With the advertisements promising something different, people were waiting eagerly for the release of the Bobby Deol- Rani Mukherjee
starrer, Badal.
But the expectation has not been matched with performance and the movie is running to near-empty halls.
Anyway, for people with time to kill .....
The film begins with the riots of 1984, when Delhi and Punjab were in turmoil. Badal's (Bobby
Deol) family is massacred and he vows revenge. The murders are carried out by a corrupt police officer named Jai Singh Rana (Ashutosh Rana) who has this
terrifying look in his eyes after a kill. Badal is brought up by a terrorist and
later he turns into one. The rest of the movie proceeds predictably and requires patience, to say the least. The film has been directed by Raj Kanwar who is known for his predilection to drama and violence.
As with many other movies, we learn all about how bad men become
worse. In this case, how a terrorist becomes a cruel one.
Bobby keeps up with the he-man image his father and brother
created earlier. Rani Mukherjee is her usual chirpy self but does not have much of a role. Ashutosh Rana has a strange power, even if
it is a repulsive one. In Badal, his character is stretched to the extreme. He burns down whole villages, even if
there is just a single terrorist hiding there.
The plot has some glaring inconsistencies and it is best not to go into
in detail. The songs are okay, with the usual overtones of Punjabi folk
music.
