Much Ado About Nothing

CAST: Manoj Bajpayee,Arjan Bajwa,Tia Bajpai,Yashpal Sharma

Rating: *1/2

In small-town Bijnore,there lives an all-powerful Raavan whose word is law,turning the local law into an ass,and cops into stooges. Jaswant Sisodia (Bajpayee) has only two weaknesses,a young girl (Tia),the bechari Sita in this Lanka,whom he obsesses about,and a moonh-bola-bhai (Bajwa).

The film revolves around its three protagonists — the sahib,the not-quite-bibi,and the not-quite-gangster,in tight concentric circles,to the point of exhaustion. It branches off only once in a while,but not too far: to a rogue cop (Sharma) who challenges Sisodia’s might,to a farmer who fancies himself a landgrabber. But it comes homing in to the not-quite ménage-a-trois,and it all becomes too much,despite Bajpayee filling in the role to the brim,and Bajwa trying to break out of his pretty boy image with his semi-rustic turn. The weak link is the girl who doesn’t summon up the stunning good looks or the simmering sensuality required to keep a man so deeply hooked. And the overbearing soundtrack doesn’t help.

It has nice atmospherics,and Bajpayee on full throttle,but Lanka comes off as too much to do about not much at all.