The good news is that we are certainly opening up to new ideas and themes for our mainstream film projects keeping in mind the crucial entertainment factor. But sharing the bad news we are still not able to convert the potential ideas into a thoroughly enjoyable film, worth the time and money spent by the interested viewers. Besides it seems the emphasis is more on the constant supply of smaller films promised to the multiplexes apart from the major biggies, without being concerned about the quality level of such products made in the given short period.
BANK CHOR is precisely one of such hurriedly made projects that had enough content material for making an enjoyable heist thriller but sadly could never materialize on the same, hanging in the middle of two genres impressing none whatsoever.
No doubt the film begins on a funny as well as exciting note, straight away coming to the bank robbery without any unnecessary explanations. But the fun element vanishes much sooner than expected and that’s exactly what literally kills the film right in the first half itself moving into an altogether different direction. In short all the humorous interactions seen in the publicized promos of the film are right there in its opening 30 minutes itself and then there is nothing you can smile or laugh upon in the remaining time period till the finale. In other words, BANK CHOR begins as a comedy and then turns into a routine political thriller followed by an absurdly complex climax taking huge cinematic liberties in a supposedly heist script.
Unevenly directed by Bumpy, it’s (thankfully) a song less film with a decent cinematography but a strictly average background score, which ironically plays a very important role in the build-up of a heist movie. Following a poor screenplay written by more than three contributors, BANK CHOR takes it basic inspirations from multiple films such as DOG DAY AFTERNOON (English), D FOR DOPDI (Telugu) and YRF’s own DHOOM (a scene from which gets also played in one of its sequence).
One of those badly conceived film where almost every performer tries to deliver his best but gets brutally betrayed by both the writer and director together wasting their efforts made. And the names include Riteish Deshmukh, Vivek Oberoi, Sahil Vaid (of BADRINATH KI DULHANIA fame), Bhuvan Arora, Baba Sehgal (in a cameo) and more. However Rhea Chakraborty as the only female performer does another of those unimportant side roles as seen in many of her recent films.
In all, trying to create a ‘cheap’ kind of buzz with its suggestive title sounding like an abuse, BANK CHOR is another lost opportunity wasting a potential plot. So you can easily skip the dud, catching it on a channel telecast soon in the coming months.
(The article also got featured in UC-News mobile app in June 2017)
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Shared below are views - Beyond the initial review with some more interesting insights.
The present business model of multiplexes cannot survive if they do not get a regular supply of films every Friday in a balanced mix of both big and small projects maintaining the continuity. And the corporate production houses also require the same kind of mix in their investment portfolios insuring safe returns and favourable book-keeping balancing the profit and losses.
So a multiplex demands a regular balanced supply from the makers and the makers promise the same approving many small quickie projects based on an interesting idea featuring one known and other lesser known actors giving you the probable picture.
Having various stories behind its making beginning with Kapil Sharma playing the lead in its initial announcement, BANK CHOR typically falls in the same category of smaller films made by the big production houses that more or less do not affect them much despite their negative results at the box office.
Besides, the way YRF is vaguely making such films with their already signed (or in contract) artists for more than one film deal, it reminds me of those early days of Indian Cinema when even reputed actors as well as musicians used to be salaried artists of the major film making studios working for their regular projects. However the gems they used to make in those limited settings is certainly beyond comparison without any slightest of doubt.
Coming back to the film, a product cannot be a success if you are selling it with a different kind of packaging contradicting with its actual content, which exactly is the case with BANK CHOR, that happens to be a poor, confusing thriller, cleverly sold to the exhibitors/public as a hilarious comedy.
So better watch it on a channel or on an official online portal, saving your hard earned money.
Rating : 1.5 / 5
