Bawaal: This Varun Dhawan-Janhvi Kapoor starrer has heart in the right place, but it's brain dead

Staying true to its title, Bawaal has created stirred quite a commotion across the world for using the Holocaust as a backdrop to address modern relationship issues between the lead pair, played by Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor. The basic premise of Bawaal is intriguing. The film wants to tell the story of a self-centred con artist named Ajay, who develops a new appreciation for his life after learning about the tragedies that befell millions of innocent people under the Nazi occupation in Europe. 

The idea, intention and ambition to combine World War 2 and the romantic problems of today's image-obsessed youngsters, whose self-worth is deeply tied to the likes and views their Instagram posts garner, are potent and have a lot of potential. But, what's distressing is the fact, this movie, developed by a team of good writers under the guidance of a seasoned filmmaker like Nitesh Tiwari (Dangal and Chhichhore), misses the mark on multiple levels. How can these filmmakers go so wrong about so many things? 

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In Bawaal, we meet Ajay Dixit (Varun Dhawan), who has no discernable talents or any real achievements to show for it. But, he has mastered the art of propaganda and tricks everyone around him into believing that he could achieve anything under the sun, but he willingly chooses to keep its infinite potential in check as a service to the mere mortals. 

Now, Ajay's legendary generosity doesn't serve anyone except for his own shallow interests. Ajay exploits the gullibility of the majority as most seem to believe anything that they have been told without asking basic questions. Again, the setting is such a potential for a biting social satire at a time when across the world the menace of misinformation seems to be wreaking the lives of common people in a multitude of ways. 

The character of Nisha Dixit (Janhvi Kapoor), portrayed as a smart and empathetic individual, suffers from epilepsy, leading to feelings of emptiness in her quest for love. Her decision to marry Ajay without fully knowing him raises questions about the film's portrayal of women and their choices. Despite Ajay's obvious flaws, Nisha remains oblivious to them, presenting an unrealistic portrayal of her character's intelligence. It's not like Ajay cleverly masks his flaws with the bravado of a strong personality. He wears his obnoxiousness on his sleeves like a badge of honour. And none of the people around him, including Nisha, seem to notice it. It's like the whole of Lucknow willingly choose to let Ajay take it for a ride. 

And the movie expects the same nativity from its audience — just don't ask too many questions about how come Nisha fell for an incompetent man and why she put up with all the abuses from day one. Nisha tells Ajay about her medical condition before the wedding. In turn, Ajay assures her it won't be a problem in their marriage. Clearly, Ajay was very much aware that he could never get a girl like Nisha to marry him on his own merits. The arranged marriage is the only way to trap her. And on the night of the wedding, Nisha experiences seizures, leaving Ajay worried. Not about Nisha, but about himself. "What will happen to my image," wonders Ajay. And he keeps her locked in as he can't handle the embankment if experiences another episode in public. Yet Nisha suffers it all in silence in a far-fetched hope that Ajay will come to appreciate what a catch she is. 

And Ajay won't appreciate his life and all blessings in it until he comes face to face with the horrors of the Holocaust. And the movie is completely clueless as to how to chart Ajay's transition and it tries to take an easy way out by making every other character in it look as foolish as its protagonist. Like the school principal, who can't tell when a teacher is bluffing around and denying proper history education to the students. 

The only character that has some originality and flair is Kalpesh, played by Vyas Hemang. A happy-go-lucky, small-town man with a flamboyant fashion sense feels like a breath of fresh air, in an otherwise stale melodramatic landscape. 

The outrage over the way the movie trivialises one of the greatest tragedies that showed the depths of human cruelty in the history of the world is justifiable. Likening Hitler's depravity that caused millions of deaths to common people who wish to have a car like their neighbours reeks of ignorance. And using Auschwitz as a metaphor to discuss marriage issues is tragic. 

What were the writers thinking?