Name: Bade Miyan Chote Miyan
Director: Ali Abbas Zafar
Cast: Akshay Kumar,Tiger Shroff,Manushi Chhillar,Prithviraj Sukumaran,Alaya F,Sonakshi Sinha
Rating: 1.5 / 5
Plot
Describing himself as pralay (destruction), Kabir (Prithviraj Sukumaran) returns to seek revenge from the Indian army by abducting an important package necessary for the security of the nation. To resecure the asset, Colonel Azad (Ronit Bose Roy) deputes court-martialled officers Freddy (Akshay Kumar) and Rocky (Tiger Shroff), and are assisted by Misha (Manushi Chhillar) and Pam (Alaya F) during the mission. Unbeknownst to the challenges, Freddy and Rocky meet a friend-turned-foe from the past, who they have to eliminate under any circumstance for the well being of the nation.
What’s Hot?
One of the major challenges of every film of late has been to balance the first half with the second, more often than not one of these being compromised in entertainment, and Ali Abbas Zafar’s Bade Miyan Chote Miyan is no different. It is the first half that saves the film with some relatable yet sparsely spread humour, Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff’s chemistry, and some suspense to what is going to happen next. Few jokes around being atmanirbhar, Akshay’s famous meme-worthy pose from Hera Pheri, and Tiger’s ‘Choti Bachi Ho Kya’ line land well. Usage of drums in the background music for select portions help elevate those dry scenes, but beyond this everything for me goes down the hill in Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. 
What’s Not?
Artificial Intelligence is the most abused word of this generation, and Bade Miyan Chote Miyan has only added to that. The concept of Soldier X and Kavach is a puerile piece of writing, sometimes getting too technical and convoluted to fathom. A massy entertainer being unveiled on an important release date with a massy concept with an intention to only entertain was the need of the hour, but too much melodrama especially post interval combined with some underlying jingoism takes away a buddy film genre’s novelty away from the project. Even if the mojo of the first half was replicated in the second, the movie would have been far more entertaining.
Writers Ali Abbas Zafar and Aditya Basu do not optimize the power of humour well in the second half, and combined that with Suraj Gianani’s fatuous dialogues only add to the misery of the viewer. For instance, in an opportunity to stir up the audience with some hard hitting Hindi dialogues during an important juncture, the dialogue writer ends up with english lines like ‘Hell is about to be unleashed’, ‘Revenge is the purest form of justice’, and ‘I am the best’, trivializes the moment for a desi audience taking away the energy from it. Despite trying really hard, I was unfortunately unable to empathize with the characters or feel their pain, which is a big letdown.
Furthermore, some scenes are stretched, action choreographed by Craig Macrae and Parvez Shaikh is not something that I haven't seen earlier, production design by Rajnish Hedao, Snigdha Basu and Sumit Basu has no novelty, and DOP Marcin Laskawiec’s camera work is mediocre. Overall background music by Julius Packiam could have been better, and music by Vishal Mishra is forgettable. I really wish makers who have forgotten the importance of music for a film today, would at some point rekindle that love, because there is no bigger promotional tool than good music to bring the audience to the theaters.
Performances
Akshay Kumar once again proves that when it comes to character and alternative comedy there is truly no one like him, but is also underutilized in that aspect in Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. Given an opportunity he could have aced a few more one liners, especially in the second half of the film. Tiger Shroff makes a sincere attempt at comedy with scope of improvement, while his action portrayal has always been top-notch. Prithviraj Sukumaran, a supremely talented actor, is wasted as Kabir, with his one tone, breath heavy dialogue delivery becoming monotonous after a while. Sonakshi Sinha was a good addition to the cast, while Manushi Chhillar and Alaya F were decent in their limited screen time. Ronit Bose Roy stayed true to his part.
Final Verdict
I genuinely believe that Ali Abbas Zafar is one of the most promising filmmakers of our times and his sleek and stylish sense of direction is truly classy yet massy. Somehow that seems to be missing in Bade Miyan Chote Miyan. For me, it's a lost opportunity for everyone involved.
