Bhavai movie review: This Pratik Gandhi-Aindrita Ray starrer tries to be cute, ends up being too dramatic to handle

2.5/5

Story:

Raja Ram Joshi (Pratik Gandhi) joins a Ramleela as Raavan. He then joins the theatre company and falls in love with Rani, played by Aindrita Ray. Raja has to face the wrath of his own father and all the villagers for playing the character.

Review:

Bhavai is a film where Hardik Gujjar wanted to share a cute message but it ended up being a drama that people would most likely reject in today's 'woke' world. Today, nobody judges Raavan for his actions or blindly follows Lord Ram to the extent that they would hurt someone just playing Raavan. Thus, Bhavai becomes a film that purely works on Pratik being cute in love throughout the film. Otherwise, Bhavai fails to send across the message it wishes to. This could also be because various scenes from the film had to be edited out and thus, the end product was different from what was expected of Pratik’s debut Hindi film as a lead.

While Pratik Gandhi has an innocence to him, Rajesh Sharma also demands some attention. Ankur Bhatia, who enters at almost the same moment, leaves a less powerful impact. Aindrita Ray and Flora Saini's entry is quite something. Ankur Vikal as Bhura (Bhurelal) makes a powerful entry. Playing the role of Ram in stage, he becomes a powerful person through his dialogues. Rajendra Gupta as Panditji plays the typical frustrated father. Abhimanyu Singh's entry itself screams villain. Paired with Gopal Singh, you know that something evil is on its way. Krishna Bisht as Pratik's friend is moderately good. Pratik's wife Bhamini Oza plays his supportive sister-in-law. She looks adorable right from the beginning. Her moments with Pratik are actually something that will melt your heart.

We see glimpses of the play Ramayan but the scenes tend to get slightly on the dramatic side. Flora compares Abhimanyu to Raavan, who eats with 10 faces.

Pratik's audition as Ravana is something that will catch your eye. Abhimanyu's scene post that is equally powerful. However, Pratik rocks it in the role of Raavan on stage and a cute boy off it.

The songs leave an impact on the scenes, sometimes more than the scene itself. Soon, the scenes make a powerful impact. Panditji shows the colours of the society, something that thankfully many people cannot accept today. He says that a person becomes who he acts like and thus, states that his son Raja Ram Joshi will become Raavan. He even goes to the extent of throwing his son out of the house for that reason. While unreasonable, it is a harsh fact Indians have been following since some time.

Pratik as Raavan will force you to grab attention towards his character. His interaction with Aindrita might appear intense but is instead only dramatized owing to music. Pratik doesn't even make a compelling argument, making you lose interest in the scene.

Anil Rastogi as Netaji makes his entry in the second half of the movie. He doesn't have much to offer in the first few moments. Pratik, on the other hand, performs brilliantly with his expressions.

Flora and Abhimanyu's moment is also quite memorable. Similarly, Pratik and Aindrita share one cute moment that will warm your heart, knowing that they are there for each other when nobody else is.

Although the film has some cinematic moments, the plotline is not strong enough to keep you intrigued.

Pratik uses Gujarati dialogues in the film. While it is supposed to look beautiful, it is a wonder how others understand what he is trying to say since the language is different from Hindi.

Through the Ramleela, the characters interact with each other. Not just love but even war brews through the play.

The scene with Rani and Raja fighting for their love is well edited. It makes for an intriguing watch after the prolonged drama. Although the scene is dramatic as well, it is at least a reaction than simply the drama unfolding.

The last scene is supposed to move you but barely manages to leave an impact.

Verdict:

Pratik Gandhi is adorable throughout the film. If you are his fan, do watch the movie especially for him. His moments with real-life wife Bhamini Oza are also too cute. Aindrita Ray also performs fairly well. However, Bhavai suffers at the hands of the storytelling. Any action, whatsoever, happens only at the end so it is too little too late.