Badass Ravikumar is ‘badass’ 1980s cinema with a vengeance!

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There are films (quite a lot nowadays!) that are audience-proof. And some that are review-proof! A review-proof film is one that intentionally caters only and strictly to the audience: unabashed, undiluted, deliberately stylized mass cinema that does not care a whit for critic endorsement and actually revels in getting low ratings, sure that their audience will come.

Himesh Reshammiya, whose debut as composer in Hindi films was in 1998, soon went in for singing (2005), acting (2007) and more departments of filmmaking—such as writing, producing and now penning lyrics for movies. The opening credit titles say it all with fascinating never-before candor: the film is not only a part of Himesh’s The Xpose (2017) Universe, but also about “80’s style entertainment / Logic Optional”!

The story is a shade convoluted: two brothers in a village are separated after their father (Pawan Malhotra) hangs himself. The elder one leaves home to search for the truth while the younger grows up as ace cop Ravikumar, a staunch patriot who simply believes in exterminating external and (mainly) internal enemies of the nation. He is suspended often for not following orders and taking the law in his own hands, but is undeterred.

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In love with Simona (Simona J.), they are forced to separate when her sister, Laila (Kirti Kulhari) makes her toe the line and not accept Ravikumar because he is a cop, who risks his life each time. But the truth is twofold: she loves him herself and she is also involved with an international coterie of people bent on destabilizing India. These comprise Carlos (Prabhudeva), a dancing don, a Pakistani (Manish Wadhwa) who wants to avenge his country’s 1971 defeat by fragmenting us just as Pakistan was split then, Jorawar (Rajesh Sharma), who is actually also Ravikumar’s uncle, and a supposed ‘god-man’, Bhujang (Anil George).

When a top cop (Prashant Narayanan) wants to get to the bottom of the whole thing, the police commissioner (Saurabh Sachdeva) suggests Ravikumar’s name and provides (for the viewers as well as the cop!) an audiovisual CV of Ravikumar’s unflinching patriotism. Ravikumar’s aides in the mission are agents who imitate Ashok Kumar (Johny Lever reprising in part his role in Jalwa from 1986) and Pran (Sanjay Mishra, who has also done that before) and a siren, Nisha (Sunny Leone).

The twists and turns are outnumbered vastly by the seeti-maar (whistle-worthy) dialogues, relentless action and stunning locations (especially from the Middle-East, including the desert). We have an avalanche of songs, with (mostly) decent lyrics and high energy, and it is refreshing to hear dholak and tabla in some of them, taking us back to the era of Laxmikant-Pyarelal.

There are one-liners and couplets galore: Badass Ravikumar, with Himesh playing the title-role with confident aplomb, tells you in a scene that a hit dialogue is a must before a fight or a dramatic situation. One line goes, “Jo Ravi Kumar se ulajhta hai, usske photo pe haar chadhta hai (Whoever messes with me, is soon dead and has a garlanded photo)!” And there are dozens more.

Given that Himesh started off as actor with an action drama (Aap Ka Surroor in 2007), it is obvious that he has honed his craft both as an actor and as an action hero. He keeps a cigarette permanently in his mouth but never lights it (the reason is emotional!) and his fuzz is a shade excessive, but star-charisma is written all over him as he lithely moves from one situation to another.

The best part is that the film calculatedly copies and borrows from 1980s cinema, even including its weaker points like the over-elongated finale, and yet does not come across as laughable, cringeworthy or crass. You may not agree with or possess the sensibilities of the film and the script, but remember please the super punch-line: the logic is indeed optional!

In one dexterous move, Himesh (also the story and co-screenplay writer) illustrates in a sassy, saucy stylized manner that Hindi movies used to be and even now should be about having fun and heroics and also showcases the double standard of Hollywood’s logic-less action extravaganzas being admired and appreciated, while with a classic and ingrained inferiority complex, we Indians scoff at our own “illogical” films!

Incredibly, Himesh here has one “guest composer” entity in Sanjeev-Darshan in two songs, one of which is very Nadeem-Shravan-ish (the duo are Shravan’s kids) and does the general spellbinding BGM jointly with Sanjoy Chowdhury (Salil Chowdhury’s son) with a heavy R.D. Burman inflection.

Kirti Kulhari is alright in a negative role, but Prabhudeva enchants as the musical villain. The supporting cast is strong but has nothing much to do, with Pawan Malhotra and Prashant Narayanan limited to cameos. Johny Lever and Sanjay Mishra are their usual selves. Saurabh Sachdeva, Rajesh Sharma and Anil George are good for their roles though underutilized as well. Manish Wadhwa hams a shade. Navneet Nishan is okay as Ravikumar’s mother but Sulabha Arya charms as his grandmother.

Keith Gomes as debutant director receiving a unique brief, gets into the groove with praiseworthy ease. The cinematography (Manoj Soni) is breathtaking, while Ram Ishwar’s editing, except in the heist sequence and part of the climax, is razor sharp. But the true hero here, apart from Himesh, is Bunty Rathore, the dialogue writer. He truly deserves nothing less than an award.

This is a “take it or leave it” film for the highbrow or the pretentious. For the rest, it is a delightful must-watch hark-back to the times when films were no-holds-barred entertainers led by dazzling stars like Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Jeetendra, Vinod Khanna, Shatrughan Sinha, Mithun Chakraborty, Sunny Deol, Jackie Shroff, Sanjay Dutt or Anil Kapoor. And pulled in audiences for weeks, even for repeat watches.

Rating: ***1/2

Himesh Reshammiya Melodies’ Badass Ravikumar  Directed by: Keith Gomes  Written by: Himesh Reshammiya, Kushal Bakshi & Bunty Rathore Music: Himesh Reshammiya & Sanjeev-Darshan Starring: Himesh Reshammiya, Simona J., Prabhu Deva, Kirti Kulhari, Sunny Leone, Navneet Nishan, Sulabha Arya, Prashant Narayanan, Naresh Suri, Saurabh Sachdeva, Rajesh Sharma, Anil George, Manish Wadhwa & others  

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