Babumoshai Bandookbaaz is a dark film by Kushan Nandy. This film covers love, lust, violence, sex, gunshots, politics, and its power fights, betrayals, manipulations, vengeance, killings etc. The challenge with films of this genre is to keep the audience glued to the screen and make the film intriguing. This challenge is met by the cast of the film, be it Nawazuddin Siddique, Jatin Goswami, Bidita Bag, Divya Dutta, Bhagwan Tiwari, Murli Sharma. Their acts have certainly given new dimensions to the film. But sadly we have seen Nawazuddin Siddique in films of this genre – Gangs of Wasseypur, Badlapur, Raman Raghav 2.2 etc. Although he seems a bit repetitive in this film, one cannot deny the effortlessness with which he essays these roles and also how he adds his own exclusive flavour to various scenes.
The backdrop of the story is set in the hinterlands of UP. Babumoshai Bandookbaaj, as the title suggests, is about a sharp shooter Babu Bihari (Nawazuddin Siddique), who works for Sumitra Jiji (Diya Dutta) and kills people. But a fall out between Babu Bihari and Jiji happens when Babu decides to pick up high-paying contract killings offered by her rival Dubey (Anil George). When he was on this mission, that is where his encounter happens with Banke Bihari (Jatin Goswami). Banke considers Babu as his role model. Babu is known in the criminal underworld for his effective and efficient shooting and killing. Banke is also on the same mission of killing three people for whom Babu has got the contract. Banke is ambitious and believes that he would one day be more ‘famous’ than Babu. Regarding the three contract killings which they both have got, they enter into a deal that whoever kills more would be a winner. Whenever Banke and Babu are on screen together, it is interesting to watch their banter. Babu and Banke have a kind of mentor-protégé relationship as well. Some predictable twists and turns lead to certain happenings which take a different course of the path for both Banke and Babu. And in this twists and turns Sumitra Jiji, her rival Dubey, Babu’s lady love Phulwa (Bidita Bag), a cobbler and Banke’s work-manager cum girl friend Yasmin, a young aspiring actress (Shraddha Das) are also involved. Phulwa’s character has learnt it hard way how to survive in this world and Babu falls for her due to her rough and blunt mannerisms.
One cannot expect any specific message attached with such dark thrillers. But yes, in this film, it is certainly conveyed that ‘What goes around, come around’. Surprisingly, here is a film, in which one character Tarashankar (Bhagwan Tiwari), a policeman, fathers more and more boys expecting the next one to be a girl. Generally, we see this to be the other way round, a welcome change in the script.
This dark film has its few moments of laughter. When Babu sees Phulwa for the first time, she was repairing some shoes, he tries to forcefully damage his footwear.
Certain moments, though generate laughter, are very disturbing as well. A moment, where Babu and Banke both are arguing in front of their target that who can take the credit of the target’s killing shows how these murders are so routine for them. Banke’s assigning celebrity status to Babu is also funny. It is strange to see both Babu and Banke taking their contract killing job as any other profession. Tarashankar receiving call from his wife reminding him of some household chores when he is in midst of shoot-outs probably shows that how these manipulations and killings have become a mundane thing. Phulwa, a rape victim, offers to be Babu’s mistress if he is able to kill the men who raped her, is very much disturbing. Dead body after the killing is brought to butchers’ shop is another disturbing scene.
It is difficult to believe that how one after getting a shot at forehead survives the death.
If we talk about the cast, Nawazuddin, as mentioned earlier, we have seen him in such roles, but as always, he does add his own flavours. Jatin Goswami as Banke does give superlative performance. Bidita Bag is very natural in her performance and she gives an bsolutely uninhibited sensuous performance. Divya Dutta plays the local politician’s role very nicely, who is hungry for power and she also displays her lust effortlessly. Rest of the cast Bhagwan Tiwari, Anil George, Shraddha Das, Murli Sharma have less of screen time but have given noticeable performances.
Babumoshai Bandookbaaz is a dark crime-thriller film about love, lust, violence, sex, gunshots, politics and its power fights, betrayals, manipulations, vengeance, killings etc. This film is certainly not everyone’s cup of tea. But as far as the specific genre of the film is concerned, we have seen films, even more, darker than Babumoshai Bandookbaazi in the past. What works in the favour of the film is Nawazuddin and Jatin’s pairing on the screen which hits the target. Please watch this film only if you can enjoy dark films and also a fan of Nawazuddin’s acting.