Review – BA Pass

 

The 2013 Hindi film BA Pass is based on a short story, “The Railway Aunty” written by Mohan Sikka,which was published in a 2009 anthology, Delhi Noir.It was adapted and developed for the big screen by Ritesh Shah. It is one of those films which should not be made in mainstream Bollywood, because, inorder to bring out the essence of a sexually-motivated-crime drama, a certain level of sexual boldness has to be portrayed. But our Indian Censor Board has always been quite reluctant when it comes to showing sex or nudity on the silver screen. Films like these will always face hindrances and the makers have to either compromise with cuts (thereby losing the continuity of the plot) or go with ‘A’ certificate reducing target audience.

We have seen in this before, films like Love, Sex aur Dhokha & Dev D had to face so many roadblocks before release.So, here, director Ajay Bahl opted for the later (going with ‘A’ certificate) and it’s definitely a bold film compared to mainstream Bollywood standards. Having said that, I still feel, had this film been made in a country like Korea (who have mastered the art of neo-noir), the treatment would have been more realistic according to what the script demanded.

Neo noir films in Hollywood and other countries have always been distinctive in terms of its story telling, style and dark visual content. The use of lights (dark & shadow) is very essential in these kinds of films and BA Pass has been successful in that regard. Most parts of BA Pass have been beautifully shot by the director himself in the suburbs and the dark lanes of Delhi depicting the middle class life of Delhi.They do give a quite realistic and noir feel to the story. But although BA Pass excels in the technical department and has all the ingredients to be a successful crime thriller (with twists and turns specially the unexpected climatic twist), it never really proves to be a satisfying film eventually.

The story begins with Mukesh (Shadab Kamal) losing his parents and being reluctantly adopted by his aunt (father’s sister) who stays in Delhi and his two sisters being sent to a hostel. Mukesh gets himself admitted in some not-so-renowned college in pass course and hence the name of the film.

Mukesh’s life revolves around his college and playing chess at the graveyard with Johnny (Dibyendu Bhattacharya) who always dreams to go to Mauritius. But the monotonous plains of his life take a plunge off a high cliff when he meets Sarika aunty (Shilpa Shukla) at a party in his aunt’s house. Sarika invites him to his house where she starts seducing him. Although there have been talks about Sarika’s character in the society, no one in his aunt’s house speaks about it upfront as her husband Khanna (Rajesh Sharma) is the boss of Mukesh’s uncle.Hence his aunt is pushed back against the wall to take some decisions that changes Mukesh’s life. What felt like a steamy affair between a desperate house-wife and a poverty stricken orphan takes a completely different turn with the subject of male prostitution coming into the picture. The film could have been aptly titled as “Love, Sex aur Dhoka”. The film takes us through a man’s journey of life through temptations, lies, betrayal, murder & lot more and shows how poverty can force people to take extreme actions in life and bring the “animal instinct” out of a human being.

BA Pass is bold, gritty, taut & crisp. The dialogues are apt to the context of the film and maintain a distinct difference between seduction & cheap vulgarity. The lines like “Sikhaya maine aur maze sab lenge” & “Waise to kuch hota nahi tumse, isse dekhke harkat hui hain” may apparently sound cheap, but it sounds quite relevant to the context of the film. But the film fails to give a ‘life’ to itself or rather to any of its characters. Whether it’s a thriller or romance, connecting with the audience is very essential for any film and that’s exactly what separates a good film with ordinary ones. The film never stays with you after it’s over and you don’t develop any sort of sympathy for the main protagonist inspite of the presence of ample of reasons to do so. The director attempted, to extract real emotions, helplessness of the characters, but BA Pass doesn’t quite go up the ladder in that department inspite of having the potential.

Shilpa Shukla plays her part quite competently with an underlying confidence. I heard Richa Chadda was earlier considered for the role but dropped out due to date issue.I feel she would have been a better choice with all due respect to the laudable performance from Shukla. The character of Mukesh is quite complex and it’s a tough role to play. On one hand he is deeply saddened by his parent’s death and humiliated at home by his aunt and cousin and on the other hand he finds pleasure in Sarika who introduces him to a different world, shows him a road that can change his life, provides him the taste of money apart from a whole lot of things. But Shadab Kamal fails to live upto the challenges and expectations and gives a pretty average performance. His pale eyes and rigid acting fails to bring out the range of emotions that was needed from the character of Mukesh.

On the whole, BA Pass had a decent plot for a thriller but turns out to be an average film. It is frustrating to see films like this one which had so much of potential turning out as a run-of-the-mill piece. But I would definitely applaud the attempt of Ajay Bahl to do at least something different and bold instead of opting the easier route on his directorial debut.