Badlapur (2015) User Reviews

A killer AXE matures to become good, a good TREE evolves to become SINISTER!!

[amoghbiet · 7/10 · 21 February 2015]

"The axe forgets, but the tree remembers".

There are two types of people in this world. The first type mourn for sometime after struck by a tragedy and move on with their lives. The second type, evolves to become tragedy themselves. Raghav/ Varun Dhawan is the latter in this disturbing movie called Badlapur.

This movie throws plenty of ethical questions at you. Which becomes really difficult to answer under the circumstances, and it becomes increasingly difficult to assess who is the protagonist and who is the antagonist.

Raghav gets struck by a shocking tragedy, from which he fails to recover. But, he evolves into something heinous, something SINISTER. He commits few acts which are considered to be menacing to the human race. But, he must commit them, for the purpose of his life had now changed, from a loving father and a doting husband he had now transformed into a dark, rather a very dark REVENGE seeker, a monster, a psychopath.

Layak/Nawaz loots a bank, but while doing this crime, commits a very EVIL act, this one act pivots the lives of many people in the future. This one act evolves a GOOD TREE into something SINISTER. But, the problem is, the AXE is punished for its mistake. Both, by the law of the land and by the forces of the nature. Yet, it has to suffer the wrath of the SINISTER TREE, which in the first place was turned into sinister by BALEFUL act of the AXE.

At the end of the movie Layak will be indulged in making a chair. While doing so, he will have a satisfied look on his face and his soul, for he knows that he has been thoroughly punished and devastated for the crime he had committed. The irony here is an AXE whose job is chopping down the tree had matured into something good, something which can create something new, even if it was a chair which it had learnt to create, but from a destroyer it had now become a creator.

DISTURBING: This movie contains few disturbing scenes, which can haunt you for sometime. When i say disturbing, i mean the kind of feeling that you got, when/if you have seen Anurag Kashyap's movie UGLY's climax scene, where you get to see the rotten dead body of a beautiful little girl. But, these scenes make this movie what it is.

This movie is a perfect launchpad for Varun from a happy-go-lucky college going kid into a serious engaging actor. Nawaz was brilliant as always. The rest of cast does a pretty job too.

Sriram the director does a fine job. Screenplay is good. Script is good. This is a very rare movie delivered by Bollywood. Now i will wait for the Blu-Ray of this movie and watch it again and try to answer those ethical questions which this movie shot at me when i watched it the first time. 7 *

Nawaz rocks in a brilliant thriller !!

[akshay-ak-kumar · 7/10 · 24 February 2015]

I've loved Sriram Raghavan's films. They're a bit different from the rest that Bolloywood turns out year on year. And he knows how to make a good thriller and keep his fans like me edge of their seats.

Badlapur is the story of Raghu (Varun Dhawan) who is simmering in revenge after his wife and son are killed in a bank robbery all gone wrong. Of the two robbers, Liak (Nawazuddin) is caught and arrested and sentenced for 20 years. He claims that he did not kill the women and child, it was his partner who did. Raghu waits for the next 20 years to get is revenge.

On the face, Badlapur is a revenge story. But see inside and its a tale of two lonely men trying to seek comfort and solace. And in the 15 years, they become desperate. One has time while the other hasn't.

As the movie progressed, it did manage to pop up a few questions - about the concept of revenge, redemption and right or wrong?

And these questions came thanks to the brilliant performance of Nawauddin. Nawaz is at the moment India's best actor and he just leaves his mark. U feel anger and pity while also laugh at his stupidity.

Varun is good and uses his eyes well but no where close to Nawaz. The rest of the cast is very good in their small roles especially Huma Qureshi, Prathima Qazmi and Radhika Apte.

The movie does have a few pits and you might question the roles played by the women.

However, this is a brilliant psychological thriller and a must watch for all thriller fans.

Revnege shown in a way worth watching

[abhishekkr2-1 · 8/10 · 20 February 2015]

After a long time I watched a good Bollywood movie. The movie revolves around the concept of revenge. But as you would have seen so many movies regarding that, so why watch this? This is why, this movie is more practical than many of the other movies. Here the protagonist is not ethically correct every time and that is true for any common man. In the end, the movie has a message for people who thinks revenge is the best way.

Extremely well chosen actors, from Nawaz to Divya, all have acted well. Nawazuddin has done a extremely stunning performance and shows the mettle to outshine any protagonists in the movie. Varun Dhawan for a change has done a very good work unlike his usual style of chocolate boy. Must watch for people who can handle a bit of gore.

Other reviewers have appreciated the movie but has under-rated it, but I must say, it is an 8 all the way.

Revenge can send people on a journey that will take em places far darker than they would have ever dared go before.

[Fella_shibby · 9/10 · 22 February 2015]

I was really impressed to see something this good from bollywood. The acting was phenomenal from nawaz, varun, huma and vinay. But the best part is the direction. There was sufficient character development. U feel sympathy even for the bad guys. Sriram raghavan is a brilliant director. The climax between varun and nawaz is another highlight of this film. Revenge can send people on a journey that will take em places far darker than they would have ever dared go before. This film is also about the madness a person is capable of. This film is dark, violent, explicit n at times disturbing. The scene wher nawaz keeps on trying to escape from the prison was funny.

Rise of the Indian Noir!

[alwaysplanb · 10/10 · 22 February 2015]

From the first moment you set your eyes on the movie, you know that it's going to be highly stylish one. And it is! Not your Once Upon a Time in Mumbai sort of stylish. Rather stylish in truer and grittier sense.

The characters were just fabulous. You don't know whom to call the victim and whom the culprit. Just an unfortunate event that sets off a chain reaction transforming every one in the process for the good or worse.

The charms of the movie: Varun and Nawazuddin. The one I liked more was Varun for a very simple reason. Nawazuddin is an acclaimed actor though underrated. It's Varun who broke the stereotype chocolate boy image and got onto a new avatar. One that's disturbing and at the same time interesting. The only thing is, Varun's voice seemed childish in some scenes that demanded more impact. Other than that, Varun has my respect. Nawazuddin is Nawazuddin. I watch his every movie just to see him in action. Enough Said!

The twists and turns in this movie seemed natural. Never forced. Unlike other bollywood movies, where the twists are introduced out of nowhere, this one had twists that baffled me with it's sheer brilliance. The gore is limited to just few minutes but enough to make a huge impact.

The comedy is unintentional yet brilliant. The dialogues are not intended to make you laugh. But you laugh anyway. Even after the movie has ended. WOW! 2015 has been so good this far. Hope this continues for the rest of the year. Ugly, Baby, and now this.

I'll not urge you to watch this movie if you like masala movies Or, if you intend to watch a family movie. But, if you want a taste of the nastier grittier stuff bollywood has to offer, I can't think of a better movie right now than this one.

You'll either love this movie. Or, hate it. But this movie will definitely make an impact on you. That fer sure.

Its a new entry in Neo Noir genre.

[anupapu8 · 7/10 · 20 February 2015]

BADLAPUR - The movie starts with a African quote , 'THE AXE FORGET , BUT THE TREE NEVER' .

This quote almost describes the main theme of the movie. Its the Tree(Raghu played by Varun) who wants to take revenge from the Axe(Laik play by Siddique). But its not a typical revenge drama in which we have a perfect hero without any sins inside him , neither the villain is a total sinful person. Rather the characters are of Grey nature and have both goods and bads inside them. It almost feels like it has been made by Anurag Kashyap , it also have the typical awkward comic situations like of which we have seen in Gangs Of Wassypur , and its good to see that their exist another director (Sriram) who can make movies like Kashyap. But one thing that lacks in this film as compared to Kashyap's film is that the shocking element. Kashyap always keep some twists in the film to shock us which was absent in the film. In an interview Varun have said that this film will raise some debates , and i agree with that. Normally Bollywood movies show that there is a villain , who kills any person from Hero's family and our Hero take his revenge , its for his inner peace as well as for justice to some extent. But the real question is that , is revenge is a right solution to compensate the murder of your loved ones. Is killing back the murderer will give you peace , i don't think so , and the same thing has been proved by the climax which is too much unconventional as it shows the revenge didn't do anything good to our hero as he too is a sinful person and has done his part of sins for the sake of revenge . Also the villain shows the white side of his character shockingly. Which may not be liked by everyone. The film also ask a question that whether its needed to give a person who has done a tragic sin a second chance .

As i said the movie lacks the shocking element , because of that some scenes felt flat as our hero doesn't seems like he has a particular plan and is only doing random things. Also the revenge drama only starts in the 2nd half so in the first half the movie actually doesn't move much in the first half. Varun Dhawan has got a lot of complaints that he cant do different roles other that comic character as he is perfect for comedy. This will prove all those persons wrong (i am also one of them). Its not like he has nail it totally but for an actor just three film old (all the three films being too light on nature) he has done a pretty good job. And he will only get better from here. Now he is a threat for his generation of actors. To write about Siddique is being difficult now a days. He shows so much perfection to his character that leave no words to describe it. For me its actually too difficult for a hero to shine in a film in which Siddique plays a villain. Siddique has stolen the lime light from Salmaan in kick and now he has stolen all the praise from Varun(Luckily in Kahani & Talaash Siddique doesn't have a too much important role otherwise he should have stolen it from Vidya and Aamir too) . And his next will be with Srk in RAEES , be aware Shahrukh. Among female leads i would appreciate Radhika Apte who has done a good job specially in the scene where he has to create voices to show fake sex. Songs doesn't interrupt the movie at all as they appeared in background. Editing could have been better as i think revenge dramas if not directed by Kashyap like Gangs of Wassypur should not be more then 2hrs , and it is 20min long. I so much wanted this movie to be directed by Anurag Kashyap , he could have made this better. Never the less movie is dark , and by dark i mean too dark , there are dark cinematography , dark humor , strong sexual scenes(for which the movie has been given A certificate so family audience should stay away from it). Not for every type of audience , couldn't recommend it to every one , so watch it at your own risk. 7/10 By ANuP APu KuMaR

Well Directed - A Must Watch Movie

[vip-nishantsingh · 8/10 · 19 February 2015]

It's a must watch movie who usually like Hollywood revenge kinda movie Badlapur Offers a cinematic excellence with a rider that there's violence and gore. Badlapur is a complete performance driven film. This Film deals a dark humor revenge .....Badlapur is a film that will find patrons amidst the multiplex crowd. And yes, it is a film that will continue to live-on in the minds of cinema lovers for a long time to come.

Acting = 7.5/10 (Varun Dhawan's best acted Movie yet to find growing edges and nawaj's act as usual at it's best you will enjoy his act more then anything in this film)

Directing = 9.5/10 (Director Sriram Raghavan's crime thriller is about vengeance and forgiveness all right, but one thing that the film isn't is conventional. Badlapur Movie with many shades significantly enhancing the effect of its pivotal dramatic conflict.In conclusion, Badlapur might not be in the Ek Hasina Thi and Johnny Gaddar league, but it is a happy sign that Sriram Raghavan has left Agent Vinod behind.

Story = 8.1/10 (Badlapur is a Fantastic movie that suffuses on screen - a deftly written story, spectacular performances and an intelligently layered screenplay. What works best here is the film's unpredictability. From the minute it begins, you're latched to your seat with your heart throbbing in your mouth and your throat frequently choking up. For the sheer impact the movie conjures up, writer- director Sriram Raghavan deserves a bow)

Climax = 7.9/10 (While the first half keeps you firmly in its grip, the second half starts meandering a little till it captures you back with an absolutely unforeseeable climax. What you mainly take away from this movie is its core; a story (written by Sriram Raghavan) that tells us that most often the situation is the villain. And, perhaps, each of us is capable of turning a criminal when faced with an extreme situation.)

Why to Watch : If you are fan of Hollywood style of Movie, This Love Revange is far better then any other Indian Movie even good from Amir Starer "Gajini" or John Starer "Force". and obviously if u are fan of Nawaj's acting.

Why to not : Unmature act of Varun Dhawan who is trying his best.

What to Do : Go Watch it in Theater you will enjoy it for sure.

The two faces of revenge

[Peter_Young · 7/10 · 2 October 2021]

Badlapur is a well-made and highly enjoyable thriller cum psychological drama. Sriram Raghavan has already proved time and again his knack for this kind of thing, and the results here are very good albeit, honestly, not his best. The director's unique style of symbolism along with a very matter-of-fact portrayal of the events and some superb camera work, works to great effect. The sex sequences, however, looked forced and not very credible and provided nothing but occasional shock value in what could have been bold but clean entertainment. Needless to say, technically the film is an absolute winner, and the dark narrative is aided by great music.

The film is gripping and tense, but it has meaning and works as an absorbing dramatic story which dives well into the psyche of the protagonist. Beneath the surface, it poses interesting philosophical questions on the nature of revenge and the point of its outcome. On the one hand, it gives the avenger a purpose and a possibility of psychological redemption as well as a feeling that justice was made. On the other, it is destructive, empty and doesn't let him go on with life. Both these facets of the concept of revenge are very well portrayed here through the journey of the protagonist, whose wife and child were killed by two criminals.

The film is led by a flawed yet competent performance from Varun Dhawan. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is excellent as the foe, and so is Vinay Pathak. Among the women, Huma Qureshi is very strong in a supporting role of an atypical prostitute, and Radhika Apte does very well later on. Even in the smallest of parts, Ashwini Kalsekar can be trusted to leave a mark (she was phenomenal in Andhadhun). This is generally true of Divya Dutta but she gets a preachy, wishy-washy role. Yami Gautam is luminous. The film ends on a slightly sugarcoated note but provides a long-needed catharsis to this intense story. Indian film noir, indeed.

The streets of crime can also lead sometimes to empathy- this strong message has been given by this matured movie.

[maulin5 · 8/10 · 21 February 2015]

#Badlapur : A Sriram Raghvan movie Badlapur, starring Varun Dhawan & Nawazuddin Sidiquie, has been released. A revenge saga of Raghu, who's wife and son has been killed by Layak during the bank robbery in Pune, in presence of his partner. His partner ran away, and Layak got arrested. Court gives him 20 years punishment in jail. But, because of his illness, court gives order to bail him. Meanwhile, during these years, his partner never caught by police. He is so set with his wife and owning a restaurant. When Raghu got news of him, he takes revenge from the partner and his wife. Then one interesting character of Jhimlee is also there, who is a girlfriend of Layak. Layak loves her, as much as she does. What will Raghu do to take his revenge from these people, to know that you have to watch this. The story is not new, but the presentation was good. The first robbery scene was taken in just a long shot. Then when Varun saw his dead son, the dance of Huma, the coffee shop scene of Varun & Yami, the lift scene just before the interval, the raining scenes, the climax scene where Nawaz fights with Varun in his room containing the toys, photos of his son and wife & many more are fabulous scenes of this film. Dialogues and screenplay are good enough to engage the audience. Sriram has directed this film brilliantly. He chooses the best cast ever. Varun gave a superb performance. This film can be counted in his best movies in the future. Nawaz gave as usual, Faizal type performance. Whenever he tries to do comedy, the audience gives appreciation. Huma gave such a fantastic performance in her fantastic role. Divya Dutta is as usual. Vinay Pathak is too good. His expressions are so real. Radhika also gave a nice performance. But, my favorite Yami once again fail to give more than 10 minutes performance. What the hell is going with the directors! This film is different from the other revenge saga, because there is no violence except few scenes. Women are also the part of the story, and which can give a thought to the viewers. Music is just outstanding, but, only Jee Karda fits to the taste. It is the story of badman to good man & good man to the bad one. The streets of crime can also lead sometimes to empathy. This is the story of a man becoming the beast and the beast becoming the man. Go for it.

Good Revenge Saga but could have been better

[joy-dutta35 · 7/10 · 20 February 2015]

Although Nawazuddin steals the show with his maniacal-deceptive- cunning performance, BADLAPUR is definitely a game changer for Varun Dhawan. Director Sriram Raghvan tells us about an ordinary man who went on doing extraordinary cruelty to avenge his family's death.This story is dark and violent yet different from stereotype thrillers. First half is brilliant,you cannot take your eyes off the screen for a single moment. Second half doesn't live up-to the expectation,story telling could have been more tight and impactful. Varun Dhawan as Raghu has delivered a performance that will be remembered for years, you will get to see a completely different Varun. He has brilliantly portrayed his character and makes the audience feel for him. Nawaz, well every time he manages to surprise his audience. His character Laik has weak physique and cunning brain. Some of his interactions were mind-blowing and claps worthy. Both Varun and Nawaz have carried the film really well on their shoulders. Yaami Gautam, Huma Qureshi, Radhika Apte and Vinay Pathak impress in their cameos. Sachin-jigar's music is good, thumbs up for 'jee karda'. Climax of the film is really impressive and i must say Sriram(after his poor Agent Vinod) is back with a bang. Oh yes, do not miss the beginning.

Awesome! Grim, gritty and gruesome!

[harsh-kabeer · 8/10 · 21 February 2015]

I think it is Ugly, in the recent crop of Bollywood flicks, that matches the grimness of Badlapur. Whereas conventional Bollywood flicks are painted in colourful palette, Badlapur is done in shades of grey that is never afraid to go dark, but refuses to go white. Its darkness made me swoon on my seats. Its boldness enthralled me. This is the noir Bollywood has been waiting for. In Badlapur, the director has created two main characters that turn the very conventional ideas of protagonist and antagonist on its head and delivery a dark, comic, intense thriller that glued me to my seat in the first half, but falters in the second half where it tries to give intensity to the changing dynamics between the two main characters, but falters because the screenplay in the second half could not throw the same punch it did in the first half. The build up was definitely great and it showed itself in the stronger moments of second half, but as the story veered to its climax, it starts turning the whole revenge story upside down which is beautiful, but could not bring the same intensity and sharpness. Nawazuddin Siddiqui is the star of the movie. He is a phenomenon. Varun Dhawan comes second best. His acting is fine and his acting shows the intensity his character requires, but his voice does not live up to it. Overall, a must watch. Not for those who love the usual Bollywood fare.

Return to form for Mr. Raghavan

[ragingbull_2005 · 7/10 · 22 February 2015]

3.5/5 The last twenty minutes derail Badlapur and impede it from becoming one of the better thrillers of the "revenge-is-a-dish-best-served-cold" sub-genre. The first hundred minutes have many brutal, in your face moments. The first scene is in a master class of its own. It is immediately arresting and horrifying and dares you to turn your eyes from it. Shriram Raghavan's direction and his knack of storytelling were the primary drivers which kept me glued. He made me sympathize for even the worst of his characters. That says something about his Elmore Leonard like ability to create likable "bad" guys and repellent "good" guys. Varun Dhawan is a revelation. As the grieving husband and father, he pulls off the act with unexpected panache. His eyes glitter with hatred and the body language exudes barely suppressed menace. Nawazzudin Siddiqui's role is not that of a conventional villain. He does not froth or shout. With his white hair and frail physique, he demands sympathy. However, as usual he brings understated nuance to his character of an incarcerated bank robber. His anger barely broke the surface. But when it did, it left me chilled to the core. Radhika Apte steals the limelight. I did not know of her before viewing this. Amongst a cast which has, many other known female faces (Huma Quereshi, Yami Gautam and Divya Dutta), she clearly steals the cake with her portrayal of a wife who will go to any length for her husband. The build up to the climax and the denouement itself were anti- climactic, somewhat of a damp squib and took away a little something from what is likely to be remembered as one of the top movies of the year.

Really ?!?

[samhayer · 3/10 · 22 February 2015]

well , i was almost forced into the theater cinema by my friends who were watching it the second time the same day, and telling me that its an awesome movie !

why dint i like it?

1. the story line is missing. was expecting a lil more. the story revolving around whos the partner ? totally no suspense in that!

2. he kills two people without being sure if they killed his wife and son!

3. nawazzudin goes back to jail claiming he has done the murders and gives varun a second chance?

4. the movie just ends!! thats it! i dint like it atall! i think people have lost their judgement in knowing which is a good movie!

only nawazzudin's acting was great! that was enjoyable!

Oscar level movie indeed ,

[vikasjoshi-99705 · 10/10 · 21 October 2018]

Sri ram raghwan has created an masterpiece ,raised level of bollywood , varun ,nawaz uddin delivered great memorable performances , must watch movie ..

A story of change and revenge

[amittemurnikar · 8/10 · 18 March 2016]

'Badla' - the word in the Hindi language has two different meanings - 'Change' and 'Revenge.' Badlapur is also a town in Thane district of Maharashtra, which forms the fulcrum of conflicts and complications in the movie.

Varun Dhawan (Raghu), gives his best performance yet. Breaking away from the college boy cliché', he shows us his true capacity. The story starts with the bank robbery by Laik (Nawazuddin, who plays the cunning antagonist in a stalwart performance) and Harman (Vinay Pathak in a convincing performance) that leads to kidnapping and murder of Raghu's wife and his only son. Harman flees away with the cash while Laik gets caught by the police. This slingshots the movie into a revenge saga. Raghu is hellbent on avenging the death of his wife and son.

The film does away from the usual and believes in hurting your opponent where it hurts most. Raghu tortures Laik to reveal his partner's name by approaching Laik's muse Jhimli (a sensuous Huma Qureshi), a prostitute and exploiting her.

With Laik sentenced to 20 years and firm on not telling his partner's name, Raghu moves away from his home to run away from old memories and holes himself to a town called Badlapur.

Time flies. Laik develops stomach cancer while he is still in jail. Shobha, the social activist (played by Divya Dutta) asks Raghu to sign his mercy plea so that Laik can live the rest of his life in peace. Raghu meets Laik and asks him his partner's name. When Laik doesn't give in, Raghu does not agree to the mercy plea. In distress, Laik's mother approaches Raghu in Badlapur to reveal the name of Laik's partner. As promised, Raghu agrees to commute Laik's sentence.

The story by Massimo Carlotto is based on an old African proverb as the premise - 'The axe forgets but the tree remembers'. Even after all these years, Raghu has not forgotten the wound inflicted upon him by Laik and Harman.

Raghu reaches Harman and his wife Koko (played credibly by Radhika Apte), befriends them and then kills them. His methods leading up the revenge and the revenge itself are the signature of Raghavan.

'Badlapur' is a story that weighs the protagonist and antagonist on an equal scale. Laik reaches Badlapur to meet Raghu and ask him about Harman's whereabouts and the money. When both of them meet at 'Badlapur', the story jolts into towards the climax. Raghu describes to Laik how he has killed Harman and lets go of Laik as he is already dying a slow death. He refuses to give Laik the whereabouts of the loot from the bank.

Meanwhile, the police officer investigating the old bank robbery case is at a closure point. He blackmails Raghu to give him the money to let him off. Raghu disagrees. Laik tells his mother to remember him as a kind man, and he reaches the police station. Laik confesses to Harman's and Koko's murder and describes every detail of the killing and where he has buried the corpses.

In the end, the antagonist sacrifices himself and gives a new lease of life to Raghu, the protagonist. Their meeting in Badlapur marks the focal point of the movie where both of them have undergone a change.

'Badlapur' marks another installment of Sriram Raghavan's cult movies after 'Ek Hasina Thi' and 'Johnny Gaddar'. The screen writing is full of punching wisecracks - the best one coming from the call girl, whom Liak visits when he is back from serving 15 years. After a passable 'Agent Vinod', Raghavan is back with his 'Tarantino' style of movie making filled with intense situations where mostly words are louder than actions.

Confusing for masses and masterpiece for classes.

[SAMTHEBESTEST · 7/10 · 20 February 2015]

BADLAPUR REVIEW- Its a complete vulgar revenge drama with confusing/meaningful climax.don't know how to review this movie.because climax was confusing for masses and meaningful for classes.a simple story of Raghu(Varun) whose wife(Yami) and son got killed by 2 thieves(Nawazudding and Vinay Pathak).he wants to take a revenge but he gets a chance after 15 years.story is simple but screenplay is very tight which is not boring.direction is interesting.whole star cast has done a great job especially Varun and Nawazuddin,kudos for them.a typical turn around in climax where villain becomes hero and hero becomes villain which lifts the film 1 step high.but mass audience will feel it boring and confusing while classes will love it.music is top notch and its the best part of the film.camera work is awesome and background music is thrilling.in last words i can say as they have a tag line ''An Axe forgets but tree never''. So i don't think this film will emerge as big hit,i will be an average one.

A Perfect Tribute To Chan-wook Park's Vengeance Series

[sandeep-mitra-47 · 9/10 · 21 February 2015]

This movie gave me another huge HOPE that Indian Cinema can be great just like any other great movies of the World. Though the story was not an original concept as it was highly inspired from Korean director Chan-wook Park's Vengeance Series, Badlapur delivered and outstanding story with brilliant performance.

All three movies of the Korean Vengeance Series Oldboy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance were based on complete separate stories, there were no connection between them except one and that is 'Vengeance'. Badlapur which is also about the same topic showing the true form of Vengeance and how it changes a person towards insanity. Just like the Korean movies Badlapur tells a story that is more human and more practical, all the characters are so awesomely portrayed that the viewers can easily connect with them, understand them and can feel their pain.

No doubt it's a masterpiece from the director Sriram Raghavan and as I am expecting from the movies tag-line "Don't miss the beginning" the second and third chapter of the "BADLA" are coming soon and I am eagerly waiting for them.

Nawazzuddin steals the show yet again !!!

[ketgup83 · 7/10 · 21 February 2015]

"Revenge is best served when cold" - Quote you can see before the credit starts rolling out in the movie Kill Bill, directed by Quentin Tarantino. Badlapur is one such revenge drama that is gruesome, intense and hard-hitting.

A common man life is ruined when his wife and son is killed during a bank robbery. He waits for 20 years to fulfill his act of revenge.

Sriram Raghavan, the talent behind revenge saga Ek Haseena Thi and spellbinding Johnny Gaddar comes back with a bang. With no time wasting, Raghavan immediately introduces you to the plot right from the beginning using flashbacks in between the scenes. The 1st half moves in at a snail pace but picks up the in the later half. The act of revenge on each person involved in the murder is bloody and violent. However, the tautness of script is missing when the main drama unfolds in the climax and clearly Raghavan misses the mark in the end. Editing should be crispy along with more attention required in the main conversation between Varun Dhawan and Nawazzudin Siddique. The revenge drama is spiced up with little humor with foot-tapping music by Sachin-Jigar. Art direction and cinematography is nice. The performances by the star cast is applauding and compensates for the minuses. Varun Dhawan sheds his chocolate-look-lover-boy image and shows his dark side. with brilliant act. Watch for him when he meets Nawazzuddin for the first time in the hospital. Nawazuddin Siddique is brilliant as usual playing the negative role after KICK.

Overall, Badlapur is a hard-hitting,revenge drama which is not for the light hearted. Good 3/5

This Movie Must be Released again..

[parekhhariom · 10/10 · 9 March 2019]

I love This movie...and its my all time favourite movie...we can't feel any acting but we feel like its really happend..must watch ..

A unique, dark, surreal revenge thriller with some flaws, but with great performances throughout. (Spoiler of all the violent content in the movie)

[shanpanjwani · 7/10 · 22 February 2015]

What a tough film Badlapur is to rate. It's pretty good, but not as great as many reviewers on here have said. It shares various similarities with South Korean classics The Man from Nowhere and I Saw the Devil, but is not nearly as good or as violent as they are, even though it was advertised as such.

The film's pacing/length has positives and negatives. The whole movie lasts just 123 minutes, or slightly over two hours long. Refreshingly, all the songs combined take up less than ten minutes of the movie. There is no dancing of any kind during any of the songs, barring Huma Qureshi's stripper song. Still, the pacing is off. The first ten minutes move at a brisk pace, but the final 30 minutes before the intermission seems to take forever.

Anyways, what can be said about this movie that nobody else has mentioned, in 1,000 words or less? Well, how about the adult content? Unlike the other reviews, this one consists of all the adult content that is in the movie.

As far as the violence and adult content goes, well, it is there. It's nowhere near as gritty or abundant as expected, but it is there. To be precise, there are three murders, a child's death, two sex scenes (neither is graphic), and barely any language.

As for the violent scenes, all of them are in the trailer. The first one takes place in the opening minutes, after Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Vinay Pathak's characters kidnap Yami Gautam and her son. The son falls out of an open door, and Gautam's character is shot once, just moments after, by Siddiqui.

The two notorious hammer scenes involve Vinay Pathak's character, and his wife. The wife (Apte) gets coerced to shower by Dhawan while Pathak is away. When she exits the bathroom, she sees the bedroom covered in plastic. She is then struck one time on the side of her head with a hammer, and the result is the goriest moment of the movie. That's the first scene of the trailer, and the strike is also shown in the trailer.

The second hammer scene is the one in which Dhawan's character is seen repeatedly hammering a character, while screaming. That happens after Pathak's character arrives home, sees Dhawan's character in a chair, is told that the wife is in the bedroom, sees the horrifying scene. But, the most disturbing scene in the movie take's place before that.

After Pathak's character heads to the bedroom and sees his wife in a near vegetative state, bloodied and on the ground, he goes to her, screams her name, and cries as he kneels over to her body. She's still alive, but when he tries to call for an ambulance, Dhawan snatches the phone away from him. As he does this, Dhawan tell's Pathak about how an ambulance came to save his own wife, and how they tried everything. Then, he pushes Pathak, telling him that his wife still died.

Seconds later, as Pathak continues to cry out his wife's name, she tries to say his name. But, her body is still. Her face is still, her mouth barely moves, she struggles to breathe, and cannot see him. Dhawan tells Pathak that his own wife was also calling out his name, fifteen years back, but she couldn't see him. Then, she died.

The moment Dhawan finishes talking, Pathak's wife dies. Pathak shrieks with grief, as Dhawan pulls out his hammer. Pathak's character jumps at Dhawan, who stops him and smashes him with a hammer. Pathak falls onto the plastic-covered bed face first, as Dhawan bellows devilishly, while striking Pathak with the hammer several times, with blood splattering on his face and shirt. The scenes all take place 85-90 minutes into the film, and will likely go down, along with the rape scene, as the most memorable scenes from the movie.

The two other violent scenes involve Nawazuddin Siddiqui. Aside from the scene where he kills Yami Gautam, he stabs a prisoner in the face. Then in the final 20 minutes, he tries to strangle Dhawan, but fails to kill him. He gets his butt kicked, and is eventually knocked out.

As for the sex scenes, the first one is a rape. In it, Jhimli, a prostitute played by Huma Qureshi, gets raped by Raghu (Dhawan). The act lasts only ten seconds, but it marks the moment when his character undergoes its dark transformation.

The other scene is between Nawazuddin Siddiqui & a prostitute named Imli, but it's irrelevant to the story. The only other sensual scene is the kiss between Varun Dhawan & Divya Dutta, which was also shown in the trailer.

Performance wise, everyone is great, The best by far was Siddiqui, who always seems to shine in these roles. Qureshi did the next best job, and everyone else was terrific.

The surprise, of course, was Varun Dhawan. To me, he came off as perfect in this role. I find his usual persona annoying. Well, it lasts less than three minutes in this movie. It is all dark from there, and he shines. His transformation allows viewers to reflect on who his character was, and what he has now become. His voice betrays him at times, but he manages it well. I'll give him a B.

In summary, Badlapur is as the headline says. It is bizarre, dark, surreal, and somewhat flawed. But, Raghavan's direction is very good, and the performances are terrific. It also sends a notable message: vengeance will not alway result in satisfaction. I would go on, but I've reached the word limit.

Verdict: 7 or 8 out of 10. Worth watching, mostly for the performances.

Terrific acting by Varun dhawan

[samcogni-48173 · 9/10 · 24 November 2017]

seriuosly dint expect varun dhawan to act so serious role, he is kind of immature coolleege kid acting done so long, but my god the way acted in this movie actually revealed hisd true potential , varun has to explore more of his role characters for reaching greater heights,...he totally deserves to be awarded expecting an actor who has done the same kind of role, again and again, to act in the same way I s easy for him eg nawassidin siddique whereas varun has done never this kind of role ..hence he deserrves the praise ==== what a stellar performance...keep goiung varun

A revenge served too cold

[anand1213 · 6/10 · 3 July 2015]

This film elaborates upon the quotation it shows in the beginning. Raghu patiently fosters in himself the revenge he must take on the murderers of his wife and son. We have characters that are real as nobody is only the good and the bad. People are not constants like some numbers but change under circumstances. A dual in their behaviour is clear and how their characters shape shift with time.

In the beginning when Laik commits the murder during the robbery, a sense of misbalance is established. However, when Laik is acquitted and proved guilty of his crime and sentenced to jail term for 20 years we get a feeling that justice is somewhat served. Nevertheless, Raghu has a different definition of it and the whole films then builds up on how he restores this balance in his own way. The character of Raghu seems ambiguous at times as we keep guessing what is brewing in his mind. The film would have been better if it oscillated by showing Raghu's mindset in different lights. A more psychological investigation of characters by creating a question in his and our minds if time can heal wounds and make him forget the murderers of his wife and kid but might have had an added intensity to the whole film but on that note, it was bland. In addition, some conversations seemed innocuous. I would break the film into four parts:

1. A crime is committed: The confusion that leads to the murders is well shot as to how accidentally they end up in the car and how the kid accidentally falls off it and the mother panics and is shot. Elliptical cutting keeps us in pace with the events. Initially it seems Laik has things somewhat figured out when he smartly makes his partner escape, surrenders and gives vague answers to police and blurs the investigation. The death of his wife and kid has a devastating impact on Raghu but the whole sequence went away so fast that it failed to register the gravity of the situation. More focus was upon Raghu's loss than on his rage. The flashbacks that were shown later were helpful in establishing the frame of mind that Raghu was in and helped us feel his pain. The jail scene when Raghu meets Laik and calmly listens to his stories and then bursts into beating him showed how angry he was with his lies and dissatisfied with the police proceedings. In the shot where we see the girl's parents, it appeared as if they were in a different place i.e. a world of their own grief and the way Raghu's mother behaves; maybe to show the divide between in-laws (North- South context) and their non-understanding of mutual feelings.

2. Laik goes to jail and Raghu goes to Badlapur: Laik is no more the smart guy but swagger still, he is to be in jail for 20 years and is repeatedly caught in his attempts to escape. We also get the glimpse of the boredom of jail routine, the work, the man sweeping with both hands, the jail mates with their shenanigans. The 15-year jump came as a surprise as I never hoped the revenge would be kept alive for so long and expected something to happen during numerous escapades that Laik foolishly executes. With the entry of Shobha, we get a shocker that Laik has cancer again creating a question whether Raghu's revenge still includes killing Laik. However, the conversation between the two could have been a lot better, Raghu has absolutely no idea on how to put things mildly, and he rather talks in plain 1+1=2 analogies. There are times in this film that makes us doubt about how Raghu will take revenge. If not then why is he living the isolated and aimless life, why is the film titled so, and why are we watching it.

3. Life outside: Raghu finds out about Laik's partner Harman and grants him plea. This part shows the glimpses of little things that a long imprisoned Laik enjoys. In addition, we see Raghu seemingly going up and down Pune and maybe plotting his moves. The acting talents of Varun Dhawan came at handy as we had little clue what his character was up to and how far he was willing to go with his act, in the way he delivered his dialogues, his brooding stares and his reactions to the Harmans. The policemen were of secondary importance by the lazy ways they carry out their investigations, react to media, their propensity in not accepting their fault and their obvious lust for money.

4. The Conclusion: It gets clear that time has not affected Raghu in anyway and he has taken the proverb of serving revenge cold damn seriously. The way Raghu acts all Thor for his Robin and uses Shobha shows how committed and lost he is in his revenge. The final encounter between Laik and Raghu is the high point of the film. The way the strangling sequence is shot is very real. Raghu leaves Laik to die but the moment when Laik returns to his room after a certain silent pause and delivers the truth to Raghu is very powerful.

This film is also about: The way Laik's mother lives a lonely life, never gives up on him and how he always takes her for granted. Raghu asks Jhimli to call the police and we know the pathetic conditions in which sex-workers live because of the anonymity and nature of their profession. We see in the train the media frenzy and insensitivity of fellow passengers with volatile memory upon seeing Raghu. Raghu uses women in this film: Abuse of Jhimli, treatment of Harman's wife, use of Shobha as an alibi, and Laik's mother to get information.

Pathetic Direction and Movie

[rajeevrvis · 1/10 · 22 February 2015]

The Film is awful. Shocked to see such positive comments here. These comments forced me to write this review.

The Film has no suspense at all. The Plot of the film is very predictable. It revolves around a guy who wants to kill two guys who killed his wife and a son. The whole movie is about (Raghu - Varun Dhawan) acting mad the whole movie with very poor acting. He is crazy and vulgar at the same time. Nawazuddin Siddique has done justice to his role and has given a brilliant performance.

Overall the movie lacked a grip on Direction. The movie can be avoided. The ending of the movie is sudden and abrupt.

Who was Protagonist and who was Antagonist? A very tough question after watching this.

[arpanmishra1990 · 9/10 · 15 March 2018]

This is my very first review of any film after watching about every masterpieces around the globe. This is only to praise Indian cinema. These types of movies are required for audience to think about revenge.

Very Raw......absolute real image of revenge. How a protagonist becomes antagonist and when an antagonist becomes protagonist, it has happened in a very subtle way....very gradually.

The only thing which I disliked was that the story itself is not sufficient to make anyone intact to the screen. It's less entertaining, but after watching you will definitely think about this for hours or days.

The first scene of this movie is awesome. Very unique type of camera shot which I have seen so far.

This is not a Tarantino style revenge drama which focus on stylish killing, gore and blood. This is a movie which anyone should watch alone without any interruption. Those people who involve in the character while watching movies, this movie is for them.

Abig yes.

[aally_v · 9/10 · 15 November 2017]

Very good gritty revenge caper. Varun shines here and this boy will go far. Nawazuddin is amazing as the unrepentant, lying loser. No clichés, our hero has no issues sleeping around while mourning his love, This is almost a classic. Despite the stretched ending this easily falls in the Ek hasina thi. Johnny Gaddar category. A must watch.