Bhai Tera Star Hai review: Raghav Juyal's comedy promises a lot, delivers little
Directed by Vivek B Agrawal, the film is an intentionally knotty story that wishes to be an experiment through its many long takes, subversive comedy routines and a barrage of other tricks. But in that pursuit, Bhai Tera Star Hai loses grip on itself and never properly manages to capitalise on its basic strengths — a layered story, interpersonal dynamics and performances of the ensemble cast.
It feels like actor-dancer Raghav Juyal signed on Bhai Tera Star Hai simply to land his maiden outing as the solo lead, rather than because of any promise held by the film directed by Vivek B Agrawal.
The title ‘Bhai Tera Star Hai’ doesn’t inspire much enthusiasm in the modern-day moviegoer. It carries a dated, unremarkable air about it that instantly feels like a film one would scroll past. Almost as though actor-dancer Raghav Juyal signed on simply to land his maiden outing as the solo lead, rather than because of any promise held by the film directed by Vivek B Agrawal.
The film’s middling start doesn’t do it any favours either. An out-of-place, ho-hum dance number featuring Juyal kicks things off. The opening scene following that takes us to a pub in London where Fatty (Sanjay Kapoor), the owner of the place as well as a bookie, skitters around in the usual desi manner, snapping at his man-Friday JD (Vikalp Mehta). Ajay Singh (Juyal), the aspiring actor vying for the lead role in the film 'Kisi Ka Bhai, Kisi Ki Behen', walks in to announce that he doesn’t have the money he owes Fatty. Fatty comically lashes out again, Ajay matches him with his hijinks and JD tries his best to play foil. Nothing so far is assuring enough to sit through.
Until Ajay steps out of the pub (guarded by JD) in an attempt to source 10,000 pounds in a matter of ninety minutes. Ajay can deceive anyone to have his way and while Bhai Tera Star Hai initially hints at being a trite, real-time account of his escapades, it soon reveals itself to be much more ambitious.
You meet bartender Sid (Vivan Bhatena), who used to date Ajay’s sister, Natasha (Parvathy Omanakuttan) and also happens to be the older brother of Ajay’s current girlfriend, Rosh (Niharika NM). Laila (Barkha Singh), who likes Sid and wants him to move on from Natasha, joins the mix. There’s JD’s fiancée Chandni (Tina Desai) and her 13-year-old brother Jackie tagging along, with two random dudes named Harry and Sandy, both paramedics, also for company.
A loud-mouthed Punjabi named Mandy (Niki Aneja Walia), a cop who is also a bona fide acting coach (Chandan Roy Sanyal) and a gamut of seemingly vibrant people expand on the chaos slowly ensuing, all originally triggered by Ajay’s not-so-innocent lie.
A film without personality
On paper, the film has the impression of a Ben Wheatley-like comedy surrounding a range of characters. It’s an intentionally knotty story that wishes to be self-serving as well as an experience greater than the sum of its parts. It also wants to be an experiment through its many long takes, subversive comedy routines and a barrage of other tricks that appeal to today’s viewer, who has potentially watched too many comedies already from across the globe.
But in that pursuit, Bhai Tera Star Hai loses grip on itself and never properly manages to capitalise on its basic strengths. It has a story that is layered enough to root for its characters. It also boasts interpersonal dynamics and performances from the ensemble cast that feel natural yet cinematic. The absurdity, too, finds a good place for itself in the storytelling, but all feels in vain with Agrawal failing to identify the personality of his film and instead jumping about to engage us with his gimmicks.
Also read: Spider-Man: Brand New Day review — Emotional drama among the best moments of this superhero film
Bhai Tera Star Hai has so much pop-graphics going on for itself that one cannot help but be not only distracted but also mildly infuriated. Colourful text to quote a dialogue verbatim. Character intros with comic-style overlays. Split screens, emojis, slapstick sound effects, thought bubbles and more come to overwhelm the screen. The decision to lend the film this cadence feels as though the makers found the final cut to be too straightforward and mature, prompting them to overhaul its personality.
A lazy watch
Simultaneously, the narrative lacks the bare minimum tension to keep you hooked till the end. The stakes are kept low throughout in favour of the silliness and rarely does Bhai Tera Star Hai make its protagonist feel vulnerable. Some gags work well, particularly the ones involving the kid Jackie, JD and Ajay, and the track between Sid and Laila is refreshing. Yet, even as the various threads converge to further throw us off, the film settles for a climax that is disappointingly convenient and easy. It abandons its ambitions at the first opportunity and whatever is inventive about it is also cast aside soon enough.
Ultimately, Bhai Tera Star Hai is watchable when you consider some of its scenes in isolation. It has a modern sensibility that gives it a unique tone, but it also needed the conviction to be original as well as the ability to shape its promising material into something worthwhile. It might suffice as a lazy watch after all, provided the expectations aren’t set high.
