Bhindi Baazaar Inc.

Kadak Bhindi, Thanda Bazaar

A powerhouse cast always manages to lift a film. Well almost always. Bhindi Bazaar Inc is another effort in the D Company, Once Upon A Time Mumbai etc genre. The dark underbelly of the city of Mumbai is full of these characters and their stories. So what's new?

Bhindi Bazaar tries to be different by having a running chess game, between the protagonist and a mafia supremo imitate the action in the rest of the story. This idea though novel on paper, tends to bog down an already cliched story. And honestly Kay Kay Menon's psycho chess master cum don act is a little creepy.

But the rest of the cast is stellar. Pavan Malhotra is on a resurrection after a class act in Shaitan (released last week). Prashant Narayan though a seasoned pro has not yet managed a leading role. This could be his chance. Deepti Naval and Shilpa Shukla are good but limited by their roles in this mobster movie. Newcomer Gautam Sharma as the protagonist Tabrez manages to light up a few scenes but still has a long way to go before he can shed his television aura.

The cinematography is good but you have to be an idiot to mess up the raw appeal of a chaotic Mumbai. Overall the ingredients in this bhindi masala are just about edible.

So how will the bazaar respond? Not well I m afraid. The direction is weak but what can you say when the script relies heavily on skin show and pointless plot points. Even Bhindi Bazaar is called Chor Bazaar throughout the film. This movie came riding amidst high expectations but fails to deliver. Two and half stars for me.