Bhoomi Review: Utterly Boring to Watch!

Before I give my thoughts on Bhoomi, the new Disney+ Hotstar exclusive release starring ‘Jayam’ Ravi in the lead role, I want to emphasize that the farmer’s struggles in our country are utterly real and alarming. The latest example being the ongoing protests at the borders of the Nation’s capital.

Also Read: Master Review – Strictly Commercial!

To learn more about the series of continuous struggles of our agricultural workers, follow a credible news source, surf through P. Sainath’s work on Google, and most importantly, discuss these things at the dinner table to bring more awareness. Coming back to Bhoomi, there is a reason why I’m doing this PSA cause I do not want to come off as an ignorant idiot when I say that I utterly hated watching this film from the beginning to the end.

So, Bhoomi kicks off when a NASA Scientist, Bhoominathan (Jayam Ravi), returns back to his homeland for a brief one-month trip. Upon arriving, he quickly learns the situation of farmers is nowhere near what he expected. This makes him set out to eliminate the originator of these problems. But, close to every other commercial film, he encounters a series of obstacles and manages to dodge everything like a true patriot and a one-dimensional hero.

From the beginning of the storyline, writer-director Lakshman follows a very conventional screenwriting template with Bhoomi, and you can tell the route to the climax effortlessly. Kicking off with an introductory song for the protagonist, then cramming a mindless love story and a duet, all within twenty minutes, tells the ineffectiveness and the lack of creativity or effort put forth by the writer.

However, the problems with Bhoomi do not stop at that point and continue to evolve and become more horrible over the course of two hours. Packed with clichés from bad people doing bad stuff at the right time to a dramatic interval, and the quick rise and even quicker fall of the protagonist, the entire thing feels like a heavily predictable game of chess that you cannot wait to finish.

The traditional screenwriting technique of the antagonist making a smart move and the protagonist making another intellectual move needs to stop unless you find a clever way around it. Nevertheless, Lakshman failed to create something special as he grinds this generic good guy versus bad guy drama till the very end and makes the film a horrible watch.

Moving on to the characters in Bhoomi, they are again very generically written and do not offer any intimidation. And, as is the custom, the main antagonist is portrayed as a ruthless money-minded douche. Who, in his working hours, fools people with his cunning business plans and sits by the pool with a champagne glass in his hand alongside half a dozen hot chicks in swimsuits massaging his body and him laughing while talking to the protagonist about his misfortunes.

Also, it’s an epic casting debacle with Ronit Roy playing a foreigner in the film. Cause I wonder why they cannot find a single menacing international star when they managed to cast a bunch of other nonnatives to spit out horrible dialogue lines here and there. Nidhhi Agerwal, who gained some sort of momentum through her recent films portrayed a role with nothing substantial to offer, and it’s not her fault when the director decides to only utilize her in limited scenes.

Technically, Bhoomi does not make any valuable impression, the camera shots in certain scenes do not make any sense alongside the stereotyped slow-mo footage, which makes the viewing experience even more awful. D. Imman’s music and background score feels very generic and fails to create an impact as a whole. And the entire hair and makeup department did a noticeably less decent job for the majority of the film.

Although ‘Jayam’ Ravi does his best to portray the emotions required from his character, the guy does not feel or even look like a scientist working at NASA. Nevertheless, his efforts, his ability to act did not make a whole lot of difference, as the entire operation is a disaster to begin with.

Overall, there is nothing redeeming about Bhoomi, and an utterly bland commercial approach to showcase a broader message is a bad, bad idea. However, if you finally understood the seriousness of Farmer’s struggles in India, read more about it from credible news sources online and tell your friends and family to stay away from this trainwreck of a film.

Rating – 1/5 | Grade – D

Images via Home Movie Makers

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