Batti Gul Meter Chalu Review: A Gritty Social Drama Which Hits You Right At The Spot Along With The Right Dose Of Humor And Some Passionate Performances!

Shree Narayan Singh has brought to light a very connected issue which tends to create havoc in the lives of the common man in many parts of the country but not all dare or have the resources to put their voice against it. The film depicts a noble objective but inevitably has its weak spot at times. This social drama had the potential to blossom more with a steady editing whose lacking made the film appear stuffy at times. The film manages to portray a heavy and brutal prevailing of corruption and negligence in the corporations and their faulty administration which has a massive aftermath in the lives of the common man. It was an unsung issue which needed to be conveyed to the masses but could have created more impact without the laborious and dragged duration.

The film opens in the picturesque locales of Tehri where SK (Shahid Kapoor) is a sly and scheming lawyer who tricks and blackmails big businesses selling faulty products for quick money. His two best friends Nauti (Shraddha Kapoor) is an ambitious fashion designer and Tripathi (Divyendu Sharma) dreams of owning a factory and embarking on a successful business. The only grievance in this happy valley of Tehri is the nuisance of frequent electricity failures to which the residents reluctantly adapt to. The director portrays this concern with quickness and discretion highlighting the helplessness and hesitation of the common man with full precision. The banter and the close knitted relationship between the friends is endearing but a slag screenplay by Siddharth- Garima focuses on their seamlessly uncalled for love triangle which only adds to the tiresome run time. The story only sets in motion when Tripathi faces a devastating situation because of a fraudulent power company which hands him an electricity bill of a whooping amount in spite of sparse consumption. After this critical situation, one can say the real message of the film rightly hits the spot.

The post interval focuses on SK’s fight against the system to bring justice to his friend and thousands of other people who are exposed to grave injustice because of the corrupt and faulty administration of the power company. The ferocity and seriousness with which the court case proceeds with several grieving people raising their voice against the corrupt system makes up for the tedious first half of the film. Shahid Kapoor is at his charming, electrifying and entertaining best. He quite manages to hold the film effortlessly in his shoulders. He manages to pull off the cocky avatar in the first half as well as the man with a mission in the second half with precision, with an electrifying monologue at the end which is truly praiseworthy. Shraddha Kapoor looked lively, gullible and lovable as the carefree Nauti while Divyendu Sharma quite manages to evoke sympathy for his character with his emotional and sentimental act. Yami Gautam looked fiery and beautiful as the headstrong lawyer Gulnar in the courtroom scenes and does a decent job.

A little more precision on the editing and a more compact screenplay would have performed wonders for the film. Not to forget, the beautiful valleys and locales of Tehri, Uttarakhand have been masterfully captured by cinematographer Aanshuman Mahaley. There is a metaphoric twist in the form of the film’s narrators Vikas and Kalyan which needed to be deciphered articulately. But watch the film to comprehend and understand this deprived issue which needed to be heard and worked upon a long while ago, even before the film came into the picture.