To See or Not To See ‘Bala’ | Movie Review

Siddhant Chawla
Nov 8 · 2 min read

A film that preaches non-conformity, itself conforms to the formula. And surprisingly works.

Having been demoted from an Amitabh-Bachchan role to an Avatar-Gill role, Bala (Ayushmann Khuranna) cannot stand being laughed at for his baldness. The pressures of trying to achieve the impossible (i.e. growing his hair back) leave him desperate and antagonized — he sees nothing but beautiful people (and dogs) with beautiful hair. And he judges all those who do not appear “beautiful”.

It is hard not to judge this embittered man when he shares the screen with Latika Trivedi (Bhumi Pednekar), a self-made woman fighting everyone who calls her ‘kali’. When asked by her aunt (Seema Pahwa) what she thinks of Bala, Latika describes him as a ch*tiya. I couldn’t agree more. Bala is a salesman for ayurvedic fairness creams. He often projects his insecurities onto Latika’s dusky skin. In front of Latika’s grit, Bala’s misery seems juvenile. One can’t pity him without feeling annoyed. The sad songs don’t help and neither do the unrealistic instances of public humiliation. Niren Bhatt’s well-structured screenplay lacks creativity. Even Bala’s emotional evolution seems superficially convenient.

Regardless, the actors leave a lasting impression. Yami Gautam’s portrayal of Pari Mishra, a Tik-Tok star who cares only about looking good, is delightfully comedic and humane. It’s refreshingly free of any judgement of her materialistic nature. Moreover, Bhumi adds a lot of depth to Latika in the few scenes she gets. When Latika is complimented on her beauty, Bhumi’s meek smile and delighted eyes hint at the fact that this was the first time Latika was ever called beautiful.

Ironically, when the film wants to champion the cause of unrealistic beauty standards, Bhumi’s brownface looks rudely hypocritical. But as in any Ayushmann-Khuranna film, Ayushmann delivers the heavy-handed emotional final monologue. It is a testament to his acting skills, for the formula still works!


To See or Not To See ? : I would love to watch a film about Latika — how she builds her self-esteem in face of the unrealistic beauty standards

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