Besharam
Year: 2013
Director: Abhinav Singh Kashyap
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Neetu Singh, Pallavi Sharda

The super-talented, super-likeable Kapoors- (Neetu-Rishi-&-Ranbir) coming together for the first time to work with Abhinav Singh Kashyap, the man who directed the super-hit Dabangg. Now who would miss such a film? But is Besharam worth all that attention? Or is it just all hype and no substance?

What’s the plot?

A street-smart car-thief, posing to be a car mechanic (Ranbir Kapoor) falls head over heels in love with an IT executive (Pallavi Sharda). But the haughty girl hates his uncouth advances and berates him at every possible opportunity. Still the boy takes all those insults in his stride. Unknowingly he ends up stealing the girl’s brand new car. Once he realizes the mistake he decides to correct it. But it is not going to be easy because he has already handed the stolen car to a ruthless crime boss (Javed Jaffrey). With a none-too-bright cop-couple (Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh) in his hot pursuit, will the hero manage to get back the girl’s car and win her heart?

What’s hot?

·         The Kapoors try their utmost to inject some pep and verve into the insipid, listless screen proceedings. The mom (Neetu) steals the march in this endeavor over the pop (Rishi)!

·         The son (Ranbir), who is undoubtedly the most talented star of the current generation, is effortless and engaging as always but the material he has got to work with is totally worthless.

What’s not?

·         The wafer-thin plot with no novelty. For a supposed comedy there are hardly any truly funny scenes!

·         Abhinav Singh Kashyap’s direction is a far cry from his superb handling of Dabangg. He fails to develop the characters and situations and the result is an utterly uninteresting, non-entertaining film.

·         Pallavi Sharda’s debut heroine act is unimpressive. The supporting actors, too hardly make their presence felt.

Verdict

Ranbir Kapoor, after his Sawariya debacle, had hardly put a foot wrong in his selection of films and as a result had risen to be the most entertaining and most bankable contemporary star-actor. This disastrous film is a reminder to him that he should be selecting his films much more carefully.

Besharam is a colossal waste of time and talent!

Rating

11/2 stars.