Kathmandu

Nikhil Upreti is the action star of Nepali movies. And he has used his magic of action and stunts to the max in his directorial debut Bhairav. The film deals with politics with a Tarai border town as its backdrop where Upreti is a policeman — Inspector Bhairav Kharel. This film of his is an inspired creation — taking a bit of inspiration from Bollywood and some from South Indian movies — making it a not-so-interesting watch.

Patriotic and aggressive Bhairav is fierce like his name and doesn’t not spare criminals — this is what he is known for. He doesn’t just put them behind bars, but goes for the kill, especially those who harm women and the nation. The great cop that he is, he is sent to a border town in Tarai. In that town, Radhe Shyam is the system. Bhairav goes there with his team of three other policemen and the film is about how he brings Radhe Shyam along with this bad force to justice.

The film has two things to offer in full doses — loud action which is not polished and preachy messages on unity, equality and politics. Upreti has done an okay job as an actor. He is convincing as a policeman and fights the goons well. But he misses out in weaving the film coherently. Putting lots of action, a few comedy scenes, love story, some catchy dialogues and patriotic messages in a predictable single plot have not helped the film much though the plan sounds nice. If all these elements had been put together properly,

it could have turned out to be an entertaining watch.

However, Bhairav is not entertaining like the South Indian and Bollywood movies it is inspired from. It lacks soul. The story lacks sub-stories of characters that doesn’t help connect with the characters. So it lacks a life of its own.

Also, the action, which is the backbone of the film, is not praiseworthy. Slo-mo fight scenes have been used, but are not aesthetically done. Special effects have been used to enhance the fight scenes and stunts, but they look more animated and unnatural. The fights gets too bloody at times. The cinematography does not elevate the scenes.

When Upreti is not doing action scenes, he is romancing the heroine or going preachy. Scenes like underdeveloped romance or long lectures on country, politics or items songs — or any song for that matter — were rather unnecessary. These have just made the film long. This energy should have been used to weave the stories that would make sense.

As you watch the film, you will slowly lose it. The one good thing about Bhairav is actor Murali Dhar, who as the antagonist, impresses you with his acting chops. He is amazing to watch. He entertains you thoroughly.

Bhairav

Genre: Action

Direction: Nikhil Upreti

Cast: Nikhil Upreti, Muralidhar, Anu Shah, Nagendra Rijal, Robin Hood Sen and Ratan Daruwalla

Being screened at

QFX Cinemas