Bala Review: Ayushmann Khurrana's film a joyride but with few flaws

Bala, the story revolves around a man who against all odds is optimistic to make his hair grow back, given he's faced with a rather sad situation of premature balding. While the film promises to be a joy ride, it also brings in a twist by narrating Khurrana's relationship with the two lead women in the film- Bhumi Pednekar & Yami Gautam. So will the much-anticipated film be an interesting watch? Let's find out! 

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Director:  Amar Kaushik
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar, Yami Gautam and Saurabh Shukla 
Genre: Comedy/Satire/Romance 
Date Released: 7 November 2019
IBFC Rating: U/A 
Duration: 2h 11 min 

Reviewer Rating: 3/5 

Setting the Scene: 

The film is about Balmukund Shukla, ( Ayushmann Khurrana) or popularly known as Bala. Quite a charmer in his younger days with a good hairdo, but as people say life's not perfect,  just in his 20s he is suffering from premature balding, due to which he starts wearing a wig. Amidst all his woes, enter Latika (Bhumi-Pednekar) who is Bala's neighbor, but also childhood friend! However, due to her dark-complexion, Khurrana has always looked down upon her. Adding fuel to the fire is, Kanpur Ki Rani Yami Gautam, who is a social media star, and while Khurrana and she fall in love and are now all set to tie the knot, he hasn't entirely been truthful to her about his hair woes. 

READ: Ayushmann Khurrana Reveals He Has Given Shah Rukh A Tribute In Bala

Plot: 

Not only does the film address pre-mature balding, but in a wider aspect also pin-points racism and speaks about social media indulgence. Not revealing much of the plot, Bala plays an angsty young man, whose character is written in such a way that it will make you feel like it's derived from Shah Rukh Khan & Amitabh Bachchan films. Throughout the film, Khurrana is seen breaking into a bitter fit, often blaming his parents, thinking about the society's empathetic gaze, and also being completely jealous of his younger brother's full head of hair. And while many people find happiness in their jobs, it seems like Bala is unlucky there too as he works for a fairness company Pretty You- that has an ageist culture. 

READ: Bala Movie: Ayushmann’s New Film Aims At Handling Social Issues

Verdict: 

While the film is packed with powerful performances from the lead- Ayushmann, Bhumi & Yami. The star is its writing! Filled with punches, one-liners and impactful dialogues that are sure to leave you both chuckling and thinking hard about society's perspective on various day to day things. And, while the film works in most places, the character played by Bhumi, Latika is quite problematic, and now I say this only because of her tacky make-up, which does not appear to be natural at all! Meanwhile, the irony of it all, her character calls out another one for well racist behavior. 

READ: Bala Movie: What Will The Roles Of Yami Gautam And Bhumi Pednekar Be?

What works: Writing, funny dialogues, powerful performances 

What doesn't work: Bhumi Pednekar's role as Latika could have been crafted better