STORY: A shoe-smith Arun Sachdeva (Sanjay) is shattered when he discovers that his daughter, Bhoomi (Aditi) has been raped by Dhauli (Sharad) and his gang of three. The father and daughter grieve for a bit before planning revenge.
Bhoomi is a revenge drama that tries a lot to be bold, brave and advocate feminism but wants to stay in the comfort zone of a typical Bollywood masala film. The result is stereotypes, over-the-top melodrama and a predictable story.
But here’s the good news: Baba is back and Sanjay Dutt fans will be more than happy to see him onscreen. Interestingly, Dutt, who returns to the screen after three years, plays an age-appropriate role in the film directed by Oomung Kumar. And he is in form.
Bhoomi is the story of a father-daughter duo (Sanjay Dutt’s Arun and Bhoomi played by Aditi Rao Hydari) who lead a simple life when a sudden turn of events shake their world.
But then Bhoomi stumbles, once more owing to its dependence on heightened melodrama augmented with a piercing score aimed unabashedly at evoking tears and ringing eardrums. There is enough violence to make you uncomfortable and look away, but no tears – because the characters are weeping buckets, ensuring you know exactly what they are feeling.
Certain scenes are designed with interesting elements – for instance the crime scene, and the early moments between father and daughter – but design and drama are printed in bold all over the film. There is no escaping either, and there is no subtlety in their delivery.
Aditi looks vulnerable as the stuttering, sweet girl and later tries wearing a tougher demeanour as the avenging angel. Sharad is too much the caricatured villain from the 80s, mouthing over-the-top lines. The overall writing is clunky. Artur Zurawski's camera work is efficient. Sachin-Jigar have composed a couple of foot-tapping numbers, which do not have recall but when they are playing, you find yourself grooving.
Watch Bhoomi for Dutt. He's from that era of larger-than-life heroes who get you to applaud even when he turns a killing machine. You may not approve of his bloodlust, but you can't fault his swagger.
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