Babli Bouncer

Babli Bouncer is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language drama film directed by Madhur Bhandarkar starring Tamannaah Bhatia. The film follows the journey of Babli, a street-smart woman who becomes a bouncer at a nightclub. With its mix of thrilling action and comedic moments, the movie explores themes of empowerment and resilience. While receiving mixed reviews, "Babli Bouncer" showcases Tamannaah Bhatia's talent and offers an engaging and entertaining experience for viewers. It premiered on 23 September 2022 on Disney+ Hotstar.[1][2]

Babli Bouncer
Official release poster
Directed byMadhur Bhandarkar
Written by
  • Amit Joshi
  • Aradhana Debnath
  • Madhur Bhandarkar
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyHimman Dhamija
Edited byManish Pradhan
Music by
Production
companies
Distributed byDisney+ Hotstar
Release date
  • 23 September 2022 (2022-09-23)
Running time
118 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi

Plot

Babli Tanwar (Tamannaah Bhatia) is an uneducated young girl from Asola-Fatehpur, a small village near Delhi, where most people are bouncers. Despite being of a marriageable age, Babli still hasn't finished her 10th-grade education, and her teacher (nicknamed "Drum") is very upset with her and looks down upon her. Babli has also trained to be a bouncer since childhood.

At the wedding of the sarpanch's daughter, Babli meets Drum's son Viraj Kaushik (Abhishek Bajaj), who recently returned from London after five years of study. Babli develops a crush on him and tries to get close to him. As Viraj lives in Delhi, Babli plans to go to Delhi to see him. At the same time, Babli starts to receive marriage proposals. Babli manages to turn all of them down as she likes Viraj.

Babli's friend since childhood Kukku (Sahil Vaid), who has long had a crush on her, learns she is receiving marriage proposals and feels insecure. So he and his family bring his marriage proposal to Babli's family too. Babli's family likes Kukku but she considers him as a friend. After realising that Kukku works as a bouncer at a nightclub in Delhi, Babli decides to use him to get herself to Delhi. She pretends to like Kukku and asks him to get her a job in Delhi at first, and tells him they can discuss their marriage after a year. Kukku's nightclub happened to be hiring a female bouncer, so he referred her to his club, and she got the job.

In Delhi, Babli meets Viraj several times. At Viraj's birthday party, drunk Babli confesses to Viraj her feeling for him. Viraj rejects Babli and insults her for being uneducated and uncivil. Babli gets heartbroken and cuts her ties with Viraj. Upon hearing Viraj's words, Babli decides to change herself and improve her social status, not to impress Viraj but for herself.

She enrols in a class to continue her education, learns English, and gradually progresses.

Viraj and his friends visit Babli's club, during which he quarrels with the playboy son of a high-profile politician. The playboy points a gun at Viraj's head and threatens to kill him. Babli arrives at the scene and is able to solve it peacefully with her courage and brain. Viraj becomes very impressed and regrets rejecting her. He begins to chase her, trying to win back her heart. Babli tries to avoid him a few times and finally rejects him, telling him she no longer loves him.

Another night at the club, gangsters sneakily abduct a female customer. They force her into their car and flee, planning to rape or kill her. Babli happens to see the incident and decides to save the girl. She defeats all the gangsters on the road and saves the girl. The incident is reported by the media and Babli suddenly becomes very famous and popular. The Chief Minister of her State publicly awarded her a medal of bravery.

With the help of a wealthy customer whom Babli saved before, she opens her training centre to train female bouncers who want to follow her step.

Cast

Production

Casting

In February 2022, Tamannaah Bhatia was confirmed to be cast in lead role as a female bouncer.[8] In the same month, Abhishek Bajaj was confirmed to be a part of the cast.[9]

Development

The film was announced in February 2022.[10] The makers of the film arranged an muhurat puja for the team after the filming started.[11]

Filming

The principal photography of the film started in mid-February 2022.[12] The first schedule took place at Mohali, Punjab[13] with an outdoor shoot, followed by New Delhi and was completed within 20 days.[14] The final schedule took place in Mumbai from 22 April 2022.[15] The film was wrapped up on 5 May 2022 in Mumbai.[16]

Music
Babli Bouncer
Soundtrack album by
Tanishk Bagchi and Karan Malhotra
Released21 September 2022[17]
GenreFeature film soundtrack
Length11:16
LabelZee Music Company
Official audio
Babli Bouncer - Full Album on YouTube

The songs are composed by Tanishk Bagchi and Karan Malhotra. The lyrics are written by Tanishk Bagchi, Shabbir Ahmed and Manaswi Mohata.[17]

No.TitleLyricsMusicSinger(s)Length
1."Mad Banke"Shabbir AhmedTanishk BagchiAsees Kaur, Romy3:06
2."Babli Shor Macha Re"Manaswi MohataKaran MalhotraMika Singh3:02
3."Le Sajna"Tanishk BagchiTanishk BagchiAltamash Faridi2:15
4."Mann Mein Halchal"Manaswi MohataKaran MalhotraAkanksha Sethi2:53
Total length:11:16

Release

Babli Bouncer was directly premiered on OTT platform Disney+ Hotstar on 23 September 2022.[18]

Reception

Critical response

The reception of "Babli Bouncer" has been mixed, with critics offering varying opinions on the film. While some reviewers praised aspects of the movie, others found it lacking in certain areas.

In an article from The Indian Express, the film was described as a feeble attempt at a feminist fable, despite Tamannaah Bhatia's sterling performance. The review highlighted the film's weak execution of its feminist themes and criticized its overall impact, giving it a rating of 1.5 stars.[19] Similarly, NDTV's review echoed the sentiment of a lacklustre execution, stating that the film's attempt at portraying female empowerment falls short. The review commended Tamannaah Bhatia's performance but criticized the film's weak narrative and awarded it 1.5 stars out of 5.[20]

India Today's review criticized the film for excessive "wokeness," suggesting that an overemphasis on feminist messaging compromised the storytelling. The review highlighted that the film failed to strike a balance between its social messaging and engaging narrative, resulting in a less impactful viewing experience.[21] The Hindu's review pointed out that Tamannaah Bhatia's talent was overshadowed by the constraints of a straitjacketed story. The review commented on the film's limited character development and predictable plot, ultimately concluding that it fell short of expectations.[22] Contrasting these reviews, The Times of India offered a more positive take on the film. The review commended the film's engaging storyline, Tamannaah Bhatia's performance, and the blend of action and comedy. However, it also acknowledged certain flaws, such as uneven pacing and underdeveloped subplots.[23]

In summary, the reception for "Babli Bouncer" has been mixed. While some reviewers appreciated elements such as Tamannaah Bhatia's performance and the film's storyline, others criticized it's execution, character development, and thematic delivery.

Accolades
Award Year Category Recipient Result Ref.
Filmfare Middle East Achiever’s Night Awards 2022 Best Director-Actor Duo Madhur Bhandarkar & Tamannaah Bhatia Won [24]
Bollywood Festival Awards 2023 Best Director[lower-alpha 1] Madhur Bhandarkar Won [25]

Notes
  1. Tied with India Lockdown

References
  1. "Tamannaah Bhatia's 'Babli Bouncer' to release on OTT in September". The Times of India. PTI. 20 July 2022. Archived from the original on 26 July 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  2. "Tamannaah Bhatia's Babli Bouncer to release on Disney+ Hotstar in September". The Indian Express. 20 July 2022. Archived from the original on 20 July 2022. Retrieved 20 July 2022.
  3. "Abhishek Bajaj: I never make a perception about the stars I work with". Hindustan Times. 25 February 2022. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  4. Mathur, Yashika (30 January 2022). "Madhur Bhandarkar, Saanand Verma To Collaborate For The Second Time". Outlook. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  5. "Sabyasachi Chakraborty roped in for Madhur Bhandarkar's 'Babli Bouncer'". ThePrint. 8 April 2022. Archived from the original on 21 July 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  6. "Babli Bouncer review: Madhur Bhandarkar's film is all about Tamannaah's character, nothing about the bouncers". Archived from the original on 11 October 2022. Retrieved 8 October 2022.
  7. "Actor Karan Singh Chhabra will be seen in Babli Bouncer with Tamanna Bhatia". mirror365. 6 September 2022. Archived from the original on 12 September 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  8. "Tamannaah Bhatia to play female bouncer in 'Babli Bouncer'". The Hindu. 18 February 2022. Archived from the original on 16 March 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  9. "Abhishek Bajaj to play Tamannaah Bhatia's love interest in 'Babli Bouncer'". The Free Press Journal. 26 February 2022. Archived from the original on 21 July 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  10. "After "Ghana Intezaar," Tamannaah Bhatia Is Finally Getting To Be Babli Bouncer". NDTV. 18 February 2022. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  11. "Madhur Bhandarkar shares glimpse of the muhurat from the sets of Tamannaah-starrer 'Babli Bouncer'". Telangana Today. 23 February 2022. Archived from the original on 23 February 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  12. Srivastava, Samriddhi (18 February 2022). "Tamannaah Bhatia's Babli Bouncer goes on floors in Mohali. Read details". India Today. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  13. "Tamannaah Bhatia and Madhur Bhandarkar wrap the first schedule of Babli Bouncer". Bollywood Hungama. 10 March 2022. Archived from the original on 21 July 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  14. "Madhur Bhandarkar completes outdoor shoot schedule for 'Babli Bouncer'". ThePrint. 9 March 2022. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 14 May 2022.
  15. "Tamannaah Bhatia and Madhur Bhandarkar enjoy vada pav as they kickstart final schedule of 'Babli Bouncer'". The Free Press Journal. 22 April 2022. Archived from the original on 1 September 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  16. "It's a wrap for Tamannaah Bhatia's 'Babli Bouncer'". The Free Press Journal. 5 May 2022. Archived from the original on 14 May 2022. Retrieved 1 September 2022.
  17. "Babli Bouncer – Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". Jiosaavn. 22 February 2022. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
  18. "Tamannaah Bhatia-starrer Babli Bouncer to have a direct-on-OTT release". The Tribune. 21 July 2022. Archived from the original on 21 July 2022. Retrieved 21 July 2022.
  19. "Babli Bouncer movie review: Tamannaah Bhatia film remains banal and predictable". The Indian Express. 23 September 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  20. "Babli Bouncer Review: Feeble Shot At Feminist Fable, Notwithstanding Tamannaah's Sterling Performance". NDTV.com. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  21. "Babli Bouncer Movie Review: Too much wokeness kills Tamannaah Bhatia's film". India Today. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  22. "'Babli Bouncer' movie review: Tamannaah Bhatia caught in a straitjacketed story". The Hindu. 23 September 2022. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  23. "Babli Bouncer Review: This breezy comedy bounces its way into your heart". The Times of India. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
  24. "Tamannaahs wins at the FFMEachievers2022 @filmfareme awards along with @imbhandarkar as Best Director-Actor Duo". Twitter. Archived from the original on 27 June 2023. Retrieved 27 June 2023.
  25. Gupta, Soumyabrata (29 September 2023). "Madhur Bhandarkar On Junglee Pictures' Babli Bouncer Winning Big At Bollywood Film Festival Norway: I Am Very Happy..." TimesNow. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
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