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Bawaal

Bawaal (transl. Commotion) is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film directed by Nitesh Tiwari, and produced by Sajid Nadiadwala and Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari under Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment and Earthsky Pictures. It stars Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor as a troubled married couple.[1][2]

Bawaal
Official release poster
Directed byNitesh Tiwari
Written by
  • Nitesh Tiwari
  • Piyush Gupta
  • Nikhil Mehrotra
  • Shreyas Jain
Story byAshwiny Iyer Tiwari
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyMitesh Mirchandani
Edited byCharu Shree Roy
Music bySongs:
Mithoon
Tanishk Bagchi
Akashdeep Sengupta
Background Score:
Daniel B. George
Production
companies
Distributed byAmazon Prime Video
Release date
  • 21 July 2023 (2023-07-21)
Running time
137 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi

Filming took place in multiple countries from April to August 2022. Initially scheduled for a theatrical release, Bawaal had a streaming release on Amazon Prime Video on 21 July 2023.[3] The film received negative reviews from critics.

Plot

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Ajay Dixit is an image-conscious narcissist, who teaches history at a school in Lucknow. He hates his life of lies, despite the respect he is held in, thanks to his philosophical tendency to "fake it till you make it". He has grounded his beautiful epileptic wife Nisha, who is much more intelligent than him, since he does not want her seizures to ruin his reputation.

Ajay finds himself and his image in jeopardy when he slaps his student, Atul Raghuvanshi, in frustration over a doubt regarding World War II. Atul turns out to be the son of MLA Vishwas Raghuvanshi. Out of despair of wanting to escape the wrath of the MLA, Ajay decides to visit places across Europe he deems were important to World War II (inc. Anne Frank's house and Auschwitz). He takes Nisha along with him as his parents hope it could resolve their marital conflicts. This sets them on a journey that changes their entire perspectives and their views on interpersonal conflicts, as they cover both life and history lessons along the way.

Cast

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  • Varun Dhawan as Ajay Dixit
  • Janhvi Kapoor as Nisha Dixit
  • Manoj Pahwa as Mr. Dixit, Ajay's father
  • Anjuman Saxena as Mrs. Dixit, Ajay's mother
  • Mukesh Tiwari as MLA Vishwas Raghuvanshi
  • Prateek Pachori as Bipin
  • Vyas Hemang as Kalpesh
  • Shashie Vermaa as Principal
  • Agrim Mittal as Papon Chatterjee
  • Nikhil Chawla as Atul Raghuvanshi, Vishwas's son
  • Thibault Gouzarch as Thief

Production

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The film title was announced along with its release date and the cast on 30 March 2022.[4]

Filming began in April 2022, and was shot in Mumbai, Kanpur, Lucknow, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Kraków, Warsaw, Auschwitz (present-day Oświęcim) and in parts of Poland.[5] Sajid Nadiadwala announced that the filming completed in August 2022.[6][7]

Soundtrack

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Bawaal
Soundtrack album by
Mithoon, Tanishk Bagchi and Akashdeep Sengupta
Released23 July 2023
Recorded2022
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length15:36
LabelT-Series
Official audio
Bawaal (Audio Jukebox) on YouTube
Singles from Bawaal
  1. "Tumhe Kitna Pyaar Karte"
    Released: 7 July 2023
  2. "Dil Se Dil Tak"
    Released: 14 July 2023
  3. "Dilon Ki Doriyan"
    Released: 18 July 2023

Soundtrack is composed by Mithoon, Tanishk Bagchi, Akashdeep Sengupta. The lyrics are written by Kausar Munir, Manoj Muntashir, Arafat Mehmood, Shloke Lal.

The first single, "Tumhe Kitna Pyaar Karte" was released on 7 July 2023.[8] The 2nd single titled "Dil Se Dil Tak" was released on 14 July 2023.[9] The third single titled "Dilon Ki Doriyan" was released on 18 July 2023.[10]

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsMusicSinger(s)Length
1."Tumhe Kitna Pyaar Karte"Manoj MuntashirMithoonArijit Singh5:05
2."Dil Se Dil Tak"Kausar MunirAkashdeep SenguptaLaqshay Kapoor, Akashdeep Sengupta, Suvarna Tiwari5:01
3."Dilon Ki Doriyan"Arafat MehmoodTanishk BagchiVishal Mishra, Zahrah S Khan, Romy3:00
4."Kat Jayega"Shloke LalTanishk BagchiRomy, Pravesh Mallick2:30
Total length:15:36

Release

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The film premiered on 21 July 2023 on Amazon Prime Video.

Reception

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On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 21% of 19 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 3.9/10.[11] Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave the film 1.5 out of 5, writing, "Varun Dhawan-Janhvi Kapoor-starrer promises a lot, but keeps faltering, never quite knowing what to make of a wholly harebrained flourish in the plot."[12] Leaf Arbuthnot of The Guardian gave the film 1 out of 5, calling the premise "serviceable" but the plot "woefully misjudged." She further wrote that "it is just a pity that rest of the film is so lacking in fun, pep, humour and charm that only its spectacularly poor taste stands out."[13]

Amongst positive reviews, Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com gave the film 3 out of 5, writing, "Director Nitesh Tiwari has a knack for creating intriguing characters and scenarios that feel fresh yet familiar at the same time. But the underlying goal behind all their actions -- questionable or inspirational -- is rooted in wisdom."[14] Lachmi Deb Roy of Firstpost gave the film 3 out of 5, writing, "Despite all its drawbacks, one takeaway from the film is that it’s okay to be an average person with imperfections than to be a fake person."[15]

Several publications criticized the film for "insensitive portrayal" of the Holocaust.[a] Rabbi Abraham Cooper of the Jewish human rights organisation Simon Wiesenthal Center asked Amazon to “stop monetising” Bawaal with immediate effect and called the film a “banal trivialisation of the suffering and systematic murder of millions of victims of the Nazi Holocaust.”[21][22] On 28 July 2023, Embassy of Israel, New Delhi tweeted that "The Israeli embassy is disturbed by the trivialization of the significance of the Holocaust in the recent movie 'Bawaal'."[23] They also criticised the "poor choice in the utilization of some terminology in the movie."[24][25]

Accolades

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Year Award ceremony Category Nominee / work Result Ref.
2023 Filmfare OTT Awards Best Actor in a Web Original Film Varun Dhawan Nominated [26]
Best Actress in a Web Original Film Janhvi Kapoor Nominated
Best Story (Web Original Film) Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari Nominated
Best Original Screenplay (Web Original Film) Nikhil Mehrotra, Shreyas Jain, Piyush Gupta, Nitesh Tiwari Nominated
Best Background Music (Web Original Film) Daniel B. George Nominated
Best Production Design (Web Original Film) Aditya Kanwar Nominated
Best Cinematographer (Web Original Film) Mitesh Mirchandani Nominated
Best Editing (Web Original Film) Charu Shree Roy Nominated
Best Sound Design (Web Original Film) Sanjay Maurya, Allwin Rego Nominated

Notes

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  1. ^ Attributed to multiple references:[16][17][18][19][20]

References

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  1. ^ "Bawaal: Varun Dhawan's First Look from His Upcoming Film Revealed; See Pics". News 18. 18 April 2022. Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  2. ^ HTML (28 July 2022). "Janhvi Kapoor shares long thank you note with pics from Bawaal sets with Varun Dhawan, Nitesh Tiwari". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 9 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  3. ^ "Varun Dhawan, Janhvi Kapoor's 'Bawaal' Teaser Unveiled, Prime Video Streaming Date Confirmed (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. 5 July 2023. Archived from the original on 5 July 2023. Retrieved 5 July 2023.
  4. ^ HTML (30 March 2022). "Varun Dhawan & Jahnvi Kapoor to star in director Nitesh Tiwari's next film 'Bawaal'". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 1 February 2023. Retrieved 30 January 2023.
  5. ^ HTML (28 July 2022). "Sajid Nadiadwala's Bawaal starring Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor hits floors today". Firstpost. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  6. ^ "Varun Dhawan wraps Nitesh Tiwari's Bawaal". The Indian Express. 1 August 2022. Archived from the original on 9 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  7. ^ "Varun Dhawan wraps up Bawaal shoot in Poland with Janhvi Kapoor, shares BTS video". India Today. 1 August 2022. Archived from the original on 9 January 2023. Retrieved 9 January 2023.
  8. ^ "Varun Dhawal, Janhvi Kapoor starrer Bawaal's new song Tumhe Kitna Pyar Karte out now". mirchi.in. Archived from the original on 8 July 2023. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  9. ^ "Dil Se Dil Tak: Janhvi Kapoor, Varun Dhawan try to rekindle the romance in new Bawaal song". Archived from the original on 14 July 2023. Retrieved 14 July 2023.
  10. ^ "Janhvi Kapoor and Varun Dhawan get romantic in Bawaal's song Dilon Ki Dooriyan". Archived from the original on 18 July 2023. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
  11. ^ "Bawaal". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved 24 November 2023.
  12. ^ Gupta, Shubhra (21 July 2023). "Varun Dhawan, Janhvi Kapoor-starrer Bawaal review". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 17 September 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  13. ^ Arbuthnot, Leaf (21 July 2023). "Bawaal review – redemption romcom in spectacularly poor taste". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 22 September 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  14. ^ Verma, Sukanya. "Bawaal Review: Varun-Janhvi Juggle History And Honeymoon". Rediff. Archived from the original on 24 July 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023.
  15. ^ Roy, Lachmi Deb (21 July 2023). "Varun Dhawan & Janhvi Kapoor's Bawaal movie review: Not up to Nitesh Tiwari's calibre". Firstpost. Archived from the original on 22 September 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  16. ^ Das, Santanu (21 July 2023). "Bawaal review: Hitler saves a toxic marriage in the most insensitive film of the year, so far". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 12 June 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  17. ^ Jain, Jhalak (24 July 2023). "'Bawaal' Uses Holocaust as a Plot Device – Only to Make a Mockery of the Tragedy". The Quint. Archived from the original on 25 July 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  18. ^ Mathur, Abhimanyu (21 July 2023). "Bawaal movie review: Nitesh Tiwari baffles with insensitive Holocaust, Hitler references in tone deaf relationship drama". DNA India. Archived from the original on 29 July 2023. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  19. ^ Lapin, Andrew (13 August 2023). "Holocaust scholars debate Bollywood movie 'Bawaal,' about couple visiting Auschwitz". The Times of Israel. Jerusalem. Archived from the original on 30 June 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  20. ^ Chopra, Anupama (21 July 2023). "Bawaal Movie Review: Trivializes An Unimaginable Horror". Film Companion. Archived from the original on 22 July 2023. Retrieved 25 August 2024.
  21. ^ "Bollywood film 'Bawaal' accused of trivializing Holocaust and demeaning victims". CNN. 28 July 2023. Archived from the original on 28 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  22. ^ "Varun Dhawan-Janhvi Kapoor starrer Bawaal accused of trivialising Holocaust". The News Mintue. 28 July 2023. Archived from the original on 28 July 2023. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  23. ^ "'Disturbed by trivialisation of Holocaust': Israeli embassy on Bawaal row". The Indian Express. New Delhi. Express News Service. 29 July 2023. Archived from the original on 6 August 2023. Retrieved 6 August 2023.
  24. ^ Embassy of Israel, New Delhi [@IsraelinIndia] (28 July 2023). "The Israeli embassy is disturbed by the trivialization of the significance of the Holocaust in the recent movie 'Bawaal'" (Tweet). New Delhi. Archived from the original on 30 July 2023. Retrieved 12 December 2023 – via Twitter.
  25. ^ Entertainment, Quint (28 July 2023). "Israeli Embassy Criticises Varun & Janhvi's 'Bawaal' for Trivialising Holocaust". TheQuint. Archived from the original on 30 June 2024. Retrieved 30 June 2024.
  26. ^ "Nominations for the Filmfare OTT Awards 2023: Full List Out | Femina.in". Femina. Archived from the original on 20 January 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
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