Bawaal

About the film

Bawaal (transl. Commotion) is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language adventure romantic drama film directed by Nitesh Tiwari, and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari under Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment and Earthsky Pictures. It stars Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor as a troubled married couple.

Filming took place in multiple countries from April to August 2022. Initially scheduled for a theatrical release, Bawaal had a streaming release on Amazon Prime Video on 21 July 2023. The film received mixed reviews from critics, with backlash mostly owing to Holocaust trivialization. Despite the backlash, the film earned multiple nominations, including Best Actor in a Web Original Film and Best Actress in a Web Original Film for Dhawan and Kapoor, respectively, at the 2023 Filmfare OTT Awards.

Plot

Ajay Dixit is an image-conscious narcissist, who teaches history at a school in Lucknow. He hates his life of lies, despite the respect he is held in, thanks to his philosophical tendency to "fake it till you make it". He has grounded his beautiful epileptic wife Nisha, who is much more intelligent than him, since he does not want her seizures to ruin his reputation.

However, later, Ajay finds himself and his image in jeopardy when he slaps his student, Atul Raghuvanshi, in frustration over a doubt regarding World War II. Atul turns out to be the son of MLA Vishwas Raghuvanshi. Out of despair of wanting to escape the wrath of the MLA, Ajay decides to visit places across Europe he deems were important to World War II (inc. Anne Frank's house and Auschwitz). He takes Nisha along with him as his parents hope it could resolve their marital conflicts. This sets them on a journey that changes their entire perspectives and their views on interpersonal conflicts, as they cover both life and history lessons along the way.

Production

The film title was announced along with its release date and the cast on 30 March 2022.

Filming began in April 2022, and was shot in Mumbai, Kanpur, Lucknow, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Kraków, Warsaw, Auschwitz (present-day Oświęcim) and in parts of Poland. Sajid Nadiadwala announced that the filming completed in August 2022.

Soundtrack

Soundtrack is composed by Mithoon, Tanishk Bagchi, Akashdeep Sengupta. The lyrics are written by Kausar Munir, Manoj Muntashir, Arafat Mehmood, Shloke Lal.

The first single, "Tumhe Kitna Pyaar Karte" was released on 7 July 2023. The 2nd single titled "Dil Se Dil Tak" was released on 14 July 2023. The third single titled "Dilon Ki Doriyan" was released on 18 July 2023.

Release

The film premiered on 21 July 2023 on Amazon Prime Video.

Reception

Bawaal received mixed reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 21% of 19 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.9/10.

Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave the film 1.5 out of 5, writing, "Varun Dhawan-Janhvi Kapoor-starrer promises a lot, but keeps faltering, never quite knowing what to make of a wholly harebrained flourish in the plot." Leaf Arbuthnot of The Guardian gave the film 1 out of 5, calling the premise "serviceable" but the plot "woefully misjudged." She further wrote that

"it is just a pity that rest of the film is so lacking in fun, pep, humour and charm that only its spectacularly poor taste stands out."

Key details