Bhaiyya Ji Movie Review: Manoj Bajpayee Goes Rowdy in an Unnecessarily Noisy And Melodramatic Bhojpuri Meets South Combo

A dhoti-clad Manoj Bajpayee cuts a striking picture when he holds a shovel in hand, spewing rage from his eyes as he decides to avenge his brother’s death. As Bhaiyya ji, the former vigilante, he holds a certain command not just over his henchmen but also over the audience who has celebrated him as Bhikhu Matre and Sardar Khan, his other rowdy avatars, over the years. However, in this film directed by Apoorva Singh Karki, for the first time perhaps, Bajpayee doesn’t look effortless on-screen. It is as if he’s putting too much of everything into becoming this grief-stricken man. His transformation from a peace-loving Ram Charan to the larger-than-life Bhaiyya ji lacks ease and remains more dependent on the heavy dialogue in his introduction than himself. The idea of the character is perfect – to have this man who has sworn off violence turn into a beast when one of his own is attacked or rather, mercilessly killed. The smooth execution, or its lack thereof, is the problem.

Bhaiyya Ji begins with a tragedy. The shock, pain and brutality in the scenes nudge the most rigid of hearts. And then we are slowly eased into the God-like image of Bhaiyya ji, the man with ‘Bagh ka kareja’, the ‘baap of Robin Hood’ and someone whose arrival is the promise of destruction. You have a hero and you are asked to put your faith in him. He will fight for what’s right and make the world a better place. All that is believable until you see him being shot, beaten and hiding until the climax. The very formula of making a formula-driven action film is not to make your hero look weaker than the villain, not for even the tiniest moment. Even when losing, you are to believe he will fight back any second. In Bhaiyya Ji, all the chanting of his name, the sagas of his powerful presence and the stories telling what happens when Bhaiyya ji comes – seem hollow once the hero goes hiding for days after being shot by the villain. You stop cheering for him. But, that’s not the biggest turn-off. It is the melodrama, the deafening melodrama which tests your patience to the end you start laughing when you see the deceased brother re-appearing in scenes, encouraging Bhaiyya ji to take revenge.

Once it’s established that Bhaiyya ji is an emotional person and will only settle once he sees the murderers of his brother dead, you are hooked. You are looking forward to all the action, the planning and the twists. But, you are served with more melodrama instead of some creatively curated sequences of desi action. You are taken back, multiple times, to the Haveli in Bihar where the deceased’s mother is worried his soul is wandering around, searching for peace. Now this is a lot. The emotions in the film are so overbaked you feel caught in a visual hut of daily soaps where one tragedy is roasted for weeks to get the TRP rolling.

The climax of the film is also its best thing. The loud and powerful Bhaiyya ji that you were introduced to at the beginning of the film, is finally visible. There’s a master plan in place and he has understood it all. He is flying while shooting, beating the goons left right centre and using his presence of mind to kill them all. And he is joined by his wonderful better half, Zoya Hussain as Metali, terrifically skilled in shooting. Together, Bhaiyya ji and Metali make an invincible team – both in life and at work. Unlike other action dramas, where a woman is either just lady love or a damsel in distress, Bhaiyya Ji presents one of the most solid female characters to the fore. Manoj and Zoya make an unlikely but celebratory pair on screen, in a very long time.

Bhaiyya Ji is a decent attempt at combining the essence of Bhojpuri cinema with the grandeur of South cinema, but it goes haywire in more ways than one. The music of the film, especially ‘Bagh Ka Kareja’ by Manoj Tiwari, appears splendid and it’s only a shame that the makers didn’t promote it widely. The biggest shame is not being able to use Manoj Bajpayee for 100 per cent entertainment even when he has agreed to a formula role. Bhaiyya Ji could have given us a new desi superstar. But, as of now, it remains a missed opportunity.

Stars: 2