Afwaah REVIEW: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bhumi Pednekar starrer shows perils of rumours with poor execution

Film: Afwaah

Director: Sudhir Mishra

Star cast: Bhumi Pednekar, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Sumeet Vyas, Sharib Hashmi

Bollywood Bubble Ratings: 2.5/5 stars

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Afwaah REVIEW:

Jeez, such a convoluted movie Afwaah I have just watched and now I have to review it. Afwaah (rumour) starring Bhumi Pednekar, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, and Sumeet Vyas is directed by Sudhir Mishra. The film is about Nivedita Singh, a political heiress who is getting away from her politician fiancé Vicky Rana due to his aggressive nature. As she is about to leave the town, his fiancé’s men try to pacify her and convince her to stay back. However, seeing a woman fighting a bunch of men, Rahab Ahmed jumps in to help her. Due to a sudden change of events, he gets stuck in the matter for no reason. He is in the wrong place at the wrong time.

In order to bring his fiancé back, Vicky turns over a video into a different story, creating a rumour, following the video going viral on social media. He makes it look like a Muslim man trapped a Hindu woman and starts a rumour of their affair with the ‘Love Jihad’ angle. As the video goes viral, people start building hate for Rahab and the entire city is only looking for the couple. They feel Nivedita is trapped and needs to be saved from the man. Soon, Nivi and Rahab are relentlessly running away from Vicky and his men.

I won’t say before this which contains spoiler. From here, both Nivi and Rahab find ways to escape them and go to a safe place. But will Vicky finally get a hand on them? Will he kill them both out of anger? Will Nivi and Rahab get their justice?

Story:

Rahab – a top advertising professional and Nivi – a political heiress, find no place to hide as they get entangled in a vicious rumour created by the social media machinery. Witness how an ‘Afwaah’ changes the course of their lives and turns it upside down.

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A post shared by Sumeet Vyas (@sumeetvyas)

Highlights of Afwaah:

I’m not sure what should be the highlight of this movie. It talks about several topics in the movie. From conveying the message of not believing in rumours to talking about love jihad, Sudhir brings everything under one umbrella.

Drawbacks of Afwaah:

Storyline: The story of Afwaah is quite complex and a bit vague too. Shudhir who is the writer of the movie has written certain things keeping in mind. However, it is that story which will look good on paper and not onscreen.

Execution: As Sudhir Mishra tries to bring everything under one roof, his execution is the biggest problem here. It is executed in the most flimsy way and does not look real and connected. The story is all over the place and is poorly executed.

Songs: Furthermore, the songs are a big letdown in Afwaah. None of the songs are catchy or even apt for the scenes or scenarios.

Star performances:

After Mrs Undercover, Sumeet Vyas again takes the negative character in Afwaah and has done a good job. The actor essays the role of a politician who is aggressive, provocative and power hunger person. And Sumeet plays the role with utmost dedication.

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A post shared by Sumeet Vyas (@sumeetvyas)

Bhumi Pednekar plays the role of Vicky’s fiancé Nivedita Singh who is strong and independent. She is not scared to voice her opinions or tell you that you’re wrong. Despite having an aggressive fiancé, she ensures to tell him that he is wrong. I’m not very impressed with her performance. In some places, it seems like she is trying too hard to look strong. I would say this is her weakest performance to date.

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A post shared by Bhumi ? (@bhumipednekar)

Nawazuddin Siddiqui plays the role of a businessman Rahab Ahmed who stands up for justice. Surprisingly, I’m not quite impressed with his performance. It seems like he was doing it halfheartedly or just for the sake of it. This is one of his weakest performances to date.

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A post shared by Nawazuddin Siddiqui (@nawazuddin._siddiqui)

Conclusion:

Overall, Afwaah is engaging but not a riveting plot. It looks intense and gritty but can be a bit confusing.

Watch the Afwaah trailer after the review:

Also read: Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 REVIEW: James Gunn delivers an emotional and epic conclusion