Rating:
3.5/5
Star
Cast:
Amitabh
Bachchan,
Taapsee
Pannu,
Tony
Luke,
Amrita
singh
Director:
Sujoy
Ghosh
Badla
Movie
Review:
Amitabh
Bachchan|
Taapsee
Pannu|
Sujoy
Ghosh
|FilmiBeat
'Main
bahut
pachhta
rahi
hoon...',
as
Naina
Sethi
(Taapsee
Pannu)
quips
this
phrase
for
the
umpteen
time
while
narrating
a
sequence
of
events
to
her
lawyer
Badal
Gupta
(Amitabh
Bachchan),
the
latter
mockingly
says
that
he
along
with
the
inanimate
objects
in
the
room
know
it
and
that
she
should
instead
come
straight
to
the
truth
without
wasting
any
time.
It's
commendable
how
director
Sujoy
Ghosh
diffuses
the
tension
with
such
streaks
of
humour
in
this
latest
crime-thriller,
'Badla'.
Naina
Sethi
(Taapsee
Pannu),
a
svelte
businesswoman
is
accused
of
murdering
her
lover
Arjun
(Tony
Luke)
with
whom
she
was
allegedly
having
an
extramarital
affair.
As
the
fear
of
her
family
life
and
successful
business
empire
crumbling
down
seeps
in,
she
gets
her
lawyer
Jimmy
(Manav
Kaul)
to
hire
a
senior
attorney
Badal
Gupta
(Amitabh
Bachchan)
to
defend
her
case.
Badal
soon
lands
up
at
Naina's
house
to
interrogate
her.
With
just
three
hours
in
hand
before
an
'unidentified' witness
testifies
against
Naina,
the
two
race
against
the
time
with
Naina
narrating
the
events
that
led
up
to
the
crime
and
Badal
looking
beyond
facts
to
devise
a
theory
which
proves
her
innocence.
Sujoy
Ghosh's
Badla
is
an
official
remake
of
the
Spanish
thriller
'The
Invisible
Guest',
but
with
a
gender
reversal.
The
good
part
is
that
the
director
churns
out
a
faithful
adapation
with
minor
tweaks
to
make
it
more
palatable
for
the
Indian
audience.
The
'twists'
and
'turns'
largely
succeed
in
keeping
you
on
the
edge
of
your
seats.
Sujoy
Ghosh
retains
the
soul
of
the
Spanish
film
and
gives
you
plenty
of
'thrills'.
On
the
flip-side,
the
film
does
have
a
couple
of
loose
ends
here
and
there
but
that
doesn't
spoil
the
show.
Speaking
about
the
performance,
Amitabh
Bachchan
delivers
a
nimble
act
and
packs
a
punch
with
solid
dialogues
in
his
signature
baritone.
He
plays
the
sharp
legal
figure
with
an
amazing
mastery.
Despite
the
towering
presence
of
an
acting
legend
like
Sr.
Bachchan,
Taapsee
Pannu
takes
you
by
surprise
as
the
layers
of
her
role
peel
off
with
every
revelation.
Badla
is
easily
one
of
her
most
impactful
performances
in
her
reportaire
of
films.
Amrita
Singh's
compelling
act
makes
you
wish
the
actress
takes
up
more
films
and
continue
to
charm
us.
Manav
Kaul
is
effective
in
his
brief
role.
Malayalam
actor
Tony
Luke
makes
a
top-notch
Bollywood
debut.
Avik
Mukhopadhyay's
tight
cinematography
creates
the
perfect
ambience
while
Monisha
R
Baldawa
keeps
the
narrative
taut.
Clinton
Cerejo's
background
score
adds
many
shades
to
the
mood
of
the
film.
With
its
fine
detailing
and
superlative
performances,
Sujoy
Ghosh's
cleverly-crafted
Badla
makes
you
realize
that
sometimes
you
can't
see
what's
right
in
front
of
you.
I
am
going
with
3.5
stars.