‘Bad Newz’ Review: Vicky Kaushal Shines in a Film Hidden Under a Comedy Routine
'Bad Newz' stars Triptii Dimri, Vicky Kaushal, and Ammy Virk.
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⭐ Rating: 2.5/5
One of my favourite comedy sets is Hannah Gadsby’s Douglas — it’s a glorious example of the range comedy can have. It’s not a set that is one joke followed by another; a lot of the time it actually makes you think. Sometimes it even makes you cry and yet, every joke lands perfectly. Even when Gadsby specifically spells out when the joke is coming, it’s still funny. That is the mark of a good comedy — it needs to make you laugh, even without an onslaught of jokes and one-liners. Bad Newz doesn’t seem to understand that.
The film opens with Ananya Panday (as herself) meeting the subject of her next film —a biopic — at a restaurant. The subject is Saloni Bagga (Triptii Dimri) whom Panday calls a ‘national crush’ and ‘Bhabhi 2’ (both monikers attached to Triptii Dimri on social media). You think, “Okay, they saw a chance and they took it,” but you soon realise that that is almost all the script is going to be.
Vicky Kaushal responds to a “Manmarziyaan ka Vicky Kaushal” jibe by saying, “Don’t get personal,” and the picture of a tiger is replaced with a Tiger Shroff poster. These pop culture winks and “meta-moments” are too many for them to actually have the desired effect — instead, the movie starts to look like a skit. A skit that a comedian has written to check out what jokes work with the crowd so they can put it in their final set.
Read the full movie review HERE.
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