‘Bombay Velvet’ Movie Review – Bollywood Bubble

Directed by: Anurag Kashyap
Produced by: Fox Star Studios, Vikas Bahl & Vikramaditya Motwane
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Karan Johar, Kay Kay Menon
Duration: 2 hours 28 minutes
Bollywood Bubble Rating: 3/5

The ‘Gangs of Wasseypur’ director Anurag Kashyapm is back with a new gem Bombay Velvet. This time around he has brought alive not the rural India; but the metropolitan city Mumbai; that was earlier called as Bombay. Bombay is seen transforming into a metropolitan marred by greedy collusion between governments and corporate.

Based on Gyan Prakash’s book Mumbai Fables, ‘Bombay Velvet’ is about those days when a newly independent India was struggling to find its feet. Set against the background of the sixties, ‘Bombay Velvet’ is a love story, pure and simple. It has Ranbir Kapoor as Johnny Balraj, a boxer turned mobster and Rosie, the girl of his dreams, played by an equally attractive Anushka Sharma. ‘Bombay Velvet’ chronicles the lives of Johnny Balraj, a street fighter turned club owner and Rosie, a talented singer who is abused by the many men in her life.

A young Balraj (Ranbir Kapoor) is nursing frustrations, of seeing his mother getting slapped and abused. Soon he enters the world of cage boxing, where he earns some cash and can also remove his frustration by hitting out at opponents . Enters Chiman (Satyadeep Misra) in Johnny’s life and soon the two become the Jai – Veeru of the sixties. The two of them are hired by Kaizad Khambata (Karan Johar) editor of the tabloid ‘Torrent’ and also a top wheeler-dealer. Kaizad soon appoints Johnny as the manager of his club ‘Bombay Velvet’, a nest of forbidden pleasures & power broking for the city’s elite.

Johnny is even entrusted the task of removing obstacles from Kaizad’s path. But he is faced by another elite conniver Jimmy Mistry (Manish Chaudhury)editor of pro-labour class tabloid ‘Glitz’. Mistry hires Rosie (Anushka Sharma) to lure Balraj. But the two fall in love and become inseparable. Soon Johnny realizes that he is just a trump card for Khambatta, and other big entrepreneurs are using him for their big projects in the city. He decides to ask for his share in the pie and things turn Bloody from there. Enters honest cop Vishwas Kulkarni(Kay Kay Menon) wearing nonchalant amusement as his armor.

So will Johnny get his share? What will Kaizad stand be on Johnny’s demand? What will happen about Rosie and Johnny’s love story? All these and many more question will be answered for you in Anurag Kashyap’s ‘Bombay Velvet’.

‘Bombay Velvet’ is a visual treat for the eyes, you cannot remove much faults in the movie. The Bombay of the sixties has been revisited masterfully by Anurag. It’s scale & grandeur is visually stunning. From docklands to mill lands to the red light district of Falklands Road. Anurag Kashyap’s film is one of best technical product seen in Bollywood in a long time.

‘Bombay Velvet’, moves at a frentic pace in the first half, but starts dipping a bit as it approaches the interval. Post-interval, the story wilts and Kashyap dedicates himself to making everything look cool, but losing sight of the narrative.

Anurag Kashyap should be applauded for his effort of bringing the Bombay of 60’s alive onscreen. Right from the word go, he transports you into an era that makes you believe in whatever you see and hear. Anurag has created the film with great performances and eye-catching visuals. The film after many a dramatic twists and turns finally culminates into a chilling climax.

The songs are well interspersed in the narrative The ‘Fifi’ and the ‘Behroopia’ songs are already a huge hit. The background score adds to the beauty of the film.

The chemistry between Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma is awesome. Their love is passionate, while their hatred too is intense. Ranbir Kapoor has delivered one of his career’s best performances in ‘Bombay Velvet’. He is truly the backbone of the film. Ranbir Kapoor shows traits of his great grand father Raj Kapoor. He is effortless & powerful, boiling over with anger convincingly with an innocence intact.

Anushka Sharma as a jazz singer is quite convincing. She looks beautiful and delectably sensuous. The beauty shares a fantastic equation with Ranbir Kapoor, hope to see more of the two in future. She has conveyed her helplessness through her eyes without a dialogue. The gigantic emotion in ‘Dhadaam Dhadaam’ has been brilliantly portrayed by her.

The surprise package is Karan Johar. As Khambatha, Johar makes an extraordinary acting debut. More than his dialogues, it’s his expression that leaves us awe-struck. Karan Johar; as a scheming, greedy & posh power broker, Johar is convincing and natural. He is outstanding in a scene where he goes out of the room to laugh uncontrollably at Balraj’s demands.

Satyadeep Mishra as Balraj’s friend too leaves a mark. Kay Kay Menon has appeared in two scenes, with a meaningful smirk, he convinces you of his acting prowess again. So has Vivaan Shah. ‘Bombay Velvet’ is a visual masterpiece, along with it an outstanding performance by Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma and yes, Karan Johar.

Do watch it to savour the grandness of the ‘Bombay’ of sixties.