"Badla" review: Amitabh Bachchan and Taapsee Pannu Will Take You To The Roller Coaster Through The Whole Movie

Badla

Director: Sujoy Ghosh

Main cast: Amitabh Bachchan, and Taapsee Pannu

Rating: 3.5/5

The first impression on Badla is its opening credit, in which Sujoy Ghosh reminds me of Agatha Christie's telly adaptation of Hercule Poirot by somehow. Beside, Sujoy Ghosh always shows his respect to thriller genre by scrutinizing to every detail of the film. Badla is adapted from a Spanish thriller movie 2016 called The Invisible Guest, even if anyone has seen it or has not had the opportunity to watch, this is not a big deal because Amitabh Bachchan and Taapsee Pannu still satisfy even the toughest audiences.

With the success of Kahaani, audiences can't help but acknowledge Sujoy's dedication to this genre. Doesn't let people wait for a good movie for so long, Sujoy catches up with his latest film, Badla. Badla takes us deeper into the criminal world. Taapsee, the ordinary wife and mother named Naina, has to confront the accusation of killing her lover. However, the film not only revolves around the main character line but also rotates different views from other characters. Combining several twists, it makes Badla unbiased and makes the audience unable to take their eyes off the screen.

Amitabh Bachchan is set to play lawyer Badal Gupta, is the one introduced to help Naina break out of the charge. Sujoy stimulates the audience, makes them flutter in the chair with a delicate cat and mouse game. Scenes between the past and the present revolving around Naina's crime appear in the movie one after another. Everything is not like its appearance. There is something hidden in Naina under the guise of a successful businesswoman, a wife, and mother.

Meanwhile, Amrita Singh plays Rani, the mother of a missing son, acting as one of the essential keys that open the curtain of the case although her character is not in the main line. Most at the beginning of the film, the film's rhythm is not too slow, so the audience can follow and mull the details without feeling bored. The beginning of the film is a scene around Naina, a love story between her and Arjun, the way they sweep the murder under the carpet and Rani's search for the missing son. Through the beginning, the audience will wonder when the discrete scenes and clues are combined to create a complete picture. Besides, technical factors such as camera angles, soundtracks, even conversations are polished by Sujoy every bit to form the best quality movie possible.

Playing the role of lawyer Badal Gupta in Badla is not a problem for Amitabh Bachchan with his long acting experience and diverse characters. The scenes between Amitabh Bachchan and Taapsee are fascinating and create a particular highlight for the whole movie. Audiences do not dare to trust anyone because through the entire film we cannot predict who is lying and who is telling the truth. Every time they think they had brought dubious secrets to light, another twist appears.

Taapsee as a ‘calm and cool’ Naina takes the audience from surprise to surprise because she has many faces on the back. They edit the length of Badla skillfully to show every detail without lengthening the movie.

With all saying, the movie, however, still exists some drawbacks. In the second half of the film, climax, resolution of knots and the ending have something that is not yet complete when the viewer seems to be able to guess the outcome. Moreover, the storyline changes the angles of view unevenly, which gives the audience little brain strain to follow.