Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Varun Dhawan, Kirti Sanon, Abhishek Banerjee
Amar Kaushik’s Stree is unanimously regarded as one of the sharpest and most sophisticated horror comedies, but his latest movie, Bhediya, only increases the standard. Bhediya, starring Varun Dhawan and Kriti Sanon, has lots of laugh-out-loud moments, from lavish entertainment and an original concept to top-notch VFX and an intriguing storyline.
So let’s explore the nitty-gritty of this fantastic story:
Plot
Bhaskar, portrayed by Varun Dhawan, is a road-building contractor who travels to Arunachal Pradesh to build a route through the deep Ziro Valley Jungles. In his debut performance, he is partnered by his Northeastern buddy Jomin portrayed by Paalin Kabak, and his cousin Janardhan, also known as JD, played by Abhishek Bannerjee. Interestingly, the most noteworthy event is when a werewolf assaults Bhasker as the group sets out to convince the native people of the Appatani tribes to relinquish their lands and enables road construction. As soon as he begins to imitate the creature, the folktale of the human turning into a werewolf known as “vishaanu” picks up, and the narrative intensifies and becomes more gripping.
Analysis
The portrayals are sincere, and Kaushik’s forte of augmenting comedy and horror at just the perfect times keeps the story compelling and fascinating. Varun Dhawan is the movie’s essence. Not only are the bones snapping and the tail exploding impressive, but also his fragility and his dread about what he is becoming into. The second-best aspect of Bhediya is the dialogue presentation and comedic timing of Abhishek Banerjee. Practically everything can be accomplished by this actor.
Paalin Kabak is a representative of homegrown talent and includes several scenes that emphasise some crucial topics, such as disrespect when visiting a location or using terms and phrases carelessly without understanding their meaning. Although the on-screen interaction between Kriti Sanon and Varun looks excellent, her screen time is limited and quite disorderly.
Commendable Direction and Storyline
Once again, Amar Kaushik’s cinematography and direction create an entertaining experience and draw outstanding outcomes out of his actors. He excels at combining the two categories of horror with satire, which in general, is very challenging. The conversations are thoughtful, funny, and meaningful.
Niren Bhatt deserves the most praise for his story and skilful writing, resulting in a beautiful structure, a major reveal, and a lighthearted conclusion that makes you crave more. Bringing up films like Junoon in the context, wherein Rahul Roy turns into a tiger or Jaani Dushman, wherein Amrish Puri changes into a deadly creature, has a vast remembrance value. Even Shehnaaz Gill’s famous remark, “Kya Karu mai mar jau? Meri koi feelings nhi hai”? is very well placed and befitted to the situation.
Critical message
It was beautiful to see how Bhediya successfully taught a fundamental lesson about the struggle between humans and animals without ever becoming intrusive. Furthermore, there is a discussion regarding the stereotype that people from the Northeast of India are “Chinki” and “outsiders”, which fits into the story rather well and provokes consideration.
Jomin criticises the spectators on one occasion for supposing that everyone from the Northeast is skilled in kung fu by referring to them as the son of Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan. He makes a compelling case when he says, “Being bad at Hindi does not really make me any lesser of an Indian.” Additionally, the tone of these allegedly violent parts is lightened by well-placed humour.
