untidy as the Bamfaad is not ideally edited and at places looks a little dragged.

Performance wise Aditya Rawal is very dependable; he carries his part with dedication and looks the character. Shalini Pandey is brilliant, she debuted with #ArjunReddy and with Bamfaad she has taken another leap. Shalini looks charming, performs very well and has strong screen presence.

Vijay Varma is again first rate, with every work from Gully Boy to She and now this, he is making his audience realize how easily he can carry different characters with utmost conviction and ease. The way Verma portrayed the character of Jigar is commendable. Jatin Sarna is also effective in his role and serves the purpose well.

All in all, Bamfaad is a decent one-time watch but could have been a lot better. Music flows well with the story, two songs stand out for me “Ishq Ka Itr” and “Munasib hai ishq ka ho jana”. Rating: 2.5/5