Bala Review: A Perfect Marriage Between Entertainment and Social Commentary!

Ayushmann Khurrana, who currently is on one of the hottest streaks in recent Bollywood history once again lives up to all the hype with his latest release – Bala. Directed by Amar Kaushik (who previously helmed one of the biggest hits of 2018 in Stree), Bala chronicles the misfortunes of a young balding man and co-stars Bhumi Pednekar and Yami Gautam as the female leads.

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Transacted as a 131-minute comedy, the storyline of Bala begins with Balmukund Shukla (Ayushmann Khurrana), the most charismatic guy in the room since his early school days and a “stud” who likes to poke fun at the opposite guy’s insecurities. However, things quickly turn upside down when Bala turns 25 and realizes that he is losing his hair regularly.

Down and distressed with the entire situation, he tries a wide variety of hair growth techniques and fails miserably every time. Eventually, after venting his emotional agony with his family members, his father gifts him with a solution which in-turn brings back his lost confidence. And the remainder of the film follows Bala’s journey as a newly-energized man who becomes the talk-of-the-town.

Leading off with the positives, Bala begins on a solid note as the narrative cruises through most of the first half without a hitch. The thoroughly executed comedic sequences provided laughs visually, and with well-written dialogue, the humor popped and established the film very well. However, midway through the first half, when Yami Gautam’s character got introduced, the movie started to slow down a little as the romantic angle between her and Bala felt indiscreet.

Even though it suffered quite a few pacing related issues, the second half of the movie falls back on-track and stitches together a beautiful piece of cinema which checks all the right and necessary boxes. Writer Niren Bhatt keeps the narrative amusing and manages to successfully integrate multiple social issues that we as a society, struggle to triumph over.

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For instance, the fairness cream ads (ironically, the film also has Yami Gautam playing the brand ambassador) and the white-skin agenda that they push regularly. Furthermore, the ideas of loving and accepting yourself for who you are. And the concept of being yourself rather than an imposter is well discussed in the film and was much more relatable to a bunch of regular people who we see, talk and text every day.

Moving on to the characters and performances, Ayushmann Khuranna pulls off his character with effortlessly. His self-centred, conservative attitude and his obsession to look good at all events results in a great character arc in the second half and is justified solidly. Khurrana, once again proved that he has a lot to offer as an actor whether it’s playing a serious cop in Article 15, your typical Delhi based guy in Badhaai Ho or a laugh-of-the-town in Bala. He is, undoubtedly, the standard-bearer of unorthodox cinema and continues to excel with every single of his films accordingly.

Bhumi Pednekar, who seems to follow similar footsteps like her counterpart Khuranna, yet again delivers in terms of acting. She plays a no-nonsense lawyer and Bala’s schoolmate in the film who is very often made fun of her dark skin tone to which she doesn’t feel insecure about. Her striking personality, ability to speak up and stand for what’s right fit the film’s vibe remarkably and Pednekar, as usual, knocked it out-of-the-park.

Contrastingly, Yami Gautam plays the usual tik-tok celebrity who is obsessed with her mobile and a person who doesn’t seem to understand the actual meaning of love or emotions. Yami serves the purpose and portrays her character competently as this is the best I’ve seen her act in any film.

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Overall, despite the pacing issues, Bala is packed with some laugh-out-loud moments, entertaining premise and manages to highlight and discuss quite a few significant social issues which are overpowering our society. Coupled with Khurrana and Pednekar’s stellar performances, this movie works and is suitable for a delightful family viewing as there are jokes which will appeal to the kids and also to the adults. Watch the trailer for ‘Bala’ here.

Rating – 3.25/5 | Grade – B

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