Bhanushali Studios, SSO Productions and Aurega Productions’ Bhaiyya Ji (UA) is a vendetta story. Ram Charan (Manoj Bajpayee) is the much-respected son of Dev Charan. Like his father, Ram Charan alias Bhaiyyaji is greatly respected by people of his town in Bihar. He is a daredevil who dispenses justice with utmost sincerity. He dotes on his step-brother, Vedant (Akash Makhija) and respects his step-mother. Vedant studies in Delhi and is returning home for Ram Charan’s marriage with Mitali (Zoya Hussain), a sharpshooting champion. But Vedant is murdered before he can board the train to Bihar with two of his friends. Bhaiyyaji, who had vowed to never resort to violence, breaks his promise and swears revenge against the one who killed his brother and the ones who supported him.
Deepak Kingrani’s story starts on a fine note and arrests the audience’s attention as soon as it begins. But it degenerates into a routine revenge drama, especially after interval. His screenplay is very interesting in the first half as it has a mix of action, family drama, revenge and a dash of emotions too. The bond of love between Ram Charan and Vedant is so heartwarming that his death comes as an emotional shock. The scene in which Ram Charan swears revenge is pretty impactful and so is the first confrontation scene between Bhaiyyaji and Chandrabhan (Suvinderpal Vicky). However, the post-interval portion becomes a routine vendetta drama so much so that the impact of the emotions attached to the untimely demise of Vedant is almost forgotten. The revenge drama is very long-drawn and gets boring after a point. Also, because Manoj Bajpayee, who plays the title role, does not have an action image but is shown to battle it out — sometimes single-handedly — after interval, the claps and whistles one would expect in a drama like this are missing. It is in such dramas that one realises the importance of correct casting and also of star image. The writer has stretched the point of superstitious beliefs too much to really have much of an impact. Similarly, the surprise that the older people in Bhaiyyaji’s group spring in the second half fails to evoke claps and a round of applause if only because it is not a masterstroke. Deepak Kingrani’s dialogues are excellent at places.
Manoj Bajpayee acts phenomenally well in the title role but it is unlikely that the viewers would fancy watching Bajpayee perform stunts like Sunny Deol or Salman Khan would. In that sense, he is miscast in an out-and-out action role of a daredevil. Zoya Hussain is good as Mitali. However, her action and stunt scenes look a bit far-fetched and exaggerated. Suvinderpal Vicky is effective as Chanderbhan. Jatin Goswami makes a lovely mark as Chanderbhan’s arrogant son. Bhagirathi Bai leaves a fine impression as Bhaiyyaji’s step-mother. Akash Makhija is endearing in the role of Vedant. Vipin Sharma is fantastic as police officer Magan. Jai Hind makes his presence felt as the pandit in Chanderbhan’s house. Anand Acharya (as Bhola) and Amrendra Sharma (as Niyaz) lend excellent support. Nikhil Mehta (as Bantu) and Veebhu Sharma (as Bobby) leave their marks. Azad Mishra (as Shyam), V.K. Sharma (as Murli), Pramod Pandey (as Sundar), Umesh Shukla (as Ramji), Zia Ahmed (as Santosh Jha), Anil Rastogi (as the chief of the political party), Nitin Mahesh Joshi (as Aditya), Abhishek Ranjan (as Ravi), Dhanraj Bajpayee (as Shera), Amit Sinha (as Mitali’s father), Achala Bosch (as Mitali’s mother), Raghav (as the cook), Rama Sharma (as the victim girl), Pravin Dalimbkar (as the victim girl’s father), Poonam Ingale (as the victim girl’s mother), and the others provide the desired support.
Apoorv Singh Karki’s direction is very good but even he is unable to sustain the interest of the audience after a point. Music (Manoj Tiwari, Deepak Thakur and Tulika Upadhyay) goes well with the mood of the film. Lyrics (Dr. Sagar and Tulika Upadhyay) are good. Vishnu Deva’s choreography is appropriate. Sandeep Chowta has done a fine job of the background music. Arjun Kukreti’s cinematography is very nice. S. Vijayan Master’s action and stunt scenes are quite raw and will afford thrill to lovers of action films. Production designing (by Boishali Sinha and Raja Poddar) is nice. Sumeet Kotian’s editing is quite sharp.
On the whole, Bhaiyya Ji is interesting in parts but it will not be able to do well at the box-office because at the end of the day, it turns out to be a routine revenge drama and one in which the casting is not proper.
Released on 24-5-’24 at Inox (daily 4 shows) and other cinemas of Bombay thru PEN Marudhar Cine Entertainment. Publicity: weak. Opening: dull. …….Also released all over. Opening was below the mark everywhere.
