Miscellaneous
Reel run : The trouble with Bobby
Tied to a poorly thought-out script begging for a good dose of logic and intrigue, Bobby Jasoos is a scattershot effort that reeks disappointingly of wasted potentialPreena Shrestha
Balan plays Bilkis ‘Bobby’ Ahmed, the eldest daughter in a Muslim family from Mughalpur, Hyderabad. At 30, she is already lagging behind most other women in her conservative mohalla insofar as finding a husband and settling down is concerned. But marriage couldn’t be farther from Bobby’s mind: All she wants is to be a real practicing, professional private eye. Having already bided her time taking up small-time sleuthing jobs in the neighbourhood—for a fee, of course—Bobby now yearns to enter the big leagues and solve some major cases. It’s not as simple as that, though; not only does she not possess the qualifications needed to be hired by a detective agency, her family, especially her father (Rajendra Gupta), is also strictly against this snooping nonsense, believing it all very unbecoming a woman.
One day, however, Bobby is visited by the enigmatic Anees Khan (a hilariously grim-faced Kiran Kumar), who offers her a great deal of money to find a young girl in Mughalpur—only her name, age and description of a birthmark available as clues. Excited at the prospect of making headway in her career, Bobby gets cracking. But combing through such a densely packed area is no piece of cake; it’s a case that calls for some out-of-the-box thinking. Bobby succeeds, but Khan is in no mood to celebrate: he now has other young persons he’d like our detective to locate, ASAP. Although certainly thankful for the cash he’s offering her, and enjoying the work, Bobby is starting to get suspicious. What does he want from these people? What does he do with them once they’re found? And who is this Khan, really? And so she’s soon off on a quest to discover the man’s secret, aided by friends Shetty (Prasad Barve), Munna (Aakash Dahiya) and the dapper Tasawur (Ali Fazal).
Bobby Jasoos, directed by debutant Samar Shaikh, exhibits a distinctly feminist bent, in that it features a heroine who defies the expectations of her community and asserts herself so determinedly in a man’s world. There is a certain pleasure in watching Bobby strut around in that nondescript kurta and sneakers, green backpack slung over her shoulders, braving her neighbour’s stares and her father’s constant chagrin to do what she loves. And it is particularly enjoyable when she breaks into action, outrunning the men and fighting them off nimbly on occasion. Of course, it’s a message that is delivered with something of a heavy hand at times—re: the many overwrought confrontations she has with the family about her ‘jasoosi’—but good enough for the most part.
It’s the sort of role that seems tailored for Balan, who—after daring stints in The Dirty Picture and Kahaani a couple of years ago—seems to have become the go-to lady when it comes to none-too-conventional female characters. Although her last few stints have not been exceptional, she rises to the challenge here, looking entirely comfortable playing the dowdy, motor-mouth protagonist, creating a persona that is equal parts exasperating and endearing. She also shares a very palpable chemistry with the excellent Fazal, a connection that feels all the more natural for not representing the be-all and end-all of the whole enterprise. And most of the other actors—such as Supriya Pathak, Tanvi Azmi and Gupta, of course—are as handy as they come, serving up some genuine warmth in their scenes.
Given the capability of the performers, it’s unfortunate then that the story itself, penned by Sanyukta Chawla Shaikh, is such a massive dud. The digging into and unfolding of cases—what should’ve basically comprised the meat of such a film—has been oversimplified to ridiculous extents, marked by far-fetched and uninteresting plot twists and too-convenient-to-be-true turns of luck. There is no complexity to the process here, no real surprise. While Bobby appears to have been modeled more on the bumbling Jacques Clouseau than Sherlock Holmes, being that this isn’t an out-and-out farce like the Pink Panther films, one would expect a touch of insight, quick-wittedness, something aside from the ability to change from one elaborate disguise to another (some of which serve absolutely no purpose than to give the costume department a chance to indulge their whims) that might offer us a sense of her flair for the business. But Balan’s character is ultimately more brawn than brain—her idea of ‘investigating’ involves barging into someone’s hotel room, rifling roughly through his stuff and when caught red-handed, screaming out threats—in other words, loud, delusional and not very smart, much like the film’s script.
Bobby Jasoos is pleasant to look at, at least, thanks to Vishal Sinha’s lush cinematography that showcases Hyderabad in all her lively, vibrant, colourful glory. And it’s great to see women-led productions making their way up mainstream Bollywood, especially one starring an actress who’s willing to break out of the glamorous ‘heroine’ mould and try different things. I just wish the film were better equipped, either with a more substantial storyline, or infused with bolder, more manic comedy to pull our attention away from the flimsy plot. Thankfully, this is only the first of three detective films soon to come our way—here’s hoping either Ranbir Kapoor’s Jagga Jasoos or the latest big-screen take on ol’ Byomkesh Bakshi will pack a much bigger punch.