No Discount on Love. Happy Hours.|Mar. 27, 2015|India|127 Min.|Not Rated
Genre: Bollywood;Drama;Romance
Description: “Barkhaa” (2015) is a Hindi film directed by Shadaab Mirza, marking his debut. The movie features a relatively unknown cast and was misleadingly marketed as an erotic film, though it lacks any notable sensual scenes. Instead, it focuses on the life of a bar dancer, reportedly inspired by real-life events.
Right from the start, the film shows signs of amateurish execution. For instance, in an early scene at a book launch, the book being read is in Hindi, but its cover design is predominantly in English, highlighting inconsistencies in detail. The narrative struggles to clearly connect past and present events, with the first half of the movie spending nearly 35-40 minutes establishing a romantic subplot without delving into the main story.
The first hour of the film includes a decent social theme, a few well-composed songs, and a devotional qawwali that is effectively used before the interval. The second half introduces several twists and turns that maintain audience interest, but the overall execution falls short. The director handles key moments casually, often neglecting logical connections and reasoning in the plot.
Despite the efforts of experienced actors to elevate certain scenes, such as a bar raid sequence and the subsequent police station confrontation, the weak script undermines their performances. Sara Loren, who plays the titular role of Barkhaa, delivers a simplistic portrayal with limited emotional range, which weakens the film’s emotional core. Taaha Shah, as the male lead, struggles with a poorly written role, while Priyanshu Chatterjee is underutilized in his character as the guilt-ridden elder brother.
Overall, “Barkhaa” suffers from flawed storytelling, inconsistent execution, and a lack of depth in character development, failing to make a lasting impact despite its promising social subject.
Cast director: Shadaab Mirza
Cast actor: Sara Loren, Priyanshu Chatterjee, Taaha Shah, Puneet Issar, Shweta Pandit, Ashiesh Roy
Original name: Barkhaa