Review: What went wrong with 'Bawaal'

A lot has been said and written about Bawaal. The OTT film, which analogises World War II, has not gone down well with audiences, or the Jewish community. It has been criticised for being insensitive, using the Holocaust as a metaphor for human greed.

Amidst the critique, director Nitesh Tiwari has stated, "You can question the creative process, you can question the creatives, but please do not question the intent. The moment you start questioning the intent, it becomes hurtful."

Could it be that both parties have a point?

But first - what is 'Bawaal' about?

The film revolves around Ajay, a narcissistic history teacher (Varun Dhawan) who lies to craft an image of himself due to deep-seated insecurities. He keeps his wife, Nisha (Janhvi Kapoor) within the confines of his home, because he is embarrassed of her rare bouts of epilepsy.

In an absurd attempt to safeguard his job after he slaps a powerful man's child in class, Ajay decides that a trip to various World War II sites is vital. He pitches this to the school, implying that his immersive experiences will lead to more profound learning for his students. Strangely, the school grants him his leave, and he uploads questionable lessons from his trip.

During this journey, given that his wife has a personality outside of her being a locked-up prisoner and his cause of shame, Ajay falls in love with Nisha. Just typing this was a ludicrous experience. To watch these events play out, without threads of logic tethering loose ends, is a journey like no other.

The Holocaust fiasco

The Simon Wiesenthal Center, an international human rights organisation that aims to address and combat antisemitism, stated that Bawaal trivialises the "suffering and systematic murder of millions." In the face of backlash, Tiwari stated, "[There are] so many good messages which are there in the movie. You take out one or two odd incidents, and run down the whole film." He also said in an earlier interview, "My biggest thing was there is something fresh which I always crave to bring to my audience, both story-wise as well as visually."

Therein lies the problem.

The thing is: Bawaal is, in fact, "something fresh." You can tell that there was an attempt to make something great. The film tries its best to touch upon a subject that is rarely broached in South Asia, and, sparing one glaring issue, doubles as a history lesson of sorts.

The issue, however, is that the Holocaust is used to mend a horrifying relationship. The film situates Ajay at Normandy, with soldiers dying around him. It places him at Auschwitz, implying he is one of the prisoners. It locks him up in the gas chamber, only for him to receive an epiphany about his relationship. Things that are painfully obvious - that he should love - nay, be decent to his wife and parents, are things that come to him when is imagining himself in unimaginable situations.

The shots are beautiful, and the switch is seamless, but the actual premise behind the scenes is ridiculously inane. Paired with dialogues like, "We're all a little like Hitler, aren't we?" and an Auschwitz survivor narrating his tale, saying, "Every relationship goes through their Auschwitz" for Ajay's character to realise he must be a better husband, the narrative is a simply an unnecessary pill to swallow.

Ludicrous characters

Ajay is constantly deceitful, reeks of misogyny, and exercises patriarchal powers to limit his wife's freedom. Despite her telling him about her illness prior to the wedding, he is horrified to watch Nisha in the midst of an epileptic fit - behind closed doors - on the day of their wedding.

Dhawan's character has one job - teaching children history. The absolute bare minimum requirement for that is to pick up a book and read from it - a seemingly tedious task for Ajay. We constantly question how his loosely crafted image doesn't shatter into pieces around him each day. After all, he puts in no effort to maintain it. Does nobody question why his wife is never seen in public? His parents, who are privy to her ill-treatment, do nothing more than nag him.

The credibility of his actual place of work comes into question. One would hope schools conduct basic background searches while hiring. Forget a background search - it is implied that Ajay knows absolutely nothing. Yet, he is rarely answerable for his ignorance. The universe of the film implies that either Dhawan's character is exceptionally shrewd, or everybody around him is plagued by idiocy.

One can argue that these are purposeful choices. After all, Dhawan does embody the average man whose belief system is informed by misogyny and cons. However, the manner in which this is done does not suspend your disbelief effectively. You are left with basic logic questions colouring your viewing experience. Additionally, while one can argue that Kapoor's character is better fleshed out, it is outright uncomfortable to watch her try to play a woman impacted by epilepsy. Watching Nisha get her attacks on-screen just feels wrong.

Furthermore, Nisha, who comes from a progressive family that is in favour of a divorce, seems to suffer from Stockholm Syndrome. The divorce papers are in her cupboard, she knows that there is nothing salvaging her relationship, but she refuses to leave. She holds out, hoping for change, despite Ajay's claims that she should be grateful he hasn't abused his "defected" wife.

The best way to summarise Bawaal is that there was an attempt at greatness that fell flat on its face. What could have been an informative romantic drama, becomes a laughable attempt at using a catastrophe as a metaphor to provide therapy to a clueless man whom we struggle to back at any point in time.

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