‘Bhuj: The Pride Of India’ Review: Ajay Devgn’s One Elongated War Cry- Too Fast Yet Too Slow

Bhuj: The Pride of India Movie Review Rating: 2/5 Stars (Two stars)
Star Cast: Ajay Devgn, Sharad Kelkar, Sanjay Dutt, Sonakshi Sinha, Nora Fatehi, Ammy Virk
Director: Abhishek Dudhaiya
Available On: Disney+ Hotstar

The story begins by introducing the existence of West Pakistan and East Pakistan, and then moves on to the brief period that led to the latter's transformation into Bangladesh during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. IAF squadron leader Vijay Karnik and his men are leading the sudden attack on Bhuj's airfield. 

The first part of the film unfolds in a non-linear manner.Taking a non-linear approach, the first part of the film reveals the cover story for the attack on Bhuj.

The second part of the film concentrates on the remedies Karnik and his men devise to minimise the damage caused by the second attack on the base, which is about to take place. Karnik joins the help of Sunderben (Sonakshi Sinha) and other locals to repair the runway that was destroyed during the attack.

Karnik gets the help of Sunderben (Sonakshi Sinha) & other villagers to build the damaged-in-attack runway so that the Indian army could land to back them up. All comes to the one last attack taking us what all went through in the most exaggerated style.

Bhuj: The Pride of India Movie Review
The narrative was never a problem for Bhuj, and it had all the makings of a masala historical drama; the true issue is how Abhishek Dudhaiya, Raman Kumar, Ritesh Shah, and Pooja Bhavoria chose to execute the concept. The crazy narrative never lets you appreciate the pace, which is too quick to swallow the over-the-top drama it serves as a slider, clocking in at roughly 110 minutes.
It's a screenplay catastrophe in the sense that it's both too quick and too slow.

In the climax, the filmmakers decide to use a truck driven by Ajay Devgn to *spoiler* land an aircraft with a malfunctioning front-wheel. The plane, ironically, represents the story's superabundance, which the builders land with the help of the truck, i.e. our pint-sized brains.
In the first 10 minutes, the words "Hindustan ko humne 400 saal apne joote ki nok pe rakha hai..." make it clear where the drama is heading.

Aseem Bajaj's competent camerawork is undone by several VFX gaffes throughout the film.

Dharmendra Sharma's editing is inconsistent and lacks flawless consistency, which dampens any potential fascination. The quick cuts between scenes create the impression that this is a long picture, only to be rushed down to 110 minutes.

‘Bhuj: The Pride of India’: Actor’s Performance

This was a perfect part for Ajay Devgn, yet it was a missed chance. He's an expert at portraying such roles, but the unnecessary melodrama detracts from his performance's effect. Sharad Kelkar's character, for example, may have been seeti-maar in a well-written script. But here, he's limited to being a drab character who adds nothing to an already dull screenplay.

The last word
I think not a single song appeals to the audience . The same can be said about the background music, which is hardly unnoticeable.
After all is said and done, the film can be viewed just once, but viewers will undoubtedly hate the ‘filmy' aspect of it. This, coming a day after Shershaah, serves merely as an illustration of the two sorts of content we're being offered, and luckily, many of us are aware about which to consume.