B.A. PASS Movie Review: Passes With Flying Colours!

B.A. Pass Movie Review-In Short:

A college student gets involved in a male prostitution racket after being seduced by an older and manipulative woman.

B.A. Pass Movie Review-Verdict:

A dark and gritty fare, B.A. Pass is worth a watch for fans of the noir genre...

B.A. Pass Movie Review-Story Plot:

After the death of his parents, Mukesh (Shadab Kamal) moves to Paharganj in Delhi to stay with his aunt and her unwelcoming family. When on an errand to the house of Sarika Khanna (Shilpa Shukla), the wife of a senior railway official, Mukesh gets seduced by the sensual Sarika and ends up being her toyboy.

However, Sarika is not just satisfied with uncomplicated sex and soon, Mukesh finds himself getting entangled in a male prostitution racket, which becomes his only hope of making enough money to provide for his two sisters, who are staying at a ‘home’ for the needy.

However, getting paid to have sex with unsatisfied housewives is not as fun as it sounds and when things get out of control, Mukesh finds himself trapped in a web of deceit and double-cross.

B.A. Pass Movie Review-Performances:

Newcomer Shadab Kamal as the callow lad Mukesh shines in his role and his wide-eyed small town innocence is quite believable as he struggles to come to terms with the big, bad city and its ways. Shilpa Shukla as the seductive Sarika simply blows your mind with her portrayal of the role and her unabashed and raw sexuality will make you gasp in wonder. Dibyendu Bhattacharya, as the chess-playing grave keeper Johnny, who seems like Mukesh’s only hope in times of distress, plays his part well too. Unfortunately, Rajesh Sharma, who plays Sarika’s husband, doesn’t get much screen time and we wish he could have been given a meatier role. However, all said and done, the film belongs to Shilpa Shukla, who seduces and manipulates her way to destruction.

B.A. Pass Movie Review-Direction:

Ajay Bahl, who adapted Mohan Sikka’s short story ‘The Railway Aunty’ for the silver screen, does a great job of coming up with a gritty and dark tale of lust, deceit and destruction. To his credit, Bahl makes no apologies for the way Sarika is (so there are no sob stories or hints at Sarika’s past…she is what she is…a wily and amoral seductress). Moreover, the first half of the movie might seem like an erotic fare, but it is only when one digs at the surface that the moral decay emerges and we realize that the city is like a jungle- there are predators and there are prey.

B.A. Pass Movie Review-Final Word:

If dark and gritty films rock your boat, do watch this film…