‘Bioscopewala’ movie review: Danny Denzongpa’s stellar act saves the film from sinking

Directed By: Deb Medhekar
Produced By: Sunil Doshi
Cast: Danny Denzogpa, Geetanjali Thapa, Tisca Chopra
Duration: 1 hour 31 minutes
Bollywood Bubble Rating: 2 stars

First time director Deb Medhkar’s ‘Bioscopewala’ is a modern day adaption of Rabindranath Tagore’s famous short story ‘Kabuliwala’. Though not completely based on his work, Medhkar has crafted the movie by taking the narrative ahead. The film’s premise is set in Kolkata and Afghanistan.

‘Bioscopewala’ talks about Rehmat Khan (Danny Denzongpa) who reaches Calcutta due to conflicts in his land. Rehmat is a man who loves cinema and wishes to change people’s perception through the same. Loosing all his cinematic setup in Afghanistan, he flies off to Calcutta. In the city, he runs into a 5 year old girl Minnie, eventually turning into a special someone who shapes her childhood.

The story starts with Robi Basu (Adil Hussain), a renowned fashion photographer. He sets off to Afghanistan, with a hope to repay to Rehmat. Robi pens down few unsaid things for his daughter Minnie Basu (Geetanjali Gupta). Things take a U-turn when Robi passes away in the plane crash. With his father’s sudden demise, Minnie returns to her home all the way from Paris.

On reaching home, Minnie meets Bholla Kaka. He introduces her to an old man ( Rehmat Khan) who suffers from Alzheimer’s. At first, Minnie refuses to keep the man at home, the reason being he was convicted in a murder case.

A few flashbacks from her childhood and Minnie eventually realizes that the old man is her own ‘Bioscopewala’. The man who taught her the art of storytelling.

The story gets on track with Minnie’s mission to know more about her Bioscopewala. Here begins, her search to find Rehmat Khan’s family and reunite him with his daughter Rabeya (which was the actual reason of Robi going all the way to Afganistan).

What were the few unsaid things mentioned by Robi? Did Minnie manage to reunite ‘Bioscopewala’ with his daughter?

To know the answers to these questions, you need to see this tale at the nearest cinemas.

The storyline seems to be a bit stretched but Danny and Geetanjali’s work manages to save the film from sinking. It strikes an emotional chord within few minutes but fades away with the slow track. Overall, Deb Medhkar’s directorial has left me a bit disappointed. The tale could have been presented in a better way.

Anyway, everyone has their own point of view. I would highly recommend this film to the ones who love story-telling.

Watch the trailer of the film here: