Review: 'Bhediya' delivers on its ambitious scale balancing humor & horror with entertainment

Bhediya

A film that tries to achieve a mountain of things might get lost in its own web - that is what one was sceptical of entering into Bhediya. But instead what I was pleasantly surprised by was how finely the film is filled with references and becomes an insane fun time.

Does that aforementioned thing happen though? Having had the chance to see the film beforehand, here is what I thought of it-

Ambition is unparalleled

In this time where Bollywood is constantly being scrutinised and lambasted for churning out films that are remakes, sequels or adaptations, Bhediya might just be the original content that these set of people are looking for. Yes, there is an obvious inspiration from Teen Wolf but that's just on the face of it. What is even more fantastic though is the sheer scale and ambition that director Amar Kaushik and producer Dinesh Vijan are going for. Throughout the entirely of Bhediya, I couldn't help but marvel at how unabashed is Kaushik with his script and vision and finally, the execution. There are plenty of moments in the film which, on any given day, might chuckle you for the wrong reason; but that doesn't happen with Bhediya at any moment. Special kudos for that indeed!

References Galore

While Stree was an extremely smart and intelligent film apart from being entertaining, it wasn't referential. However, Bhediya bombards you with one reference after another in the best way possible. Right from dialogues that belong to shows like Breaking Bad, Royal Rumble, even viral memes and what not - there is a truckload of them to be enjoying one after the other. I cannot stress how hilarious this one reference was to a popular song (I won't spoil it for you) that the entire theatre burst out laughing. This adds to the entire experience really well. I am also not spoiling the references put in the film and would rather have you enjoy them yourself.

The Humor

When it comes to humor, there were moments towards the first half that weren't as funny as I expected. But the second half not only picks up when it comes to the plot but also with the humor. With one hysterical situation after the other, there are plenty of moments that lead you to chuckle and laugh while even being scared at a few instances.

The Messaging 

As mentioned, Bhediya aims for a lot. Apart from delivering horror and comedy, Bhediya goes for double messaging here. On one hand, the entire plot is based on the idea of man vs nature and it delivers in that aspect; and on the other hand it goes to highlight how there is casual discrimination towards the people in the North East, also leading to a lot of representation. While this also works, the slapped monologue from the character of Jomin (Paalin Kabak) actually seemed to be forced and too pronounced.

The Performances & Effects

Bhediya just might have managed to pull off some of the finest special effects we have seen in recent times. You know the 'bhediya' in question is a CGI creature but it is extremely well executed to not make you feel that knowing. Even the transfiguration scenes of Varun turning into the bhediya are finely designed and created.

Coming to the performances, as the anchor of the project, Varun Dhawan is charming and just good enough to be handling the topic in hand. What is better though that the written material has given scope for other characters to shine more and hence that works. Varun plays to his strengths and does well. The standouts for me though undoubtedly were Abhishek Banerjee as JD and Deepak Dobriyal as Panda who not only provide comic relief constantly but are pretty much the life of the film. Kriti Sanon, unfortunately gets an underwritten character to play and she could only do little with it. Paalin Kabak and the entire cast that belong to the said place are fantastic with their performances as well.

The Flaws

Bhediya does have its set of flaws which include the predictability it goes for with the man vs nature concept and underwritten character of Kriti. Apart from this, the outlandish nature of the script also hinders towards the end where the pre-climax seems dragged.

The Verdict

Bhediya delivers on its promise of ambition, scale while balancing the act of giving good jump scares, comical moments and messaging. Of course, the multiverse of including Stree in Bhediya was also expertly done adding icing to the cake.

Rating - ***1/2 (3.5/5)