Direction: Samar Shaikh
Actors:
Vidya Balan, Ali Fazal, Kiran Kumar, Rajendra Gupta
Rating:
***
Bobby
Jasoos isn’t an Indian version of Sherlock Holmes or James Bond. It’s not even
attempting to be one. Bobby (Vidya Balan) — or Bilkis Bano — desperately wants
to be a detective. But she’s not
trying to emulate those suave, mysterious Hollywood heroes. She doesn’t even
watch them on TV. Indian soaps play in her middle-class Indian home, so the
girl from Moghalpura in Old Hyderabad has homegrown heroes drawn from that
never-ending show, CID, and from an old Doordarshan series.
The
fictional detective Karamchand played by Pankaj Kapur in the ’80s may, in fact,
be responsible for a childhood fixation; the sort most kids gets over, but one
that Bobby held on to.
The
fixation, however, has a larger purpose, for Bobby must prove her independence
and her worth in a conservative family where the men earn and provide and the
women stay home and look to get married. That is why, with no training, little education, and in defiance of a vehemently discouraging
father (“My house will not run on women’s incomes,” he says), Bobby holds on to
her dream of becoming a jasoos.
She
has little going for her in terms of work experience or
capital. But things change when a mysterious rich man (Anees Khan, played by
Kiran Kumar) seeks her out and offers her a case.
Bobby
has a fair bit of wit, and more gutsiness than perhaps all the male characters
put together. But her approach is more hit-and-miss than clinical, and she
stumbles and goofs up on occasion. This only serves to make the amateur
detective more credible. And it provides a few moments of humour.
The
casting decision by director Samar Shaikh was a
no-brainer. Bobby isn’t just a reversal of Moghalpura’s notions of the woman’s
role in society, it is also a reversal of the stereotypical notion of the
Bollywood heroine.
The
men around Bobby serve as mere props and sidekicks. As she calls oblique
romantic interest Tasawur (Ali Fazal, playing a
TV anchor) into a narrow alley and puts a hidden mic and earphone on him,
telling him what to do, she’s the boss, while he shows the kind of
vulnerability normally reserved for female characters in our films.
Other
than the father (played by Rajendra Gupta, credible as the old man rigid in his
ways), no one else is fleshed out.
Balan,
of course, has done such films in the past. She has toppled social barriers and battled stereotypes. She deserves credit for pulling it off
again.
At
times, the film moves sluggishly, and suffers such clichés as an aberrant dream
sequence. The overall story, and Bobby’s escapades, remain simplistic. But they
serve their purpose — of shining a light on a community that is
underrepresented in Bollywood films, and extracting a positive story of hope.
And, of course, of showcasing Vidya Balan.
Review originally published in hindustantimes.com (click here to see)
