Badla, as the name suggests, is a revenge story where Naina (Taapsee Pannu) is accused of the murder of Arjun (Tony Luke). Naina’s lawyer, Jimmy (Manav Kaul) hires the senior advocate Badal Gupta (Amitabh Bachchan) to help her get out of the case. The story takes a series of interesting twists and turns when Naina confesses her deeds to Badal.
The direction given by Sujoy Ghosh is full of thrills and genuine twists with great effects. Sujoy has smartly crafted the same old whodunnit with great execution with tactfulness. The movie is engaging and keeps you constantly guessing about the big reveal. The fact that the movie is a Spanish remake hardly matters as the strong performances by Amitabh Bachchan and Taapsee Pannu keeps you engaged, along with the excellent and detailed writing by Ghosh.
Both the lead characters uphold the truth and reveal they’re true intentions, slowly and steadily and keeps the curiosity alive. The writers have adapted the story to the Indian context. The film feels a bit longer than the actual because of constant flashbacks. Taapsee and Amitabh’s second collaboration shows a completely different dynamic in their relationship from their previous film ‘Pink’. Both the leads create the right amount of tension and thrill.
The cinematography by Avik Mukhopadhyay and Editing by Monisha R Baldawa compliments Sujoy’s direction. ‘Badla’ is captivating with a thrilling end.