Bob Biswas

''Bob Biswas'' is a 2021 Indian Hindi-language crime thriller film directed by debutante Diya Annapurna Ghosh. A spin-off to the 2012 thriller ''Kahaani'', it stars Abhishek Bachchan as the titular character (played by Saswata Chatterjee in the original) and premiered on ZEE5 on 3 December 2021.

Following the release, Bachchan received critical acclaim for his potrayed and a nomination for Filmfare Critics Award for Best Actor at the 67th Filmfare Awards

Plot

After being hit by a vehicle while being chased during the events of Kahaani, Bob Biswas has woken up from a coma after 8 years & does not remember anything even his wife Mary Biswas & children Mini Biswas & Benny Biswas. Two officers from Kolkata Police Jishu Narang & Kharaj Sahu are keeping an eye on Bob Biswas because unknown to Bob & his family, Bob is actually an assassin. 

After recruiting Bob to be an exclusive assassin to work for them, they give Bob a flip phone on that photos of Bob's targets will be shared. Meanwhile, Mini is addicted to a drug called Blue that is distributed by Bubai Da & his boss Ustaad. After Jishu Narang & Kharaj Sahu send Bob's first target photo, Bob visits a homeopathy pharmacist Kali Da and receives a pistol disguised as Nux Vomica . Bob then kills his first target Bubai and two of his men. He then leaves for home and meets Mini on his way, who bought Blue from Bubai, a fact unknown to Bob. Bob's second target is Ustaad's investor Rahul who is an undercover police officer investigating Ustaad's illegal activities. Police officer Indira Verma starts investigating the murders of Bubai & Rahul.

After inquiring about Bob, Indira suspects the former & starts keeping an eye on him. On other hand, Ustaad has his henchman Dhonu investigate the murders. Dhonu is close to the Biswas family & is on friendly terms with Bob who visits his noodle stand frequently. While visiting Mary's first husband & Mini's father David's grave, Bob remembers that he has hidden a diary containing names of targets killed, who gave the target & money transactions. With that diary, he finds an unknown key. Bob's third target is Indira's boss but Bob does not kill her after meeting Indira who tells Bob that her boss is instrumental in fighting the drug mafia. Jishu Narang & Kharaj Sahu pay a visit to Bob & enquire why he did not kill his third target, to that Bob tells he will not continue on the path & if they force him, he will go to Indira Verma with the diary. Jishu Narang & Kharaj Sahu go to Boss who is a deputy of Indira's boss. Bob visits Kali Da to return Nux Vormica & enquire about the key to this Kali then takes Bob to the trunk room deeper inside his shop & points out Bob his trunk. Inside Bob finds a carrier bag full of cash & becomes happy that now Bob & his family can leave happily in Kalimpong.

Bob pays his dues to Kali Da & returns home. It is revealed that Boss, Jishu & Kharaj are associated with Ustaad. Boss provides Ustaad with a polaroid picture of Bob who has been killing associates of Ustaad. Ustaad contracts Bob's kill to Dhonu but Dhonu immediately rejects & is instantly killed by one of the Ustaad's henchmen. Two of Ustaad's henchmen visit Bob in his home at night & torture him, breaking his right hand & killing Mary & Benny in the fighting process. Bob manages to kill both men. Bob is then arrested by Indira but is released as ordered by Indira's boss. Bob visits Jishu & Kharaj & kills Kharaj when enquiring about Ustaad. Jishu takes Bob to Ustaad where Bob kills several of Ustaad's henchmen. Ustaad also known as Doctor Uncle then presents Mini who is now addicted to Blue. Ustaad tells her to kill Bob in exchange for a stash of Blue so she can pass in exams and become a doctor. In the process, Ustaad agrees to have ordered the murder of Mary & Benny & after a struggling fight Bob finally kills Ustaad. Six months later, Bob & Mini visit Mary & Benny's graves & do not talk much as Mini is still angry and unforgiving towards Bob for what happened. After Mini leaves, Bob receives a photo of his target Vidya Bagchi from Kahaani on his phone which he happily accepts.

Cast

* Abhishek Bachchan as Bob Biswas
* Chitrangada Singh as Mary Biswas
* Samara Tijori as Mini Biswas, Bob's Daughter
* Ronit Arora as Benny Biswas, Bob's Son
* Purab Kohli as Bubai (special appearance)
* Kaushik Chakraborty as Ustaad, boss of Bubai
* Paran Bandopadhyay as Kali Krishna Paul aka Kali Da
* Barun Chanda as Priest
* Bhanu Uday as Jishu Narang
* Amar Upadhyay as Souvik Das
* Kanchan Mullick as Singing Neighbour
* Ditipriya Roy as Tina, Mini's friend
* Pabitra Rabha as Dhonu
* Rajatabha Dutta as boss of Kharaj and Jishu
* Tina Desai as Indira Verma
* Karanuday Jenjani as David
* Vishwanath Chatterjee as Kharaj Sahu
* Kunal Verma as Rahul
* Piyush Lalwani as Ishaan
* Sharad Joshi as Shontu
* Yusuf Hussain as Dr. Mehta

Production

The official announcement for ''Bob Biswas'' was made by Red Chillies Entertainment on 25 November 2019, with Abhishek Bachchan playing Biswas and the film serving as spin-off to the 2012 thriller ''Kahaani''. It is produced by Gauri Khan and Gaurav Verma via Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment alongside Sujoy Ghosh's Bound Script Production, and directed by debutante Diya Annapurna Ghosh. In January 2020, the makers cast Chitrangada Singh as the lead actress. The film went on floors on 24 January 2020. The first schedule wrapped on 18 February 2020 The film was wrapped up on 10 December 2020.

Soundtrack

The film's music was composed by Vishal–Shekhar, Anupam Roy, Clinton Cerejo and Bianca Gomes while lyrics written by Vishal Dadlani and Siddhant Kaushal.

Reception

The film received mixed reviews from the critics. Hiren Kotwani of ''The Times Of India'' gave the film a rating of 3.5/5 and wrote "Even though there are a couple of loopholes and Bob Biswas is not as brilliant as Kahaani, it's nonetheless an interesting thriller you must watch". Aman Wadhwa of ''DNA India'' rated the film 3.5/5 and wrote "'Bob Biswas' rides on Abhishek Bachchan's captivating performance and must be seen for its gripping plot, effective direction, and original story". Suparna Sharma of ''Deccan Chronicle'' gave the film 3/5 and wrote "I wasn't expecting to like Bob Biswas the film. In fact, I was all ready to dislike Abhishek Bachchan for playing a character that, in all fairness, belonged to a Bengali actor". Taran Adarsh of ''Bollywood Hungama'' rated the film 3/5 and wrote "BOB BISWAS boasts is an interesting thriller with a fine script, impeccable direction, and good performances". Devesh Sharma of ''Filmfare'' rated the film 3/5 and wrote "It's a layered portrayal by Abhishek and can be counted as one of his best performances so far".

Saibal Chatterjee of ''NDTV'' rated the film 2.5/5 and wrote "The protagonist has no remembrance of things past. The audience does have memories of the crackling Kahaani. Comparisons are inevitable. The expectations remain largely unfulfilled". Shubhra Gupta of ''The Indian Express'' gave the film 2.5/5 and wrote "Every time Abhishek Bachchan gets a killing flare in his eyes, he makes us look. But parts of the plot are predictable and flat". Anuj Kumar of ''The Hindu'' wrote "Despite his earnestness to play a challenging part, two hours is a short time to accept Abhishek Bachchan as Bob Biswas and erase Saswata Chatterjee from memory in this spin-off of ‘Kahaani’.

Accolades

References

External links

*
Bob Biswas
' at ZEE5
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{{Red Chillies Entertainment

Films set in Kolkata
Indian mystery thriller films
Films scored by Clinton Cerejo
Indian detective films
2020s Hindi-language films
Indian crime thriller films
Indian serial killer films