Review of the film Bad News: The new trio in the Karan Johar-produced romantic comedy are Vicky Kaushal, Triptii Dimri, and Ammy Virk.
It’s frivolous and entertaining in equal measure, but it’s not really great.While Bad Newz isn’t all that horrible, it doesn’t quite live up to the ideal rom-com one would think given its concept. This new movie, which stars Vicky Kaushal, Triptii Dimri, and Amy Virk, is a spiritual sequel (whatever that means) to the humorous Good Newwz. It’s a strange, predictable, and a little crazy.
The Storyline
If the trailer is any indication, it reveals almost everything about the story and leaves very little room for mystery to develop. Wikipedia didn’t seem to care either, explaining the plot in too much depth and leaving viewers wondering what else might happen. Bad Newz, which was directed by Anand Tiwari, is a well-meaning movie that aims to make you laugh, but most of the time the gags fall flat and all we get is cliched comedy that isn’t that hilarious.
In the film’s opening scene, we are introduced to the hot and driven Saloni Bagga (Triptii), a chef with her sights set on the Meraki star (an Oscar for the cook), with a starring cameo that we’re not sure we needed. She would go to weddings at her mother’s prodding in the hopes of meeting a tall, dark, and gorgeous person and having a romantic tale like to Band Baaja Baraat. At last, she meets Vicky, a typical West Delhi Punjabi kid who runs a chaap store in Karol Bagh, Akhil Chadha. They had a hurried romance, a humorous first night, a passionate honeymoon in Europe, and are soon on their way to divorce.
In Mussoorie, Saloni establishes a rapport with her supervisor, Gurbir Pannu (Ammy). After a wild night and inebriated intercourse with these two men, Saloni discovers that she is a rare example of heteropaternal superfecundation—she becomes pregnant with twins who have two biological fathers. What happens next? Hell breaks free as a sequence of odd incidents one after the other take place, creating a comedy of errors. To be the better fathers, Akhil and Gurbir need to demonstrate their value.
Bad Newz, written by Ishita Moitra and Tarun Dudeja, features a compelling storyline and a well-developed first half filled with enjoyable character interactions. When the second half begins, the first thirty minutes just fly by, and the scenes involving Kaushal and Virk begin to seem the same. The dialogue is peculiar and contains a few clever one-liners that make you giggle. However, it lacks consistency to keep you interested.
Even with a well-written screenplay, Bad Newz appears hurried. In particular, the romance between Saloni and Akhil is shallow and uninteresting, with only a few cheesy scenes including the couple destroying a gorgeous chocolate cake and discarding their finest silverware at the dinner table. Unfortunately! We are not moved to praise their chemistry in any way. Actually, the sequences in the second half between Gurbir and Akhil demonstrate a far stronger bond.
Vicky Kaushal owns Bad Newz from the beginning. Even though he’s just being the real Punjabi kid, he has too much swagger in his act and persona to be overlooked. He is the only one who owns the majority of the movie and skillfully saves it in multiple instances. Vicky turns Akhil Chadha—who adores his wife and his mother—into the ideal green flag. His mother describes him at a pivotal point as the hero of West Delhi. I like that the producers allowed him to frequently show off his toned abs and give his fans some really enticing glimpses into his life. Despite the fact that you may think he is exaggerated and noisy in some situations, it actually works. It wouldn’t be incorrect to state that he is fiercely competing with Rocky Randhawa, played by Ranveer Singh.
Throughout the entire movie, Tripti Dimrii—who is currently a big favorite in Bollywood—looks annoyed most of the time. If not, she’s just grinning broadly, possibly winning a few toothpaste advertisements in the process. And when she’s not annoyed or grinning, her countenance is wooden as she sobs. Given that she was playing a completely lighthearted role for the first time following dramatic depictions in Laila Majnu, Bulbbul, and Animal, I had high expectations for her performance, but she falls short of my expectations. If anything, you’re drawn in by her sultry attire in the first part. Ammy Virk’s charming portrayal of innocence, sweetness, and naivete is what brings serenity to this chaotic situation. Though not particularly funny, his comic timing is impressive.
Additionally, there is Saloni’s Massi, Corona Maa (Neha Dhupia), a psychiatrist turned spiritual teacher who is primarily seen wearing her boho frills. Though her characters should have been written far better, she does have some amusing one-liners. She doesn’t add much to the screenplay outside from a few jarring sequences, but every time she shows up, you can’t help but laugh.
With Bad Newz, director Anand Tiwari, who has already directed Love Per Square Foot, Bang Baaja Baarat, and Bandit Bandish, gets to go all out. He has a firm grasp of the genre, and he makes the most of this movie’s economic potential.
The Decision
Stereotypes that you hope had faded by now abound in Bad Newzz: women preferring their careers over marriage, mumma’s boys being reckless husbands, Punjabis liking rajma chawal, and so on. Even though this movie isn’t really funny, I appreciated how the creators skillfully included some amazing meta jokes that truly pop. The script does a good job of incorporating references to Dimri as Bhabhi 2 and “National Crush,” as well as scenes where Kaushal stops Virk from tossing a photo of Katrina Kaif saying, “Iske liye toh tujhe meri laash se guzarna hoga” (you’ll have to go over my dead body), and Gurbir tells Akhil not to act like Vicky Sandhu from Manmarziyaan.
It also seems as though Bad Newz is paying homage to our cinema with its innumerable Bollywood film references, endearing language, and classic songs and characters, such as Hum Aapke Hain Koun, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Besharam Rang, Junglee Billi, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil, Bareilly Ki Barfi, and Mohabbatein. Not to be overlooked is the Duplicate version of Mere Mehboob Mare Sanam, which fortunately sounds just as good as the original. Speaking of tunes, make sure to watch Kaushal groove to Tauba Tauba till the end credits. Perhaps that will out to be the movie’s greatest feature.