Bell Bottom Review: Focus Is On Akshay Kumar Playing Akshay Kumar
Bell Bottom Review: The elaborate make-up turns Lara Dutta into a stony, expressionless woman who is neither herself nor Mrs. Gandhi. Adil Hussain, too, has to step out of his comfort zone and play a single-note character.
Cast: Akshay Kumar, Lara Dutta, Huma Qureshi, Vaani Kapoor, Adil Hussain, Thalaivasal Vijay, Abhijit Lahiri
Director: Ranjit M Tewari
Rating: 2 stars (out of 5)
Bell Bottom, starring Akshay Kumar as a 1980s Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) agent who leads a covert operation to rescue 210 passengers held hostage on an Indian Airlines plane hijacked by Pakistan-sponsored desperados, marks the return of Hindi cinema to the big screen after a long hiatus caused by the second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic. It isn’t, however, the big-bang affair one had expected.
The lead actor, who plays a flamboyant 30-something spy who knows the minds of hijackers like the back of his hand, gives the film undeniable star power. Bell Bottom is little more than that. Everything else, including the development of the main character, is very standard.
Anshul Malhotra stars as Bell Bottom, a covert spy who is married to an MTNL employee (Vaani Kapoor), who seems in the background like a good, devoted, madly in love wife. When the secret spy arrives home, the lady greets him at the door with hugs and kisses on the cheek.
Santook (Adil Hussain), the man’s boss, also trusts him with his life. When Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) masterminds a hijacking in order to bargain for the release of a few Khalistani extremists imprisoned in Indian jails, he recommends him to Mrs. Indira Gandhi (Lara Dutta hidden behind layers of prosthetics) and claims he has the skills to end the hostage crisis.
The foreign affairs minister (Thalaivasal Vijay), the civil aviation minister (Abhijit Lahiri) and the Intelligence Bureau chief are openly sceptical about the spy who has come in from the cold with a set of ideas that are at variance with theirs. James Bond is indeed invoked in one throwaway line that the hero spouts. Do not let that send your expectations soaring – Bell Bottom has neither a top-draw villain nor an enigmatic, sultry femme fatale to liven up the proceedings.
Bell Bottom is set in a period when, the audience is told, seven Indian planes were hijacked in five years. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is at her tether’s end. She goes into a huddle with her core team. With no solution in sight, negotiations are nixed and a rescue operation is greenlit. Agent Bell Bottom swings into action.
The spotlight is on Akshay Kumar, who plays Akshay Kumar in Bell Bottom and sports a bushy moustache that is meant to give him a throwback image. The film, as well as all of the other actors, suffer as a result. Lara Dutta is transformed into a steely, expressionless lady who is neither herself nor Mrs. Gandhi thanks to her extravagant make-up and salt-and-pepper haircut.
Adil Hussain, too, will have to leave his comfort zone and play a one-note character. At the very least, he has a few decent one-liners to fall back on. Denzil Smith is completely devoid of resources. He is a mute hanger-on in the garb of R.N Kao, the first chief of RAW.
