Humans turning into werewolves is such a familiar trope that the thought of seeing yet another version wasn’t making me jump: I’m happy to report that much of ‘Bhediya’, in which a principal character turns into an ‘icchha-dhaari’ wolf, is enjoyable.
And very scenic fun at that: the film has been shot in Arunachal Pradesh, the gorgeous Northeast state which hasn’t yet been trampled upon by tourists. On a mission to build a road that cuts right through a lush forest, Bhaskar Sharma (Varun Dhawan) finds himself turning into a werewolf, you know, the creature that bays at the full moon, howls reverberating through the valley. Bhaskar’s companions, Guddu (Abhishek Banerjee) and Jomin (Paalin Kabak) do the stunned-horrified-now-what-to-do number, even as a local veterinarian (Kriti Sanon) shoves suspicious injections into Bhaskar’s rear, a body part that yields itself to a never-ending string of juvenile jokes.
Varun is top-notch as the shape-shifting wolf. His act (a huge part of which was the physical transformation with ripping muscles and a perfectly sculpted body) will hopefully shift gears in his career. He gives this part his all, and it shows. Whether it’s the dramatic and high-energy scene where he transforms into a bhediya for the first time, to the hilarious scene when he struggles to slip into the werewolf’s skin in the second half — he excels. Abhishek Banerjee as Janardan, aka JD, is on point and does not miss a beat with his comic timing. Even in intense scenes, his comedy punches land, adding a certain lightness throughout this story that mostly unfolds in the darkness of the night. He also has the funniest lines in the film. Paalin Kabak as Bhaskar’s Northeastern friend Jomin completes the bhediya pack and has outstanding chemistry with both the actors, especially Abhishek. Deepak Dobriyal, as Panda, also delivers a notable performance. Kriti Sanon’s character as the vet, Dr Anika, could have been better fleshed out. But she adds her bit to the drama and comedy.
Director Amar Kaushik has done a good job and has taken up the subject of the film well. There is a need to work on the matter of the environment which is shown in the film. The weakest part of the film is its music. Sachin Jigar’s music is not showing anything special. Hard work has been done in the background score but the songs of the film are average. A star of the film can only do its VFX, which is amazing.
The way Bhediya delivers an important message of man-animal conflict without getting preachy even for a bit, impressed me the most. Not just that, there’s a very clever mention and discussion around stereotyping people from the Northeast as ‘Chinese’ and ‘outsiders’, which fits so organically in the story and makes you think. There’s a scene where Jomin calls out people for generalizing all Northeast people as ‘Jackie Chan and Bruce Lee ka bachha’, expecting them to know Kung-Fu. He makes a strong point when he says, ‘being weak at speaking Hindi doesn’t make me any less of an Indian’. And in these seemingly intense scenes also, the aptly placed humor just lightens up the mood.
On another level, the film reminds us of our animal instincts and how there could be a bhediya in all of us. But how we wish to unleash it, for better or worse, is up to us. Beauty and the beast are all in us, we only have to look deep within. The film leaves you with an experience and a thought, maybe deeper than the forests of Ziro. So, set out and watch this one. For a howling good time, this one’s worth a hike to the theaters. There’s also a delightful surprise at the end. The film that releases in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu is best viewed in 3D.