“Bangistan” is a truly misguided attempt at satirizing religion. It neither engages, nor entertains.

Bangistan looks like it must’ve started as a good enough idea on paper before it got compromised for reasons best known to its makers. There are glimpses of a superior product in the way some shots and sequences are executed, but the overall product is an insult to their own efforts. Wes Anderson and Anees Bazmee is not a combination to aspire to. Ever.

Of all the Bollywood films that have explored fanaticism, Bangistan the one most lacking in courage and insight. Unless someone from behind the scenes speaks up, we’ll never know why it’s such a confused mess. However, it’s clear that an irreverent comedy was mangled and manipulated to become an earnest lecture on harmony — not because the story demanded it, but because someone didn’t have the guts to crack jokes and poke fun at fanatics. And so, a decent premise was blown up. That is the real tragedy of Bangistan.

Bangistan’s ultimate undoing lies in its desperate lunge towards delivering a message in the climax. Here, Anshuman is at his most clueless, pausing the story to allow preachy banalities to take centre stage. It’s this bit that is really irksome but fittingly encapsulates Bangistan: the film refuses to take chances, to buck the rules, to soar beyond the cushy confines of unending mediocrity.

Watchable in parts, the political satire successfully drives home the humanitarian message.

A mess of good intentions and bad jokes…

Bangistan attempts to tell a well-intentioned message through humour, and in the end, both are lost on the viewer. The film, based on our novice bombers, is sadly low-impact!

…ultimately it is not about performances, it is the uneven writing and ham-fisted treatment that lets this potent idea down.

There was surely a good idea in Bangistan at some point but sadly Karan Anshuman’s directorial debut takes no risks. With over-designed sound, juvenile lyrics, obvious in-film references to other films and filmmakers and a weak lead actor in Samrat, the result is a film devoid of subtlety, layers and wit.