Film Review: Bellbottom

Retaining the thrill?

My first thought after watching the trailer was: This is going to be a heart-thumping and nerve-triggering film after so long.

But wait, was it?

The film is based on the true events of the Foreign Intelligence Agency of India named RAW. The film covers the operation of a hijacked passenger plane on foreign land.

Reflecting the life of 80s RAW agent, passenger plane hijack, blatant relations, huge difference in the age of a RAW Agent, Anshul Malhotra aka codename: Bellbottom (played by Akshay Kumar) and his wife Radhika Malhotra (played by Vaani Kapoor), Bellbottom’s first half covers but obvious things with absolutely no heart-thumping.

We as an audience get to see an Air India plane getting hijacked where the hijackers scream: Hijack, hijack to the top of their voices. This scene is put to an end with Indian Ministers getting serious about the hijack.

Ministers at higher positions suggest PM Indira Gandhi (beautifully played by Lara Dutta) negotiate with the ISI Hijackers, as they are too good at it, coz it's their 7th time in the row within 5 years, but a senior RAW Agent introduces the hero of the story: Bellbottom (the codename of Anshul). Then, we get to see a minimal slo-mo of the hero: Bellbottom, entering in bellbottoms.

Bellbottom introduces a new set of schemes to capture the hijackers and save the passengers without causing any casualties. Well, the Ministers keep on saying: NO, to this idea.

At this time, we also get to see the flashback of how 32 year Anshul, a French and German teacher, a national level chess player, and a UPSC aspirant becomes a RAW Agent. There’s a long and but obvious emotional story behind him joining RAW. There is also an unnecessary romantic song insertion.

Well, this is a Bollywood film.

But see how gripping, thrilling, and goosebump serving this story is.

But all of this, and more comes out in a very unadorned manner for the most part of the film.

Every scene which could have been nerve gripping, a sort of tension building is presented with decency and not with a tinge of thrill.

The most waited portions of the film come to life in the second half. The hijacked plane is landed in Dubai, and Indian Ministers along with RAW agents land there to deal with the situation.

We don’t get to see any emotional sequence going on inside the hijacked plane. The scenes outside the plane are also not very remarkable.

Akshay has played his part well like he always does. It’s a treat to see Lara Dutta in the attire and presence of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.

The other females in the story Vaani Kapoor in the role of Bellbottom’s wife and Huma Quershi as a RAW agent have a twist to serve, but again with little, or as I say no remarkable impact.

It’s a great thriller story but is presented in a very simplistic form which retains the audience from riding on a thrilling journey for 123 minutes.

If you wish to see who’s plan is executed, and what happens at the end, watch the film.