Movie Review – Bombay Velvet (2015)

Starring – Ranbir Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Karan Johar

Director – Anurag Kashyap

Genre – action, drama, crime

Set in the 1960s, Bombay Velvet is a neo-noir period film with Ranbir Kapoor as street fighter Johnny Balraj and Anushka Sharma as jazz singer Rosie Noronha. The film boasts of exceptional art direction and production design which gives us a feeling of nostalgia and takes up back in the day when Mumbai was known as Bombay and on the brink of being the thriving metropolitan city that it is today. The story of Johnny Balraj, the fiery, stubborn yet vulnerable boxer, who fights against all odds to become a ‘bigshot’ and reclaim his love for Rosie takes us on a thrilling journey packed with vintage art deco, guns and glamour. The soundtrack is atmospheric, lingering and spell-binding, definitely Amit Trivedi at his best. Anushka Sharma lip syncs convincingly to the voice of Neeti Mohan and looks enchanting as the Femme fatale club singer . Ranbir Kapoor looks sharper, rougher and tougher than ever and gives what could be one of his best performances, strongly reminding us of Al Pacino. Karan Johar plays the sauve Kaizad Khambatta but it feels as if he’s just being himself in the movie. The chemistry between the two leads is crackling and will make you root for the pair till the very end. Anurag Kashyap has outdone himself providing a larger than life cinematic experience but still retains his languid style of film making. The sets, costumes, background score and styling are on point and never lose the glitzy, old fashioned charm of the 60s. With two and half hours of runtime,  the movie is definitely a little on the self indulgent side but highly recommend to anyone who wants to experience old school cinema in all its glory.

Rating – 4/5