CAST: Shahid Kapoor, Ronit Roy, Diana Penty, Rajeev Khandelwal, Sanjay Kapoor

DIRECTOR: Ali Abbas Zafar

Shahid Kapoor shines effortlessly in Bloody Daddy, a film that serves as a decent rehash of the 2011 French thriller Nuit Blanche. With its abundant bloodshed, high body count, and well-executed gunfights and duels, the movie offers a satisfying dose of action. However, despite Kapoor’s commendable performance, it falls short of becoming the ultimate action flick. Ali Abbas Zafar, who takes on multiple roles as the film’s writer, director, and co-producer, fails to infuse the technical gloss into the movie’s essence.

As the plot struggles with monotony, the cleverly staged action sequences lack the exhilaration they aim to deliver, ultimately stumbling over their mechanical twists and turns.

Portraying a distinct iteration of Farzi’s unapologetically amoral protagonist, the lead actor embodies yet another anti-hero who operates on his terms. Taking on the role of a divorced father with a point to prove, he embraces a life of thrill and danger, often accused by his ex-wife of recklessness and irresponsibility.

The film’s opening sequence unveils the protagonist’s fearless nature as he fearlessly ventures into forbidden territory. Accompanied by a trusted accomplice, he orchestrates a daring drug heist in Delhi’s Connaught Place during the early hours, resulting in the unfortunate demise of an individual. The stolen duffle bag, snatched in the process, conceals a staggering 500 million rupees worth of cocaine.

The subsequent events unfold over a single day. Seeking retribution, drug dealer Sikandar Chaudhry (played by Ronit Roy) kidnaps Atharv, the son of our protagonist Sumair (portrayed by Sartaaj Kakkar), and holds the young boy captive in his opulent seven-star hotel situated in Gurugram.

As our hero embarks on a mission to rescue his son, he soon discovers that Sikandar is not his sole adversary. A pair of anti-narcotics officers, Sameer (played by Rajeev Khandelwal) and Aditi (portrayed by Diana Penty), unexpectedly join the pursuit, their motives initially shrouded in mystery.

If facing a dual threat wasn’t challenging enough, Sumair crosses paths with a gangster named Hameed (portrayed by Sanjay Kapoor), who arrives at the hotel with a claim on the stolen bag of cocaine. The predicament intensifies as Sumair finds himself unaware of the bag’s whereabouts.

Amidst a backdrop of hotel guests indulging in post-pandemic revelry following the lifting of lockdown restrictions, Sumair navigates in the dark, desperately searching for both the missing cocaine and his abducted son. With caution thrown to the wind, everyone seems eager to embrace the newfound freedom, but none more so than Sumair himself.

As a grand wedding anniversary celebration occurs at the hotel, guests eagerly anticipate the arrival of the renowned performer, Badshah, who set to dazzle the event with his music. However, for Sumair, none of the festivities hold any significance. His sole focus remains steadfastly fixed on rescuing his son, Atharv.

In Bloody Daddy, a chaotic fusion of music and mayhem unfolds. The rhythmic beats of the songs provide an unsettling backdrop to the bloodshed transpiring. Despite the prominence of music, it takes a backseat to the pervasive violence. Even during Badshah’s eagerly awaited performance, the number is abruptly disrupted by an unforeseen power outage, depriving the audience of the full experience.

Bloody Daddy veers away from being a conventional father-son drama. Instead, he embraces the realm of a convoluted crime caper that attempts numerous intricate narrative twists, often to its detriment. Alongside this, we are introduced to the intertwined story of three estranged brothers – Sikandar, Danny (played by Vivan Bhathena), and Vicky (portrayed by Ankur Bhatia) – all fixated on gaining possession of the elusive brown duffle bag.

Our bloodied protagonist, the film’s central “daddy” figure, carries a stomach wound incurred during the intense opening sequence. Leaving a path of destruction in his wake, he embarks on a journey fueled by determination, resilience, and unwavering bravery. His objectives include earning his skeptical son’s respect while evading a relentless group of bloodthirsty pursuers.

The exclamation of “What the f*** is happening?” from one of Sumair’s violent adversaries perfectly captures the audience’s sentiment. Our protagonist proves to be a relentless party-crasher, disrupting events by barging into banquet halls, climbing onto tables, and causing chaos as wine glasses and champagne flutes come crashing down.

The hotel kitchen becomes one of the hero’s favored battlegrounds, alongside the men’s room, where a prolonged action sequence occurs. Another intense showdown unfolds in the gaming room. As the action spills out onto the streets, numerous unexpected revelations reshape the rules of engagement entirely.

Bloody Daddy delves into a world populated by corrupt cops, undercover agents, drug dealers, and spies, all ruthlessly vying for dominance but ultimately ending up in a state of disarray, mirroring the fate of the film as a whole. It scampers and stumbles through orchestrated chaos, aiming to achieve high levels of visceral energy.

The screenplay, crafted by Ali Abbas Zafar and Aditya Basu, utilizes mostly conventional means to concoct a thrilling mix that offers its fair share of excitement. However, it lacks the emotional connection that a film centered around a father’s desperate quest to save his son should possess.

Bloody Daddy doesn’t truly test Shahid Kapoor, who effortlessly embraces the role but doesn’t go beyond adequate performance. The rest of the cast is confined within limited character boundaries, lacking ample room for exploration.

The film accords roughly equal importance to the villains (Ronit Roy and Sanjay Kapoor) and the police (Rajeev Khandelwal and Diana Penty). However, they all operate under the overshadowing presence of the protagonist, a man who bites off more than he can chew yet manages to survive and tell the tale – the titular “bloody daddy.”

So, is Bloody Daddy a fail? It does fail to reach the level of a fully immersive and satisfying experience.

Streams on Jio Cinema