Ever since she burst on the screen in Parineeta, bearing a smile as radiant as the sun, it was evident that Vidya Balan was not your everyday Bollywood heroine. Her wardrobe may never have been spot on, and her weight might have been on the heavier side, but bucket loads of talent ensured that for author backed, strong female characters, she was the undisputed choice. The Dirty Picture proved it, and Kahaani guaranteed it. No surprises then, for a character as unique as Bobby in Bobby Jasoos, the choice of Balan was a no-brainer. But can she make any movie great? No.
Bobby Jasoos is the story of Bilkis "Bobby" Ahmed, a Hyderabadi aspiring to be a detective. Bobby is smart, talented and driven, and for the lack of opportunities- she spends most of her time solving trivial neighborhood cases in Mughalpura, Hyderabad. But her choice of career has its downsides. Her orthodox father does not speak with her, and there is a perennial cash flow problem. Well, at least till she chances upon Anis Khan (Kiran Kumar), who puts her on a well-paying, missing persons case. The rest of the plot focuses on Bobby solving this case, and also sorting out her love life.
The good is mostly centered around the acting. Balan with her authentic Hyderabadi accent, colorful kurtas and bubbly charm almost pulls it off single handedly. Ali Fazal as her reluctant lover/friend is an excellent foil to the enthusiastic Bobby. The support cast consisting of Rajendra Gupta, Supriya Pathak, Tanvi Azmi, and Arjan Bajwa are good too. The bad is the script- it is just not funny enough. Bobby Jasoos has an interesting start, a decent middle but an absolutely pointless Manmohan Desai style ending. Patchy screenplay, boring songs, forced melodrama further pull the film down.
The character of Bobby Jasoos has shades of Veronica Mars? Bingo. And I feel this would be a great idea for a TV serial, of course, if only they could get Vidya in the small screen. Advice for debutant director Samar Sheikh - There is more to sleuthing that disguises. 5/10
Bobby Jasoos is the story of Bilkis "Bobby" Ahmed, a Hyderabadi aspiring to be a detective. Bobby is smart, talented and driven, and for the lack of opportunities- she spends most of her time solving trivial neighborhood cases in Mughalpura, Hyderabad. But her choice of career has its downsides. Her orthodox father does not speak with her, and there is a perennial cash flow problem. Well, at least till she chances upon Anis Khan (Kiran Kumar), who puts her on a well-paying, missing persons case. The rest of the plot focuses on Bobby solving this case, and also sorting out her love life.
The good is mostly centered around the acting. Balan with her authentic Hyderabadi accent, colorful kurtas and bubbly charm almost pulls it off single handedly. Ali Fazal as her reluctant lover/friend is an excellent foil to the enthusiastic Bobby. The support cast consisting of Rajendra Gupta, Supriya Pathak, Tanvi Azmi, and Arjan Bajwa are good too. The bad is the script- it is just not funny enough. Bobby Jasoos has an interesting start, a decent middle but an absolutely pointless Manmohan Desai style ending. Patchy screenplay, boring songs, forced melodrama further pull the film down.
The character of Bobby Jasoos has shades of Veronica Mars? Bingo. And I feel this would be a great idea for a TV serial, of course, if only they could get Vidya in the small screen. Advice for debutant director Samar Sheikh - There is more to sleuthing that disguises. 5/10