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Bhavai Movie Review: Pratik Gandhi's debut falls under 'can do better' category
Movie: Bhavai
Bhavai Director: Hardik Gajjar
Bhavai Cast: Pratik Gandhi, Aindrita Ray
Bhavai Stars: 2.5/5
Bhavai is a love story set in 1982 in a rural village in Gujarat where people have a rudimentary life. When a local politician arranges for a week-long fest of the play ‘Ram Leela’, a local youth Rajaram with acting aspiration gets a chance to star in it as Raavan. Raja Ram Joshi (Pratik Gandhi) and Rani (Aindrita Ray) who plays the ‘Goddess Sita’ fall in love eventually. However, people around them refuse to accept that Raavan and Sita can have a legitimate relationship off-stage, as they regard Sita as a deity and Raavan as an evil force.
The first half of the film is used to establish the characters while the second half could have been better if the makers would have avoided stuffing it with songs. The film is all about how people in a conservative village react to blind faith, fake religious beliefs when they cannot differentiate between a real and reel life. Pratik Gandhi who became an overnight sensation after his performance in Scam 1992 makes his debut with the film. The actor cuts across the character like a hot knife on butter. Aindrita Ray manages to look pleasant on-screen and handles emotional scenes effectively.
The supporting cast of Rajendra Gupta, Rajesh Sharma and Abhimanyu Singh play an important role in keeping the audience engaged with their performance. The makers have ensured to not over dramatise the dialogues and kept it real. They also make sure that Gujarati is efficiently used in the film. The director, Hardik Gajjar’s intention to showcase how people’s perception can unintentionally harm an innocent person is commendable, but the film’s loose grip makes it difficult. There are some fun moments in the film and the Pratik’s act makes it a pleasant experience for the viewers.
The climax is definitely not conventional and if you are waiting to go back to theatres and willing to watch a love story and see if it reaches its logical end or succumbs to age-old religious beliefs and political manipulations, then it is worth a try.
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