Badla Movie Review: Strictly For Those Who Have Not Seen The Invisible Guest

The trailer of Sujoy Ghosh’s latest release Badla had the audiences at the edge of their seats and while we always knew that the movie is an official remake of Spanish film, The Invisible Guest, we didn’t expect it to be a frame-to-frame copy of the original.The crime-thriller revolves around a successful business woman Naina, who has a husband, a daughter and a boyfriend. Someone comes to know about their illicit affair and starts blackmailing them.

The blackmailer demands a sum of Rs. 100,000 pounds from the couple and calls them to a hotel room of his choice. However, things take an ugly turn when the blackmailer kills Naina’s boyfriend Arjun and vanishes into thin air. Naina gets accused of murdering her boyfriend and her attorney then hires ace lawyer, Badal Gupta, who has never lost a case in his life, to save Naina. How Badal Gupta brings forth Naina’s truth in front of the world forms the rest of the plot.Sujoy Ghosh has refrained from touching the original script and screenplay. In fact, I was quite shocked to see that even the material and colour of the rug in his film is same as the one used in the original. Only the genders of the protagonists have been changed, The Invisible Guest had a female lawyer, a male accused and a distraught father and Badla has a male lawyer, a female businesswoman, accused of killing her own boyfriend, and a devastated mother.Amitabh Bachchan is good as Badal Gupta however, if you have seen the original you would remember that Blanca Martinez, who had played the lawyer in the Spanish movie, was damn intimidating and meant business. You don’t get the same feeling while watching Big B since here the theatrics are more.It’s a good thing that he didn’t copy her however as there’s not much difference between the two films, comparisons are bound to happen. That said, he always acts well but I can’t say that this is one of his best performances. Anyway he mesmerizes with his baritone and looks like an intelligent lawyer.Taapsee Pannu has a good screen presence however, she perpetually has one expression throughout the movie and that’s a bit of a downer. Amrita Singh has played a key role in the film and though she is quite irritating initially, she redeems herself later by giving a brilliant performance. Tony Luke has played Taapsee’s boyfriend and he is terrible. Manav Kaul has essayed the role of Pannu’s attorney and he is fine.The film is a whodunit and is right up Sujoy’s alley. He has shot the film well and has kept it engaging but then again, he had a ready-made project  and he just had to copy it so can’t give much credit to him. Badla’s entire credit goes to the writer and director of The Invisible Guest. The biggest loophole in this movie is that the police does nothing, they don’t track phones and they don’t check CCTV footages. They believe anything and everything that the accused tells them.Locations are beautiful however, all the scenes that have Taapsee and Big B together have been shot in one room. Cinematography is outstanding and the background score is good. The dialogues are ordinary and seem repetitive at times.You will surely enjoy this film, if you have not seen the original but if you have seen The Invisible Guest, you can give this film a miss. If you have a Netflix subscription, watch the original, you will thank me later.