Critics’ Verdict: ‘Bangistan’ Just Fizzles Out

Take a look at what critics have to say about this week’s new release ‘Bangistan’

Ritesh Deshmukh and Pulkit Samrat in Bangistan

Excerpts from reviews of Bangistan:

There was surely a good idea in Bangistan at some point but sadly Karan Anshuman’s directorial debut takes no risks. With over-designed sound, juvenile lyrics, obvious in-film references to other films and filmmakers and a weak lead actor in Samrat, the result is a film devoid of subtlety, layers and wit.
– Udita Jhunjhunwala (Scroll.in)

If the first half is a series of jokes that never take off (and a couple that take off and go sideways, like errant firecrackers), the second nosedives into a pool of preachiness, broad acting and plain old confusion. So many of the gags here should never have made it past first draft: the cop called Wai Kar Wong; the mercifully brief scene where Samrat does De Niro in Taxi Driver in front of a mirror (there’s a reference to The Untouchables as well).
– Uday Bhatia (Livemint.com)

Bangistan’s ultimate undoing lies in its desperate lunge towards delivering a message in the climax. Here, Anshuman is at his most clueless, pausing the story to allow preachy banalities to take centre stage. It’s this bit that is really irksome but fittingly encapsulates Bangistan: the film refuses to take chances, to buck the rules, to soar beyond the cushy confines of unending mediocrity.
– Tanul Thakur (Firstpost.com)

It does not help that one half of the film has Pulkit Samrat, an actor so lacklustre he could be a male version of Shruti Haasan. Ritesh tries to salvage what he can even though I could not understand why he turned so intense towards the end of the film. Maintaining a comical tone for most part, the film turns into a serious drama in its dying moments. Bangistan seems to have massive potential on paper, but the finished product leaves you unaffected.
– Aniruddha Guha (Dedh Minute Review)

Bangistan spends most of its runtime cloyingly trying to establish itself as a satire, when the best it delivers is a haphazardly put together set-pieces and characters we just can’t be bothered about. To top it all, the film wobbles towards its climax in a way that is clumsier than its narrative.
Bangistan is eventually reduced to being a satire on the notion of a satire, falling tremendously short of a bang for your buck.
– Nishi Tiwari (Rediff.com)