‘Badlapur’ takes a stab at an underlying theme which runs parallel to the revenge motif: can forgiveness, even for the most heinous of crimes, come with time; and, as a corollary, what, after all, is revenge? But the film doesn’t explore these fundamental questions with the kind of depth it could have. What is left is a bunch of jugular-grabbing explosive scenes, which make you sigh for the film this could have been. It should have left us scorched; it doesn’t​. For me, ‘Johnny Gaddar’ is still the film Raghavan has to scale.

Dhawan’s attempt is earnest but the laboured performance leaves you desiring for more especially when you are up against the more assured and at ease, Nawazuddin Siddiqui.

If you’re tired of seeing Varun Dhawan play the boy-next-door, Badlapur is a refreshing change. Watch it for Nawazuddin’s flawless performance. And yes, do not miss the beginning!

The film is extremely exciting and gripping in the first 10 minutes but then it drags on for the rest of the first half. The second half has a promising start as we expect to see the badla that is to come but there a lot of lumpy scenes with a few cringeworthy edits. Not being a fan of anti-climax and endless connecting scenes to fill the void till some action or a fast paced scene had us taking a few points away from the film. The film’s trailer has been made from all the promising scenes and overall the film is a tad bit disappointing.