“Bala” Movie Review: It Is Fantastically Funny & Enjoyable

Bala is one of the most-awaited movies of 2019, which hit the silver screen earlier today. It stars box-office favourite Ayushmann Khurrana in the role of a small-town man who is suffering from massive hair fall. Besides the National Film Award winner, the Amar Kaushik directorial also features Yami Gautam and Bhumi Pednekar in lead roles. Here’s what I felt after watching Bala.

Story: Bala (Ayushmann Khurrana), based in Kanpur, works as a marketing agent of a company which sells fairness creams. He was quite a popular guy in his school, known for his lustrous hair. However, he loses almost all his hair by the time he turns 25.

Bala tries everything to restore his hair, but when all his attempts bear no fruit, he resorts to a wig. On a business trip to Lucknow, he meets TikTok star Pari Mishra (Yami Gautam) who has just been chosen as the brand ambassador of his company’s fairness cream. Love blossoms between the two and they get hitched in no time. The day after their wedding, Bala's childhood friend Latika (Bhumi Pednekar), who has always been taunted for her dusky complexion, reveals the truth and Pari decides to divorce Bala. What happens next forms the crux of the story.

Critical Analysis: Ayushmann Khurrana ably carries the entire film on his shoulder. His best support is the crisp, smart writing of the film. screenplay and dialogues by Niren Bhatt are bang on and take the film to another level. Bhumi Pednekar is brilliant as lawyer Latika. Yami Gautam as Pari Mishra looks beautiful and delivers a highly convincing performance. Saurabh Shukla, Abhishek Banerjee, Seema Pahwa and Javed Jaffrey give ample support to the main cast and make the entire film a complete package.

Director Amar Kaushik, who shot to fame after the success of Stree (2018), proves his mettle once again. Apart from baldness, the director takes on some other social stigmas as well and succeeds in delivering a powerful message. Talking about some minus points of Bala, the film gets a little preachy in the second half. It could have easily been trimmed by at least 15 to 20 minutes.

Final Verdict

Bala is a thoroughly entertaining film. Apart from powerful performances from the lead as well as the supporting cast, what stands out is the terrific writing of the film. I am going with 3.5 stars.

Movie Credits

Banner: Maddock Films, Jio Studios
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Yami Gautam, Bhumi Pednekar
Runtime: 133 Minutes
STARBIZ Rating: 3.5 Stars