Bhediya #picksandpiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #filmmoviedocumentaryreviews

#picksandpiques #JohnsonThomas #internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #filmmoviedocumentaryreviews Film: #Bhediya #MaddockFilms #UniversalCommunications #DineshVijan #Jiocinemas Cast: #AbhishekBanerjee #VarunDhawan #PaalinKabak #DeepakDobriyal #KritiSanon #SharadKelkar #SaurabhShukla Director: #AmarKaushik Rating: * * ½ Runtime: 156 mins

This film, a #creaturecomedy may not give you a howling good time but it is fairly entertaining nevertheless. While the use of creature horror films like #JaaniDushman and #Junoon help shore up the believability of the werewolf folklore, far too many questionable set-ups squeeze chunks out of the overall enjoyment here. The human-to-creature transforms (CGI post-production work) are fairly believable. Bhaskar, begins by setting out to destroy virgin forests of #ArunachalPradesh and then (after the werewolf bites a chunk out of his butt cheek), on sight of the full moon, gets transformed into a completely contradictory werewolf - setting out to right the wrong that he himself has done. There’s no explanation why he leaves some dead while some survive and there’s also no explanation why the ones that survive don’t turn into werewolves themselves. The skittish vet Anika (Kriti Sanon) is an ill-defined role. Though Varun Dhavan has done well to be supremely assured and voice confident in his human and creature avatars but it’s #AbhishekBanerjee who steals the show by playing the quip-happy cousin whose dry sarcasm brings on the smiles in every scene he is in. #DeepakDobriyal adds weight to the humourous bits too. The toilet humor sequence here is in extremely bad taste and should have been left out altogether. The songs are decent and the cinematography makes Arunachal Pradesh look like a must-visit touristy destination. A tighter script and edit could have made this film a winner all the way. Nevertheless, this movie does have a heart. It talks about ‘othering’ of our own brethren based on geography and looks, brings to the fore the issue of wanton environment destruction in the name of development, and even sheds some light on the man-animal conflict. Watch out for the post-credit sequence…