Life & Style

Critics' Report: Bombay Velvet opens to mixed response

Critics and viewers are confused over whether to like the film or not

Entertainment Desk May 15, 2015

The verdict is in: Anurag Kashyap's Bombay Velvet has critics and viewers confused over whether to like it or not.

Bombay Velvet is a period crime drama film, which is based on historian Gyan Prakash's book Mumbai Fables. Set in Bombay in the 1960s, the film stars Ranbir Kapoor as boxer Johnny Balraj and Anushka Sharma as aspiring jazz singer Rosie Noronha. The film revolves around how their hopes and dreams collide with their individual realities.

We bring to you excerpts of Bombay Velvet reviews from some of India's top film critics to help you decide if you should watch it or give it a miss altogether.

From PinkVilla:

Bombay Velvet is a huge achievement for its maker and his team. It’s scale, scope and grandeur is alluring and visually stunning. Ranbir Kapoor is effortless and powerful, boiling over with anger convincingly. Anushka Sharma doesn't say much in this film, but her silences convey her helpless fate subtly. However, the the plot’s backdrop is somewhat muddled and plot meanders away at some points.

From Rediff:

On paper, this sounds like dynamite. Kashyap, a gifted visual stylist and a distinctively bold storyteller, taking on the mainstream and riffing on it his way, subverting the system. Except, that’s not what happens here. The new film clearly wants to be many things, but ends up indecisively skulking around the shadows of giant films, despite editing goddess Thelma Schoonmaker blessing it with her scissors. Several components work strongly, particularly a sensational soundtrack and a few excellent actors. Yet, the film disappoints, and, due to the potential on display, severely so. The scale is amped up to grandness, certainly, but despite majestic intent, what we find here is a watered-down forgery, an imitation you can spot from a mile away.

From Times of India:
Bombay Velvet is one of the most stylish-looking Hindi films, its glowing cinematography and sharp detailing presenting a heady, greedy city, full of nightmares and dreams. Its performances create an eye-catching vintage world. The drama's further enhanced by fabulous sound design, gorgeous jazz layered pulsatingly onto scenes of violence and love. But Bombay Velvet has rough edges too. The film is so intensely stylized, it misses emotional pull. Certain sequences - like Johnny's prize-fighting - feel stretched. At times, the editing simply races, without letting you feel anything, from Khambata's jeers to Rosie's tears, deeply enough.

From Bollywood Life:
If you are an ardent Anurag fan and are expecting another Gangs of Wasseypur, better give it a miss instead of getting monumentally disappointed. However, if you have nothing else to do this weekend and want to have a feeling of how Bombay…sorry Mumbai looked like in the ‘60s, it’s worth taking that risk.

From Twitter

As expected, the best reactions came from the Twitterati.

Some simply stated their opinions.

#BombayVelvet is more like coarse jute than velvet. It will prove to be a disaster at the b.o. Read my review at https://t.co/lfvbuGxXKX
— Komal Nahta (@KomalNahta) May 15, 2015

Alright, my #review of #BombayVelvet: The show must go yawn. http://t.co/V9YQ5pXDG6
— Raja Sen (@RajaSen) May 15, 2015

Others offered some very interesting insight:

One of best review for #BombayVelvet 😋😋😋😋😂😂😂😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/X4YJr5rMVm
— PuvvalaVirat (@PuvvalaVirat) May 15, 2015

https://twitter.com/FollowThisVoice/status/599171570423103488

Anushka Sharma Performance in #BombayVelvet is just a reply to Virat Kohli for his Performance in World Cup.
— Subrat Saurabh (@subratsaurabh) May 15, 2015

Anushka Sharma in Bombay Velvet seems inspired by Virat Kohli's performance in the world cup semi final against... http://t.co/J15JjrT1lG
— Anagh Pal (@anaghpal) May 15, 2015

https://twitter.com/one_by_two/status/599151467325456384

#BombayVelvet not doing well in Box Office
Bollywood Fans criticising Virat Kohli for the debacle@coolfunnytshirt
— Hariharan Durairaj 𝕏🦁🐿️🐘 (@hariharan_draj) May 15, 2015

https://twitter.com/Sir_R_U_L/status/599151052714278913