Since Bollywood had two movies of the same topic out in the same month & so many controversies involved, it was indeed needed to review them. Yes, we are talking about “Ujda Chaman” & “Bala”. Now, both movies have released & have the same plotline but different way of showcasing it on-screen. It becomes interesting to see how the two movies have been receiving feedback.
Starting with “Ujda Chaman” which stars Sunny Singh in the lead was released on 1st November 2019. The movie’s entire plot was based on simple condition alopecia. It is a condition where a man starts to lose his hair early. Sunny Singh played Chaman Kohli who is 30 years old, has a stable job, lives with his family and has a stable & okayish life. The problem is that he is unmarried and because of his condition (premature balding) no woman is ready to marry him.
But he meets Maanvi Gagroo who plays Apsara, a plus-sized young woman on Tinder. She is everything pleasant and on the dating app because of a recent breakup. The two rejected each other in their first meeting but eventually starts to form a bond. When their relationship starts to hit off, Chaman’s insecurities creep in.
The movie is a remake of 2017 Kannada hit, and its makers seem to have regarded premature balding as some sort of disability. The performances of the actors are satisfactory but the writing is very weak. The movie doesn’t hold your mind for a long time and wanders to the fact that “Will Bala is just like this?” Chaman’s parents played by Atul Kumar & Grusha Kapoor have done a fair job and are fun to watch. They depict a perfect Punjabi West Delhi couple with loud & sometimes funny & sometimes not funny jokes to get their son married.
Ujda Chaman comes out as a movie that had the potential to make a change but lost its track in the middle.
Sunny Singh is regarded as the bald version of Titu from Sonu Ke Titu ki Sweety. It’s slow & immensely self –pity kind of a movie. The movie is set in Delhi so if you plan to watch it during weekends, you can get a glimpse of Delhi. Now, coming onto “Bala” which released on 8th November 2019 has been said as a blockbuster movie. The movie’s plot is the same as “Ujda Chaman” but in a movie self-loving way. The movie stars modern-day Midas Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar, & Yami Gautam in the lead roles.
The movie is exceptionally written & acted out to show what was on the paper. It is a great amalgamation of great acting, writing, and direction making it one of the best movies of 2019.
Bala played by Ayushmann Khurrana who had luscious & nice hair in school starts to lose hair in his early 20s. He is unhappy because his high school sweetheart has left him; he is demoted at his job where he sells women’s fairness cream. Unlike Chaman from Ujda Chaman, Bala doesn’t sob over the fact that he is alone. He takes upon him to fix his problem.
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After various experiments to get his hair back, he starts wearing a hair toupee. His imitation of the Bollywood actors is spot on and proves why Ayushmann is called the modern-day Midas. He knows exactly where to put extra effort and where to take it easy. He is a perfectly balanced actor who knows what to bring to the movie.
The movie that is set in Kanpur, sets into your mind and the characters have grasped the Kanpuri accent perfectly. They have in scripted the Hindi lingos, references from the 90s Bollywood and kept the fun quotient to the point that feels relatable. Bala’s family has to go through his trying out everything to grow his hair which turns out are really hilarious to watch.
Bhumi Pednekar who plays Bala’s neighbor & childhood friend Latika. She is a lawyer and a hardcore feminist. She faces backlash because of her dark skin tone. Bhumi’s onscreen presence is very impactful & strong but the makeup is not. Yami Gautam who plays Pari is apt for the part. She plays a TikTok Star is beautiful and influencing. Her character is impressive and she does justice with that part.
An interesting thing about Yami’s role in the movie is that the makers wanted to induce the small town’s culture in the movie. They introduced her as the TikTok star, which is now one of the popular social media platforms. She is indeed very pretty & beautiful and in one scene, Pari tells Bala about her obsession with good looks. It is because of the sole reason that her life depends on the comments & likes that she gets online.
Pari& Bala starts to date and are about to get married but he hasn’t told her the truth about his baldness. Other characters in the movie including Saurabh Shukla, Jaaved Jaaferi, Abhishek Banerjee, etc. have done their job extremely well. They bring out the expected laughter & lighthearted mood during the entire course of the movie.
Bala, even though it is a lighthearted movie has a message to give out to the people which is to accept themselves with the flaws they have. In one scene, Jaaved Jaaferi tells Ayushmann Khurrana that we live in a patriarchal society where the flaws of a man are ignored but women have taunted their shortcomings their entire life, pierces right through the heart.
Bala is a lighthearted movie, which preaches you to love yourself just the way you are. It’s about self-love & not self-pity. The movie leaves you with a good warm smile and twinkling eyes by the end. The makers could have overdone with the jokes & humorous side of the characters but they have kept it apt.
Apart from few glitches like Bhumi’s character given dark skin, making some racist jokes, using the old classic songs like Don’t Be Shy and ruining “Naah” for everyone, etc. the movie is fun to watch. It nowhere near to making you feel depressed and bored throughout. So if you’re planning to spend your weekends watching Bala, we’d suggest you should.
Both, Ujda Chaman & Bala have had their share of controversies and reviews. There is no doubt that both movies have tried to make fair points for the people who suffer from the same kind of problem. But Ujda Chaman feels bland on the screen whereas Bala shines.
Let us know what you think about the movies?