When I started watching Bob Biswas, I liked it even though it was slow-paced. Since it is set in Kolkata, the speed of the characters’ life did not bother me much. But as the film progressed, I found out something that I never thought was possible for a film, or any story for that matter – may it be a film format, a web series, a TV serial, or a novel.
Bob Biswas is a film without plot. Even if you assume the film’s plot to be just the story you see/understand on the surface without diving deep into its depth, there is no such thing as a story here; only a few events unfolding. Unfortunately, even those events fail to evoke any emotion in you.
Having said that, the only good part about Bob Biswas is Abhishek Bachchan. I am glad to see him become the character and not give us The Bachchan vibes here. The subtle changes in the body language and mannerisms transformed him into Bob. So if you decide to watch this film, you won’t regret it as AB will keep you engrossed.
Before I watched this film and until I saw Vidya Balan’s photo from the Kahani movie at the end and read the film’s connection with Bob Biswas right after it, I did not know that this film is based on Kahani’s Bob Biswas. Keeping that in mind, if we assume that the writers did not put any extra effort in the Bob Biswas film’s story considering that people already know this character, then it has surely not worked in the film’s favor.
Kahani released in 2012. Though people love Bob’s character, how many of you can recall the details? I clearly cannot. Can you watch Abhishek’s film and relate it to the original Biswas? No, you cannot. Will you go back and watch Kahani to make sense of AB’s Bob Biswas? Ofcourse, you will not.
Even if the makers would have run a small flashback in the beginning, it might have been easier for the audience to reestablish that connect with the character. But maybe while selling Abhishek as Bob Biswas, they did not want us to remember Saswata Chatterjee and his excellent portrayal of Bob to avoid any obvious comparison between the two.
Nevertheless, Abhishek as Bob is impressive – not outstanding, not extraordinary, but still impressive. It’s a confirmation that he can act, not just act, but ACT WELL! Speaking of the story, you will find many flaws as you move towards the end. I chose to not pay much attention to them as it is not worth it anyway. I suggest you do the same. Watch it for entertainment purposes only (and then pretend like you did not watch it at all).
Streaming On: Zee5