‘Batti Gul Meter Chalu’ Movie Review: This movie fails to light up the screen

Directed By: Shree Narayan Singh
Produced By: Bhushan Kumar
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Yami Gautam
Duration: 2 hrs 41 mins
Bollywood Bubble Rating: 2/5

Early on in the first half of the movie, I wished that the theatre in which I was watching the show, suddenly lost its electricity. It would have saved me from the atrociousness that would follow. Despite its best intentions to speak about a social issue that matters, the movie misses its mark by a long margin. The first half is extremely pointless, and depicts a love triangle between the three leads – Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor and Divyendu Sharma. The acting looks forced, and far from natural, whereas the dialogues seem to be lazily written. The only thing you can credit the movie for is that the actors have a consistent accent through the movie.

With a location as scenic as Uttarakhand, the movie had the potential for beautiful backdrops, but even that opportunity seems wasted. As the second half progresses, there is a 20 minute segment that flows smoothly and you feel that the movie has resurrected itself. Unfortunately, the promise fizzles out pretty quickly as all you see is overly chest-thumping dialogues from Shahid Kapoor.

Yami Gautam looks effortless, but there’s only so much she can do to save a sinking ship. There’s a twist in the tale that looks straight out of a K-serial, and leaves you with a bad taste in the mouth. The songs too seem out of place, but at least, they give the viewer an opportunity to zone out of the contrived story line.

The part where Divyendu Sharma’s character gets handed a Rs. 54 Lakh bill, and the outrage that follows is passably good. You do feel angry at the SPTL, the electricity board for being so insensitive and inefficient. However, Shahid Kapoor’s fight for justice seems too overpowering and replete with dialogues that seem too unrealistic for a courtroom.

All in all, the movie fails to hit the mark in every sense. You can probably watch it if you’re a diehard Shahid Kapoor fan, but even then, you will realize that this is one of Shahid’s weaker films in the recent past.

Final word

Stay away from this movie, because you won’t get your time back.

Watch trailer: