In
Bombay Velvet, Anurag Kashyap — jumping from a mid-budget-indie scale to no-holds-barred mainstream mode — does this exceptionally well. As the opening credits roll, a nostalgic surprise from the ‘90s greets you against the backdrop of Amit Trivedi’s jazz score, and the world of
Bombay Velvet becomes yours before you can blink. The atmosphere is intoxicating; the sets, costumes and scope are far beyond anything done so far in Bollywood.
The film is supposed to borrow from Gyan Prakash’s book,
Mumbai Fables, which is a look at the city’s recent history. But
Bombay Velvet is no historical sermon. It’s a love story, pure and simple. Ranbir Kapoor is Johnny Balraj, a boxer turned mobster. It’s a showy role and he looks great in a boxing vest. He also looks extremely cool as he chats up Rosie, the girl of his dreams, played by an equally attractive Anushka Sharma.
Then there’s Karan Johar as the villainous newspaper baron Khambatta, pulling off an unlikely, uncontrollable snigger when you least expect it, and Satyadeep Mishra as Balraj’s pal, Chimman, who can own the screen with just his stare.
In the second half of
Bombay Velvet, there’s a sequence featuring a massively long buildup, with sexy lighting and music, that develops into a dazzling slow motion shot of a vengeful man firing dual guns in slow motion. The walls are peppered with holes, the furniture explodes into pieces — it’s so powerful it seems like he’s spraying the whole world with spitfire. He ends up killing two, inconsequential and faceless people and you’re left wondering what the buildup was for.
This scene accurately reflects the essence of the second half of Bombay Velvet, and the effect it has on the audience. Post-interval, the story wilts and Kashyap dedicates himself to making everything look cool, but losing sight of the narrative. The film looks like a million bucks, but has no depth. In cricketing terms, it feels like a beautifully crafted, well-timed shot — only to be caught at the boundary.
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