In my music review of The Xpose (2014), I had written, “Himesh is a better composer than actor. Unfortunately, his obsession with being seen and not heard on the big screen means he now only composes for films that he acts in or produces. His fans sure would like to see him take up outside projects as well, as it’s a criminal waste of his talent…” This paragraph still holds true after a decade, as the best thing about Badass Ravi Kumar is its music. Behind all his facade, there lies a genuine composer in Himesh Reshammiya. He’s someone who knows how to manipulate rhythm and melody and churn out hummable tunes. Music has always been his forte. The film industry, which is parched for the kind of earthy music he was capable of producing, would benefit if he returns as a full-fledged composer.
Badass Ravi Kumar takes the character of Ravi Kumar from The Xpose and places him in a mindless action film. The film starts with the disclaimer that logic is optional while watching this film. And it says true to that disclaimer from the first frame till the last. Ravi Kumar kills people with impunity. He outperforms both Jackie Chan and Tom Cruise when it comes to executing badass stunts. And has more one-liners than the combined output of SNL writers in the past decade. The makers had made it clear in the beginning that the film has bad CGI. They’ve made the film idiot proof by warning us about its faults in advance. In summation, they’ve amply hinted that they’d not be responsible for any brain damage you suffer after watching it. If you still persist in watching it, then do it at your own risk.
Johnny Lever and Sanjay Mishra spoof Ashok Kumar and Pran, characters die and then get resurrected, and it also contains a Shalimar (1978) inspired heist sequence that will have you rolling in the aisles. Kirti Kulhari, Sunny Leone and Simona J serve as eye candy, while Prabhu Deva manages to effortlessly look cool even amidst this mayhem. Hat’s off to Himesh Reshammiya for having the guts to say yes to a project where nothing is sacred. He’s in effect, parodying both the ultra alpha Hindi and South superstars, as well as the prevalent culture of serving us tonnes of blood and gore in the name of culture. He never loses his mojo and does everything with utter conviction. That takes some doing, alright.
For the life of us we can’t decide whether director Keith Gomes deliberately worked without a script or was handed something that looked like a badly stapled document with pages missing. In conclusion, Badass Ravi Kumar is strictly for die-hard Himesh Reshammiya fans. And for those who have to watch everything which gets released…
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