75% Positive
Director: Nikkhil Advani
Director: Nikkhil Advani
Police conduct a raid on a house in Delhi, India, to search for terrorist suspects.
There is much to admire in Batla House but the film is ultimately betrayed by its own prejudices. In one scene Sanjeev wakes up from a nightmare in which he’s mobbed by men wearing skull caps. The film wants to be viewed as a complex search for answers, a nuanced, layered drama about an incident from the past whose central conflict is as relevant today. That sounds good on paper. In practice though the film is lacking in any complexity or nuance.I’m going with two-and-a-half out of five for Batla House. It’s never a complete waste of time, but there was potential for so much more.
On the whole, Batla House, abounding in action, is just about average in merits but it will do business that’s better than its merits because of the good start it has taken today (thanks to the double holiday for Independence Day and Raksha Bandhan) and on the strength of collections in North India as the audience there is fond of action films. The producers have already made a profit on the table while the distributors would break even.
What saves the day is a burst of full-blown melodrama. In the climactic courtroom scene, Sanjay gives a rousing speech and Rajesh Sharma as the defense lawyer hams to glory. He presents the students’ point of view. But make no mistake, Batla House isn’t a Rashomon-like investigation of many truths. The film is firmly on the side of the beleaguered cops and it makes its point with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Which is why Batla House will satisfy John Abraham fans. Those biceps were not made for nuances. Viewers looking for a more layered exploration of izzat, farz, desh should probably go elsewhere.
Abraham is strictly one-note, which may be how dour cops are meant to come off, but it becomes same-same in a screenplay stretched to show off a well-muscled chest. Thakur who displayed a pleasing perkiness in Super 30, is at sea here. Chaudhary as a top cop comes off better. And Kishan, who livens up the film every time he comes on, is dispensed with much too soon.
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