Bellbottom (2021)
6/10
Starts promisingly, but ends quite ordinarily.
2 October 2021
Warning: Spoilers
One could feel that 'Bell Bottom' had the potential to become a good espionage thriller, but it just couldn't become one. The story did set things up nicely, but the third act of the film turned out to be too ordinary. One of the first problems of any Akshay Kumar movie is always the lone savior concept, he is always the man who could make things happen, the only man who understands what is happening. That's not how things work in real life, where it's always team work that gets things done, but this is of course a film and the hero is more of a superhero. The movie wastes a lot of time in telling the backstory of Akshay Kumar, which also had two songs, because after all it's an Akshay Kumar film. Finally after an hour, the real action starts.

There is a twist in the film about the two female characters in the film, but I just couldn't figure out as to what difference it made to the story. The twist about Adeela Rahman was highly unconvincing. I wonder what prompted the creators to select Lara Dutta to play the Prime Minister, because she looks nothing like her, and what made Lara Dutta sign this project considering after all the makeup, it was impossible to figure out that the actress behind all that make up was Lara Dutta.

Actors like Adil Hussain and Denzel Smith have nothing much to do in the film, which is such a shame considering the amount of talent that these two actors have. The background score of the film deserves to be mentioned because of how bad it was. The sound of 'Dhoom Tana' playing constantly in the background was extremely irritating.

I wish the climax was a bit more satisfying, because the way things got resolved in the end had more to do with luck than a proper plan. Not everything is bad though. The climax action sequence in the midst of a sandstorm was something new for an Indian film and was done very well. Among the actors, Zain Khan Durrani made a pretty good impact as a villain. The portrayal of RAW members, their investigation, the way they talked was all done in a very polished manner, and none of the characters went out of control or said things that would be considered over the top.

Directors need to realize that not every film requires songs, romance and a long backstory. Regardless of how big the superstar is, the story should always be given more respect. Akshay Kumar has made better spy thrillers than this one like 'Baby' and 'Special 26', it's much better to re-watch those films than waste time on Bellbottom.
1 out of 1 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed