Friday Streaming - A rather predictable thriller, Badla on Netflix doesn't do any justice to its name

If you've grown up watching as much CID as I have, Badla seems fishy right from that first doorbell!

Directed by Sujoy Ghosh, Badla doesn't give us anything we haven't seen before and feels a lot like Haseen Dillruba! While being the official remake of 'The Invisible Guest', a Spanish film, this movie is rather frustrating with multiple versions of what really happened, a web of lies, and constant references to Mahabharata that aren't as deep as intended!

Cast - Taapsee Pannu plays the role of Naina Sethi, the main lead. After watching her in PINK and Haseen Dillruba, her expressions and dialogue delivery don't seem convincing given that they always look and sound the same. Amitabh Bachchan, as Badal Gupta, a defense lawyer wasn't as memorable as we'd hoped! Amrita Singh stands out as her supporting character, Rani Kaur Toor. Her performance is so warm and natural that you forget that she isn't Rani Kaur Toor IRL.

Storyline - A young and successful businesswoman, Naina Sethi finds herself knocked out in a hotel room, only to wake up to the body of her dead lover, Arjun Joseph. That's precisely when the cops break into her room and arrest her on charges of murder! Her lawyer appoints Badal Gupta, a defense lawyer with a spotless record to defend her and he arrives at Naina's house one evening to find out what really happened. Naina narrates her story to Badal and the two of them exchange half-baked theories about what really happened!

Watch the trailer here!

What I liked - A majority of the movie is based between two people inside a closed space and that's not easy to pull off!

What I didn't quite like - Taapsee Pannu's Naina Sethi was a lot like her Rani from Haseen Dillruba and the two characters played rather different roles which makes you wonder whether Taapsee is a tad too straight-faced throughout her movies! What others call eye-for-detail seems like unnecessary information in Badla, making you question the sensibility of the plot! As the story unfolds, you'll catch yourself unphased by it, it feels that methodical and unemotional! The constant flashbacks about two murders are told in such a vanilla manner, which makes Badla feel so dragged! While Taapsee's character may have different layers to it, all of them seem to belong to the same shade - nude, they're that bland! Unlike Kahaani, the climax in this one doesn't knock you off your boots!

Also Read: Friday Streaming – When the world is crumbling around you, you’ll love watching Chesapeake Shores on Netflix

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