Rating:
2.5/5
Star
Cast:
Shahid
Kapoor,
Shraddha
Kapoor,
Yami
Gautam,
Divyendu
Sharma,
Samir
Soni
Director:
Shree
Narayan
Singh
Batti
Gul
Meter
Chalu
PUBLIC
Review:
Shahid
Kapoor
|
Shraddha
Kapoor
|
Yami
Gautam
|
FilmiBeat
As
the
lamppost
keeps
flickering,
a
drunk
Lalita
Nautiyal
aka
'Nauti'
(Shraddha
Kapoor
yells,
"Yaato
Jalja
Ya
Bujh
Ja
Bul,
Yeh
Bund
Bujh
Band
Bujh
Kya
Laga
Rakhe.' Well,
these
lines
aptly
describe
how
Shree
Narayan
Singh's
latest
directorial,
Batti
Gul
Meter
Chalu
unfolds
onscreen.
The
filmmaker
touches
upon
the
pertinent
topic
of
power
outages
in
Indian
towns
and
the
hefty
electricity
bills
that
most
of
us
have
to
endure.
But,
the
superficial
treatment
spoils
the
show.
To
begin
with,
Sushil
Kumar
Pant,
known
as
SK
(Shahid
Kapoor),
Nauti
(Shraddha
Kapoor)
and
Tripathi
(Divyendu
Sharma)
are
childhood
besties.
While
SK
is
a
guile
lawyer
who
doesn't
mind
resorting
to
cunning
tricks
to
earn
some
quick
bucks,
Tripathi
is
a
man
of
principles.
A
major
first
half
of
the
film
revolves
around
their
idyllic
friendship
and
easy
camaraderie.
However,
things
take
a
sombre
turn
when
romance
takes
a
lead
and
Nauti
decides
to
date
them
in
turns
to
pick
up
a
perfect
life-partner
for
herself.
Jealousy
crops
in,
friendships
go
kaput
and
hearts
are
broken
as
events
unfold.
While
Devdas
is
known
to
have
found
solace
in
bottle
when
Paro
broke
his
heart,
apna
SK
decides
to
awaken
his
sleeping
conscience
instead
when
a
tragedy
strikes!
Shree
Narayan
Singh's
Batti
Gul
Meter
Chalu
is
a
well-intended
film.
But
that's
just
it.
The
director
takes
up
a
socially-relevant
theme
and
tries
to
adapt
it
to
a
conventional
Bollywood
format
filled
with
romance,
songs,
dances
and
humour.
Unfortunately,
the
grim
reality
gets
diluted
in
the
process.
Known
to
have
a
knack
when
it
comes
to
portraying
the
heartland
of
India,
Singh
falters
terribly
this
time
as
he
overdoes
the
Kumaoni
dialect
to
make
his
characters
look
authentic.
So,
you
have
a
words
like
'bal' and
'thehri'
thrown
at
the
end
of
every
sentence.
Sample
this,
"Bijli
chali
gayi,
bal',
'Main
tumse
pyar
karke
thehri,
bal'...phew,
the
list
goes
on
and
on!
Further,
the
courtroom
scenes
in
the
second
half
ends
more
like
a
mockery
with
the
flirtatious
banter.
Speaking
about
the
performances,
Shahid
Kapoor
shows
spark
particularly
when
he
plays
his
brash
avatar
and
also
makes
you
shed
a
tear
or
two
when
it's
time
to
go
intense.
Shraddha
Kapoor
tries
to
be
a
live
wire
but,
the
Kumaoni
dialect
prevents
her
from
showcasing
her
best.
Divyendu
Sharma
gets
a
meaty
role
to
chew
upon
and
shines
in
places.
Yami
Gautam
tries
to
make
the
best
out
of
what's
she's
offered.
On
the
flip
side,
it's
disheartening
to
watch
seasoned
actors
like
Farida
Jalal,
Supriya
Pilgaonkar
and
Sudhir
Pandey
reduced
to
cardboard
props.
Anshuman
Mahaley's
lens
capture
the
beauty
of
Uttarakhand
in
a
satisfying
way.
However,
Batti
Gul
Meter
Chalu
falls
flat
when
it
comes
to
editing.
At
a
runtime
of
almost
three
hours,
the
film
stretches
its
plot
like
a
chewing
gum
and
makes
it
a
tiresome
watch.
The
songs
ain't
the
bright
spots
either,
but
thankfully
they
don't
come
off
as
distractions.
There's
a
dialogue
in
the
film
which
says,
'Jeetne
Se
Jayada
Ladhna
Zaruri
Thehra.' Shahid
Kapoor
puts
in
his
sincere
efforts,
but
it's
the
weak
direction
and
editing
which
fails
to
light
up
the
film.
I
am
going
with
2
and
a
half
stars
here.