Bloody Daddy
Introduction
Thank God It Is Friday but this weekend is a little ‘thanda’ in terms of its new content. However that one content which I was looking forward to was Bloody Daddy and I finished watching it last night on Jio Cinema. An official adaptation of the French film Nuit Blanche aka Sleepless Night and earlier remade in Tamil as Thoongaa Vanam, I was actually shocked at the turn of events of Bloody Daddy not releasing in theatres and instead opting for a direct OTT release. It did star Shahid Kapoor who is fairly bankable and this decision did bewilder me to no bounds, so much so that I began questioning if the film was good at all.
I had watched the original Nuit Blanche just hours before Bloody Daddy went live. It was just my way of exploring the source material and how the adaptation would eventually stand in comparison to that. And I absolutely enjoyed the original which was filled with good cops, bad cops, multiple gangs and commoners, all involved in a bit of a mess over one night. It was taut, deadly and laced with enjoyment of the highest order. And I must admit, I did have high hopes from Bloody Daddy too(despite me being skeptical about the product as a creative decision was made to release it directly on OTT), given its absolute killer teaser of an in-form Shahid Kapoor nailing his entry with suave(and guns). So then does Bloody Daddy manage to impress, lets find out.
Story & Screenplay
An official adaptation of the original French film Nuit Blanche, Bloody Daddy follows the story of the protagonist robbing a drugs courier from a gang until his son gets kidnapped following the incident. Will he be able to save his son? The premise here was very interesting with events laced with dark humour. In fact, it wouldn’t be wrong if I said that I did get vibes of ‘John Wick’ from the drama which wasn’t a bad thing at all. But it is the screenplay that takes you on a thrilling ride over its course of the 2 hours. Will multiple characters in play, this neo-noir drama was an absolute joyride.
First things first, the writers here deserve credit for adapting the original source material quite well here. The setting is in Delhi with an added layer of the pandemic, so there is instant justification on the rise of crimes in the capital. Now the original film was just about 100 minutes long while Bloody Daddy is atleast 20 minutes more in its duration. The difference lies in a few scenes which are better fleshed out including the ‘not so open ending’ that did add a tinge of originality to the drama. There is a little setup with the introduction of the protagonist and his side kick who rob a bag of drugs from a couple of drugs couriers which triggers a set of events. Each event leads to another before the first major twist in the tale is showcased in the form of the introduction of one of the antagonists who does ask for the drugs bag in exchange for the son of the protagonist whom he has kidnapped. And with multiple stakeholders after the bag of drugs, it is a long bloody night that ensues.
The proceedings are entertaining and engrossing primarily because the drama comprises of an interesting bunch of characters along with the neo-noir setting that did create the right kind of an atnosphere. Now all characters aren’t fleshed out given the limitation of the medium of films, there is enough meat in the drama to keep your adrenaline pumping. Now one of the benefits of watching the original source material just hours before Bloody Daddy was that I could differentiate exactly between the two films. Firstly, the emotional connect is lacking in both films but that is compensated with multiple chases and action sequences that will keep you invested. Secondly, Bloody Daddy does make tweaks here and there particularly in the middle that features a high concept action sequence. While this was a good addition, I so wished the makers hadn’t excluded the chase sequence between the protagonist and a couple of cops through the night club. That was thrilling with a tinge of humour and it surely should have been recreated.
The twists and turns in the screenplay are good and they ensure that there isn’t a single dull moment in the drama. I did feel that the humour could have been infused a little more but I will let that pass as I was more than happy with the gory action sequences. Certain additions to the screenplay do make sense and make for a better impact. These changes were seamlessly a part of the universe and unlike a few adaptations, these changes did not seem to be incorporated just for the sake of it. The events leading up to the final act featuring a cat and mouse chase was pretty good and it did end on a satisfactory note. But was that outro twist necessary? I did feel the writers went slightly overboard there whereas the end could have been similar to the original that didn’t seem out of place with the motives of the character. But then this point is debatable! Overall, I was thoroughly impressed with the adapted screenplay here that did make for a thrilling joyride!
Dialogues, Music & Direction
The dialogues are quirky and make for a solid impact. If not anything else, some lines will put a cheeky smile on your face. The music is decent but if you look at it from the context of the film, the music works well with the story. The idea of an elaborate action sequence on a Badshah song was genius and it did make for a solid watch. The BGM is absolutely banger in every shape and form and it enhances the viewing experience to a whole new level! The cinematography ensures that the film has been mounted on a huge scale. Even the Dubai parts are passed off as Gurugram which was gimmicky but in the context of the film it did work although a shade lesser than the original which did have an intimate setup. Perhaps that needn’t have changed here but again these are smaller points of criticism which can be overlooked. Director Ali Abbas Zafar does a smashing job here by setting his characters free in the drama which was the essence of the original. This was a no holds barred kind of a thriller and that was quite well executed.
Performances
The performances here are outstanding although not all characters were well etched out. Aparna Nayr, Amy Aela and Suparna Moitra as Riya, all have their moments to shine. Sartaaj Kakkar as Atharv is pretty good too. Mukesh Bhatt as Rafa is first rate despite a limited screen time. Ankur Bhatia as Vicky adds steaks of eccentricity to his character in a job well done. Vivan Bathena as Danny is stoic and quite intimidating with his presence. Zeeshan Quadri as Jaggi is wonderful in his little role.
Sanjay Kapoor as Hameed was clearly having fun and it lead to some funny moments in the screenplay. Diana Penty as Aditi looks pretty and does a smashing job as the female cop. Rajeev Khandelwal as Sameer is terrific and he exploits the shades of grey in his character so well. Ronit Roy as Sikandar is probably the best actor on display here. His approach to his character was wonderful, the calmness that he brought to the table was accompanied by chills and that made his character all the more intimidating in what was a towering act. Shahid Kapoor as Sumair aka Bloody Daddy is absolutely kickass in his performance. This was probably his debut in an out and out action film(discounting R…Rajkumar which was more in the commercial space) and he literally hits it out of the park. His mannerisms are ones to savour in what was a brilliant performance by him. On a side note, I have been imitating his walk since last night! Ahh, cinema at its finest!
Conclusion
Bloody Daddy is a bloody good adaptation of the brilliant original film, studded with good performances that makes for a pretty good watch. Available on Jio Cinema.