Star
Cast:
Abhishek
Bachchan,
Nikita
Dutta,
Ileana
D
Cruz,
Sumit
Vats,
Mahesh
Manjrekar
Director:
Kookie
Gulati
"Jo
kuch
bhi
hota
hai
na
woh
kissi
ek
aadmi
ke
wajah
se
nahi
hota
hai.
Kahaani
kirdaar
se
nahin,
haalat
se
paida
hote
hai," Hemant
Shah
(Abhishek
Bachchan)
quips
to
one
of
the
characters
in
Kookie
Gulati's
financial
thriller
The
Big
Bull
which
is
loosely
based
on
the
life
of
controversial
stockbroker
Harshad
Mehta.
Unfortunately,
the
makers
fail
to
pay
heed
to
their
own
words,
and
that's
quite
evident
in
the
muddled
screenplay
of
the
film
which
kills
some
of
the
fun
in
this
Abhishek
Bachchan-starrer.
Available
on:
Disney+
Hotstar
What's
Yay:
Abhishek
Bachchan,
Sohum
Shah
What's
Nay:
Messy
writing
Recommended
Video
Abhishek
Bachchan
starrer
Big
Bull
Review
check
out
the
video
|
FilmiBeat
Story
Set
in
late
1990s,
Hemant
Shah
(Abhishek
Bachchan),
a
salaried
middle
class
man
discovers
his
Midas
touch
in
stock
market
when
a
tip
from
someone
known
to
him
earns
him
big
profit.
His
brother
Viren
(Sohum
Shah)
who
knows
all
of
the
trappings
of
this
number
game,
tries
to
dissuade
him
from
further
investments.
However,
Hemant
brushes
him
off
by
saying,
"Jeetne
ki
aadat
daalnewaale
hi
jeetate
hai."
Within
no
time,
his
eyes
fall
on
the
loopholes
in
the
Indian
banking
system
and
he
uses
this
systemic
weaknesses
to
his
advantage
to
shake
the
financial
fabric
of
the
nation.
However,
Hemant
and
his
meteoric
rise
catches
the
eye
of
a
business
journalist
Meera
Rao
(Ileana
D'Cruz)
who
believes
that
there's
more
to
this
'bull
run' than
meets
the
eye.
Further,
it's
discovered
that
one
of
Hemant's
own
men
is
leaking
out
of
his
secrets
which
might
cut
short
his
dream
run.
Direction
Unlike
Hansal
Mehta's
critically
acclaimed
web
series
Scam
1992:
The
Harshad
Mehta
Story
(also
based
on
the
same
plot)
which
was
a
slow
burn,
director
Kookie
Gulati
wastes
no
time
in
directly
establishing
the
ambitious
nature
of
his
protagonist.
We
rarely
get
a
breather
here,
maybe,
because
the
filmmaker
had
to
tell
his
tale
in
a
limited
span
of
time.
The
flipside
to
this
is
that
the
screenplay
appears
rushed,
as
you
barely
get
any
time
to
understand
the
thought
process
of
each
character.
The
film's
narrative
does
pick
up
pace
post
a
few
important
scenes
but
one
wishes
that
things
would
have
began
on
a
much
gripping
note!
A
few
tense
moments
in
the
film
do
keep
you
on
the
edge
of
your
seat.
Kookie
Gulati
takes
a
few
cinematic
liberties
for
his
dramatic
story-telling,
which
probably
explains
the
reason
why
the
film
turns
out
to
be
a
roller-coaster
ride.
He
settles
for
fictitious
names
for
his
characters
and
one
wonders
the
reason
behind
this!
While
Abhishek
Bachchan
had
denied
glorifying
the
infamous
stockbroker
on
whose
life
the
film
is
modelled
on,
the
makers
sort
of
contradict
this
when
they
get
one
of
the
characters
to
mouth
lines
which
goes
like,
"Independence
ke
baad
chaalis
saal
tak
development
naa
ke
barabar
hui.
Woh
ek
crime
tha.
Hemant
Shah
ne
jo
kiya
woh
bhi
ek
crime
tha.
And
as
strange
as
it
may
sound,
shaayad
hume
ek
aise
hai
crime
ki
zarurat
thi,
uss
crime
se
ubharne
ke
liye
aur
Hemant
uske
liye
ek
perfect
candidate
thha."
Performances
When
a
Twitter
user
had
asked
Abhishek
Bachchan
why
he
should
watch
The
Big
Bull
when
he
has
already
seen
Scam
1992,
the
actor
in
his
trademark
witty
style
had
replied,
"I
am
in
it."
Well
to
be
honest,
Junior
Bachchan
is
absolutely
right
with
his
answer.
As
a
bad
boy
who
has
a
nose
for
picking
up
profitable
stocks,
the
Guru
actor
plays
his
part
bang
on.
Except
for
his
maniac
laugh
at
a
few
places
which
puts
you
off.
While
Ileana
D'Cruz
gets
her
demeanour
as
a
journalist
right,
one
wonders
why
the
makers
ended
up
giving
her
those
falsely
painted
white
streaks
in
her
hair
for
the
latter
portions.
Sohum
Shah
as
Hemant's
fearful
brother
delivers
a
honest
performance,
though
this
might
not
count
among
his
career
best.
Nikita
Dutta
as
Abhishek
Bachchan's
love
interest
looks
affable
but
her
chemistry
with
the
actor
lacks
the
zing.
It's
a
pity
that
a
talented
actor
like
Supriya
Pathak
barely
gets
enough
scenes
to
make
a
mark.
Ram
Kapoor
as
the
big-shot
lawyer
Ashok
Mirchandani
plays
his
part
to
perfection.
Mahesh
Manjrekar
and
Saurabh
Shukla
essay
their
parts
as
expected
from
them.
Technical
Aspects
The
production
value
of
The
Big
Bull
falters
at
places
and
it's
evident
in
a
few
CGI
scenes.
Pratham
Mehta's
camerawork
is
average
and
has
nothing
new
to
offer.
Dharmendra
Sharma's
editing
scissors
seem
to
be
blunt
as
it
fails
to
add
more
tension
to
a
handful
of
well-written
scenes.
Music
Carry
Minati's
'The
Big
Bull-Title
Track'
fails
to
register
due
to
its
forgetable
lyrics.
Abhishek
Bachchan-Nikita
Dutta's
romantic
ballad
'Ishq
Namaza'
in
the
voice
of
Ankit
Tiwari,
comes
across
as
misplaced
in
the
narrative.
Verdict
"Main
udna
jaanta
hoon.
Upar
dekhne
ki
aadat
dal
lo
ab," Abhishek
Bachchan's
Hemant
Shah
haughtily
tells
one
of
his
opponents
when
he
bumps
into
him
at
a
temple.
Just
like
his
character,
Abhishek
Bachchan
also
takes
a
giant
leap
into
the
sky
with
his
earnest
performance.
It's
the
writers
who
got
to
be
blamed
for
his
not-so
smooth
ride.
We
give
3
stars
out
of
5
to
Abhishek
Bachchan-Ileana
D'Cruz
starrer
The
Big
Bull.