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Bala
Critic reviews and ratings
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...is the best coming of age drama to come to Bollywood in recent years, having Ayushmann Khurrana giving his best, Yami Gautam at her charming best and a class apart Bhumi Pednekar...
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...is not just a celebration of Bollywood but also its critique, which questions the stereotypes set by our cinema about beauty. The film exudes a feel-good warmth you were waiting for, for so long.
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...remains a light-hearted comedy with situations that are relatable. Just like the film’s message, 'Bala' is beautiful even with its flaws, and never fails to entertain.
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...not only entertains thoroughly but also delivers a very important message that will surely be lapped up by the audiences.
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Ayushmann has gotten under the skin of his complex character with aplomb. The angst, the insecurity felt by him is almost palpable. Cause-based films do bring out the best in him and the question is how long his romance with such subjects would continue...
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Mazaa aa gaya guru.
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It's almost as if the film has been designed to clear every headspace and leg/elbow room for the leading man Ayushmann to spread his wings and soar. And boy, does he shine—perhaps outshining anything he's done in the mainstream space so far.
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Amar Kaushik’s Bala is a rib-tickling exploration of the dip in self-confidence and self-worth triggered when hair begins to divorce the scalp.
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...the film is consistently enjoyable.
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Once again at the centre of an embarrassing problem, a nagging lie and potential heartbreak is Ayushmann Khurrana. And the actor channels everybody from SRK to Bobby Deol to Kamal Sadanah to play out a relevant issues of a real man and the idols we all create and emulate and fail to live up to.
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It is sometimes crude, sometimes predictable, but the film has a likable cast and delivers some poignant messages about self-love, acceptance, companionship and of course, bald is beautiful.
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...benefits no end from the quality of the performances as well as from its empathy for the idiosyncrasies of small town folk, but it is the writing that is its Samson's hair: the film's power flows principally from it.
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In that a body-shaming-themed film HAS to follow a certain trajectory, Bala holds no surprises. The one-liner insights and performances though are enough to see you through two hours. It actively avoids a few eye-rolls too.
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...inconsistent characterisation and the team's lack of awareness of their own prejudice robs Bala of much of its value.
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The central quandary is that Bala would have seemed skewed and farcical with only male baldness to concentrate on. It needs the skin colour scenes – but it really didn’t need the blackface.
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...extends its leading man’s predicament in more interesting ways, and is an altogether more humorous and layered examination of a widespread problem than Ujda Chaman. And yet, every time Latika appears on the screen, a shred of legitimacy falls to the floor, just like one of the many strands leaving Bala’s scalp at an alarming rate.
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While nailing the finer and linguistic details, Ayushmann Khurrana’s latest falls into the old traps of predictable character arcs, shallow ‘woke’ arguments and didactic climax
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...is an entertaining film. But ultimately, it is an unconvincing presentation on the tribulation of early hair loss.
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