As expected the fourth instalment of the John Wick franchise has opened to a heartwarming welcome. It is always good too see Housefull signs in movie theatres. But at a playing time of nearly three hours John Wick Chapter 4 is slog,a visually stunning slog, but nonetheless a slog.
Keanu Reeves has not aged one bit .The Franchise certain has.The wear-and-tear of relentless action takes its toll at the boxoffice this ‘Wick’.Post-weekend John Wick is likely to slow down considerably.
That’s where Bheed comes in.
Anubhav Sinha’s evocative and provocative Bheed is not trying to compete with John Wick, or for that matter any film. Like Sinha’s earlier films notably Mulk and Article 15, Bheed is a film that is likely to search out its own audience. It is not an easy breezy watch. Any reminder of the Lockdown opens up raw wounds.
But this is a story that has to be told.
The black-and-white colour scheme lays out the right somber mood. Would the audience welcome a retro-palate at a time when gallons of splashy colour are being force-fed into their movie experience?
Bheed is likely to catch on in the coming days. It is not targeted at the same audience that made Kantara and Pathaan the blockbusters that they are. Anubhav Sinha caters to a more intellectually equipped audience. It is ironical that Pather Panchali could never be appreciated by famine victims. Or that Bheed would not be seen by those thousands who plodded home from the cities after the Lockdown.
But it deserves an audience.And it has a week to find it before Bholaa hits the theatres.
