Bittoo Boss is a curious mix of a film. While on one hand it promises to be a wedding jamboree, on the other it throws up some gritty realism a-la Dibakar Banerjees 2010 digital film Love, Sex Aur Dhokha. And it is this interbreeding that keeps you confused about the disposition of the film; you laugh and you wonder as you rejoice and you ponder.
Bitto is a young carefree cameraman who excels at shooting wedding videos and is quite the star in his little village. No wedding is complete without his magical touch. It is at one of these weddings that he meets the girl of his dreams, Mrinalini. But she belongs to a slightly higher strata of society and doesnt approve of his background or his directionless future. To prove his worth to her an make money, Bitto resorts to some shady video work only to have Mrinalini come crawling back in his arms. Once she realizes what Bitto is up to, she rejects him for another man. In the climax, Bitto goes to shoot Mrinalinis wedding where with some handy prank-work from his sidekick, Bittoo exposes the underground adult film business being run by Mrinalinis fianc. Mrinalini forgives Bittoo and they live happily ever after.
The film gives you a mixed bag of emotions. The screenplay is schizophrenic and some of the scenes over stay their welcome. However some out-of-the-box thinking from the writers gives you some very memorable dialogues. The film is replete with Punjabi humor and that works well in the setting. Even the extras crack you up with their funny antics and one-liners. But needless to say the best is reserved for the star of the show, Bittoo. His weirdly philosophical take on life and things is amusing, clever and quite true in most situations. Newcomer Pulkit Samrat plays Bittos role with the unabashed charm of Ranveer Singh from Band Bajaa Baarat but falters in the emotional scenes. Though he carries the title role and the film on his debutant shoulders, they still need more muscle and experience to be able to play out a complex character in a very knotty script. But overall, he did his job well. As did the supporting cast and a myriad of extras who are not only cast well in their quirky roles, but add some much needed humor in long emotional scenes. One particular mention would be Bittos Bihari sidekick who single handedly lifts Bittos morose moods and the draggy second half. The heroine of the film, Amita Pathak disappoints the most. She is miscast in the character of Mrinalini and fails to show the exuberance or refinement that the character demanded. She is the most pathetic in the emotional scenes where her high pitch annoys more than evokes.
And since the film is so heavy on the emotional drama and these are the exact places where the film fails, the onus should lie with the director. First time director Babul has been unable to craft out a film that had such an elaborate set of sensibilities. And it is this lack of vision that makes Bittoo Boss successful as a comedy but quite feeble as a drama. Having said that, the film should find many takers and once you settle in with the characters, you start enjoying with them.
As Bittoo says in the film that he feels his job is well done when there are smiles on everyones faces. Well I had one when leaving the cinema and with many people cracking up behind me repeating the dialogues from the film, I am sure Bitto would have been proud.
3 stars.
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Bitto is a young carefree cameraman who excels at shooting wedding videos and is quite the star in his little village. No wedding is complete without his magical touch. It is at one of these weddings that he meets the girl of his dreams, Mrinalini. But she belongs to a slightly higher strata of society and doesnt approve of his background or his directionless future. To prove his worth to her an make money, Bitto resorts to some shady video work only to have Mrinalini come crawling back in his arms. Once she realizes what Bitto is up to, she rejects him for another man. In the climax, Bitto goes to shoot Mrinalinis wedding where with some handy prank-work from his sidekick, Bittoo exposes the underground adult film business being run by Mrinalinis fianc. Mrinalini forgives Bittoo and they live happily ever after.
The film gives you a mixed bag of emotions. The screenplay is schizophrenic and some of the scenes over stay their welcome. However some out-of-the-box thinking from the writers gives you some very memorable dialogues. The film is replete with Punjabi humor and that works well in the setting. Even the extras crack you up with their funny antics and one-liners. But needless to say the best is reserved for the star of the show, Bittoo. His weirdly philosophical take on life and things is amusing, clever and quite true in most situations. Newcomer Pulkit Samrat plays Bittos role with the unabashed charm of Ranveer Singh from Band Bajaa Baarat but falters in the emotional scenes. Though he carries the title role and the film on his debutant shoulders, they still need more muscle and experience to be able to play out a complex character in a very knotty script. But overall, he did his job well. As did the supporting cast and a myriad of extras who are not only cast well in their quirky roles, but add some much needed humor in long emotional scenes. One particular mention would be Bittos Bihari sidekick who single handedly lifts Bittos morose moods and the draggy second half. The heroine of the film, Amita Pathak disappoints the most. She is miscast in the character of Mrinalini and fails to show the exuberance or refinement that the character demanded. She is the most pathetic in the emotional scenes where her high pitch annoys more than evokes.
And since the film is so heavy on the emotional drama and these are the exact places where the film fails, the onus should lie with the director. First time director Babul has been unable to craft out a film that had such an elaborate set of sensibilities. And it is this lack of vision that makes Bittoo Boss successful as a comedy but quite feeble as a drama. Having said that, the film should find many takers and once you settle in with the characters, you start enjoying with them.
As Bittoo says in the film that he feels his job is well done when there are smiles on everyones faces. Well I had one when leaving the cinema and with many people cracking up behind me repeating the dialogues from the film, I am sure Bitto would have been proud.
3 stars.
view less
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