Bad Newz movie review: Vicky Kaushal shines in the film which centres around Triptii Dimri; Ammy Virk makes a 'good' Bollywood debut!

There have been many films made in Bollywood whose plot had two heroes falling in love with the same heroine or two heroes with their respective heroines… like in the case of Raj Mehta’s Good Newzz, which was released in December 2019.

This week’s release Bad Newzz is about two men not just falling in love with the same girl (under various circumstances), but, also, land up becoming the father of her child… this too… under various circumstances!

The plot of Bad Newz revolves around Saloni Bagga (Triptii Dimri), who falls in 'instant love' with Akhil Chadda (Vicky Kaushal). By profession, Saloni happens to be the head chef of a leading hotel. She harbours the dream of being the recipient of the prestigious Meraki award, which is (in her words), the ‘Oscar equivalent of the hotel industry). On the other hand, Akhil is not just a carefree guy, but also lives his life in ‘care of’ his father, who is the owner of ‘Chadda Chaap Corner’ in Delhi! 

Within the first few months of their marriage, both, Akhil and Saloni realize that, while they thought they were ‘mad for each other’, the reality was they were not ‘made for each other’. A particular incident triggers them both to file for divorce and live separately.

Also Read: Bad Newz: CBFC censored 27 seconds of kissing in the Vicky Kaushal-Tripti Dimrii's film? Here’s what we know 

Wanting to move away from the emotional memories and baggage, Saloni shifts her base to the north India, where she gets to work as a head chef in a five-star hotel. It is here she meets Gurbeer Pannu (Ammy Virk), her extremely caring boss who does not believe in rushing into anything. He prefers to take one step at a time! Gradually, they both fall in love and one day, they become extremely close to each other! 

One fine day,, Saloni realises that she is pregnant! And to the utter shock of her life, the doctor says that it’s a rare case of ‘heteropaternal superfecundation’! In simple words, it means that, Saloni was carrying the babies of both- Akhil as well as Gurbeer! 

Life poses a super tough challenge at Saloni when she is forced to choose between the two men and their respective (unborn) children. Life becomes furthermore complicated when Akhil realises his mistakes and comes back in her life, even though they get divorced officially. What will Saloni eventually decide about her life and her life partner, what happens to her lifelong cherished dream of being the winner of the prestigious Meraki award, is what forms the rest of the film.

Also Read: Bad Newz- 5 reasons to watch Vicky Kaushal, Triptii Dimri and Ammy Virk starrer! 

What works in the film’s favour is the fresh pairing of Vicky Kaushal and Triptii Dimri. Besides that, the cinematography is top-notch. Even the film’s songs (a handful of them) help in maintaining the pace of the film’s narrative. 

The film’s biggest loophole seems to be the cinematic liberty taken by the makers as far as the film’s narrative is concerned. They seem to be playing around convinience in a big way! Since many of the audiences may not have heard ‘heteropaternal superfecundation’, the makers make utmost use of the silver screen as a platform to deliver the message of explaining the medical condition... of course...with a dash of humour thrown at many places! 

Film's director Anand Tiwari tries his level best to make the film as appealing and relatable as possible. But, even though the subject seems appealing, it suffers as far as relatablity is concerned. For that matter, there was at least a bunch of relatable factors in the Bad Newz's predecessor 'Good Newz'. Sadly, its not the case here! 

The film's screenplay could have been a bit more taut, espcially towards the middle of the film, where the film tends to go a bit astray. The film also requires watertight editing at a bunch of places. There are few scenes in the film where the lip sync goes for a toss! The biggest question is that, will a film of 'this' genre appeal to the common man, who is always considered as the best carrier of ‘word of mouth’ publicity.

Besides the situational one liners, Bad Newz also sees a handful of spoofs of the previous hit films from Yash Raj Films! There are references to many iconic Bollywood characters in the film. While there is a 'special appearance' of Katrina Kaif' in the film, there are also spoofs done on Triptii being called as 'national crush' and 'Bhabi 2'! 

The film's music is hummable, if not outstanding. Barring a couple of them, the songs have been picturised beautifully. Here, we would like to mention that, its not everytime the adage 'Keeping the best for the last' pays off rich dividends. Same is the case with the film's hit track ‘Tauba Tauba’, which has been placed at the ending of the film. Since many have seen the track on social media, people may just leave the theatres without even standing to see it. The makers should have incorporated the track within the film, which, really could have upped the film’s screenplay! 

Even though Bad Newz's narrative centres around Triptii Dimri’s character, it is Vicky Kaushal who steals the show. Even though the film looks like an out and out Vicky’s film, the fact remains that it was never intended that way. Coming a close second is Triptii Dimri, who simply looks effortlessly stunning on the screen. 

As for the much talked about Bollywood debut of Ammy Virk, there are places where he seems struggling with emotional scenes. But, overall, he tries to do utmost justice to his charcater and what has been expected of him in the film. Gradually, a few good films in his kitty with well-defined roles for him and voila! He may just be the name to watch out for! Rest of the characters simply try to push the film forward.

Overall, Bad Newz is not that ‘bad of a news’. But, will the ‘Bad Newz’ turn out to be good news at the box office is something that one needs to wait and watch. The film relies heavily on word of mouth publicity. All thanks to the pre-release hype and the presence of Vicky Kaushal, the film should easily sail through the first week. 

The acid test will start from the second week... when the audiences will either love the film or do ‘Tauba Tauba’ after watching it (no pun intended!).

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