Bandaa Singh Chaudhary review: An unintentionally funny film no one asked for

Bandaa Singh Chaudhary review: As I watched Bandaa Singh Chaudhary, I was transported back to the junior school plays we would put together for Independence or Republic Day. Themes as heavy as patriotism would be boiled down to the bare minimum. We were kids then who needed time to grasp it. Nostalgia isn’t always a good thing, though. Today, we have all grown up and out of that phase. The makers of this film are probably only halfway there. (Also read: Jogi review: Diljit delivers career-best performance in riveting drama on 1984 anti-Sikh riots)
I say this because they take up a somber period- the Insurgency in Punjab in the 1980s- and together, the scripting, editing and acting department leave no stone unturned to make it unintentionally funny in parts.
The story flashbacks to 1975, when Bandaa (played by Arshad Warsi) manages to pull in a girl he likes, Lalli (played by Meher Vij), purely by stalking her everywhere. It’s particularly jarring when within a minute of them talking for the first time, the next scene cuts to their wedding night, and the very next minute- you guessed it- they become parents. I almost thought ‘is this guy day dreaming?’ Um, no. Anyway…he’s living in Punjab at a time when Hindus are being asked to leave, first via warnings and then assault, in some cases even murders. Bandaa is targeted by the ‘ugravaadis’. The village is asked to ostracize his family. But one night, his friend Tajendra (a terribly miscast Jeeveshu Ahluwalia) is caught and killed for meeting them. Bandaa is disturbed, and the police advise him to use firearms to defend his community since they, too, can’t help him. What follows next is the rest of the story.
First off, I have a major ick. When characters in films or shows belong to a community like Sikhs, they ought to have a certain way of speaking. In real life, when they speak in Hindi, an accent seeps in. Bandana Singh Chaudhary gives two hoots about any attention to detail. Jeeveshu Ahluwalia suddenly starts speaking in chaste Hindi. And then he’s back to ‘idda, udda’.
In another shot, we are shown an attack on Hindus travelling in a bus, by insurgents. One is wearing shoes from GoldStar… except the brand was launched in 1990 in real life. And the events in the film happen a couple of years before that.
The editing is pretty weak. At one point, the mood is serious when a child is killed at point-blank range by an insurgent. Immediately, it cuts to loud rocking music as the villagers are training to fight back the insurgents. This cut was so funny that I laughed.
The tonal shift to some light-hearted moments here was so out of the blue that the topic being explored lost all seriousness.
What begins as a film aiming to present a dark chapter in India’s past ends up as a wannabe history class with a bad teacher at the helm, in the form of director Abhishek Saxena. Also sharing the writing credits, his plot is all about convenience. Suddenly, Bandaa knows how to wield the sword, set off explosives, fire guns, and heck, he can even teach it to others.
And what do I say about the performances? I can’t name one actor who stands out. Arshad Warsi plays himself. I couldn’t spot a hint of Bandaa in him. Meher Vij is quite underwhelming as his wife. Shilpi Marwaha as Tajender’s wife, had a chance to shine in the scene as she breaks down upon seeing his dead body, but nada.
The people behind the background music should also give a cut from their fees- for the audience to buy earplugs. Especially for the loud second half.
Bandaa Singh Chaudhary tries to gain brownie points by claiming at the end this true story was lost in the pages of history. I wish the makers had then accorded it the treatment it deserved. Alas, seems like it’s the film’s turn to be forgotten now.