In the world of cinema, a lot depends upon the luck factor and what projects come your way, even if one has the gifted talent. Unfortunately, Abhishek Bachchan remains associated with average films and Bob Biswas turns out to be nothing different directed by the first-time director Diya Annapurna Ghosh.
Written by Sujoy Ghosh as a spin-off exploring the most appreciated character of his Kahaani (2012), Bob Biswas should have been an exciting joyride, entertaining the audience, taking them into the untold, dark history of the unique character. But surprisingly, it has been conceived as a slow-burner thriller completely missing the kick found in the few minutes appearance of the original Bob Biswas in Sujoy’s hit film.
To explain it further, what do we expect from a spin-off based on a cold-blooded contract killer’s character of a hit film? We obviously expect to know his life story about how he became a contract killer and what made him turn into such a brutal, merciless murderer?
Ironically, Sujoy skips that most important part of the spin-off and begins from the point where Bob himself has lost his memory and remembers nothing about the past or his association with the world of crime and contract killing. So, whatever we wished to know is never told in the film and it keeps on moving on a different path altogether in which both the protagonist and the viewers are discovering new things, forgetting all about the reasoning behind his secret profession.
Now, either Sujoy couldn’t think/crack something great on these lines diving into the history of Bob Biswas or he had an entirely different concept in mind as a spin-off. But in any case, the film doesn’t turn out to be what it should have been and therefore disappoints, remaining an average attempt featuring some fine acts.
The performers give their hundred percent, including Abhishek subtly transforming into the unusual character of Bob and Chitrangda Singh playing a simple working mother for a change. The debutant Samara Tijori impresses and Tina Desai keeps trying to deliver as the investigating police officer without getting much help from the writers. But it’s the cameo performance of veteran actor Paran Bandopadhyay as Kali Da that grabs your attention as the most interesting feature of the entire film.
Set in Kolkata, Bob Biswas scores in the department of cinematography and art direction, but the music doesn’t support or lift the crucial sequences. The film has its engaging moments, but they are also followed by some poor ones like the murder of the neighbour dealt so casually with no further investigations by the local police. Besides, the mention of the Blue tablets as the new drug given to the students once again reminded me of the strong influence the cult American series Breaking Bad has on the young writers and directors.
Overall, Bob Biswas is an underwhelming film that neither offers the expected thrills nor has the chilling impact as felt while watching the original assassin in Kahaani played by Saswata Chatterjee. And that’s all because of some unexciting writing wasting an interesting premise and cast ensemble.
However, it has one silver lining in the mysterious character of an old pharmacist, running a secured services shop associated with illegal activities. The character has the exciting potential of another spin-off project. Who knows, we next get to see a film exploring the secret life of Kali da moving over Bob Biswas.
Rating : 2.5 / 5
