Bazaar(2018)- Review
Bazaar is a thriller drama film showcasing an Allahabad stock broker Rizwan Ahmed (Rohan Mehra) who aspires to be in the big leagues of the Indian stock broking setting. With this in mind he comes to the financial capital of India, Mumbai with a barely filled wallet & a pocket full of dreams. He looks up to Shakun Kothari (Saif Ali Khan) a lauded businessman who has a reputation of making money whichever way he sees possible. Rizwan idolises Shakun and hopes to work with him some day. But that seems a tall order when he finds the reality of the city of dreams when he starts looking for work. With a lot of effort and determination he finally has his opportunity to shine. The quick learner he is, Rizwan quickly learns the tricks of the trade and is on the ladder of success. With his professional life buzzing it doesn’t take time for his personal one also to do so when he gets close to Priya Rai (Radhika Apte) his co-worker at the trading firm he works for. When Rizwan finds himself in close quarters to his idol Shakun, he grabs the opportunity to get acquainted with him and achieve his dream of working with him. All is great once they start working together, until the story turns awry when Shakun’s aggressive business activities comes to the attention of the authorities.
A good basic story but it is made great with wonderful writing and screenplay. Saif Ali Khan now seems to have grown into the actor which is perfect for such roles. He amazingly plays out Shakun’s character without any shortfalls. Debutant Rohan Mehra also does a good job without getting overwhelmed in front of the camera. Radhika Apte & Chitrangada Singh help the story move well in supporting roles. Unlike other Indian business movies this one does not try to sugar-coat or try to emulate and show the Indian business landscape with that of the west. The pace of the movie is thoughtfully varied across the, that surely adds to the quality output that the movie becomes after post-production.
There aren’t many complaints one will find to the movie but there are a few. The movie runs excruciatingly parallel with Wall Street (1987), not that that’s a bad thing but the creators should have the courtesy to credit the Michael Douglas classic. The rawness & reality with which the movie is displayed majorly is a good thing, but in some scenes that rawness gets a bit overdone which may not have been needed.
In the society full of business minds there would rarely be anyone who wouldn’t like the film. It’s a must watch if you are into the business/corporate genre of movies. For others too it will be enjoyable due to its easy going & simple movement of the business narrative.
Acting- 9
Casting- 8.5
Cinematography- 9
Dialogue- 8
Directing- 8.5
Editing & Effects- 7
Sound & Music- 8
Story- 7.5
Storytelling- 8.5
Rating- 8.5
Available on: Netflix