The Big Bull review: Abhishek Bachchan film marred with unreal portrayal, dodgy writing; pales in comparison to Scam 1992

Abhishek Bachchan starrer The Big Bull has finally been released. The film which has been under the shadow of web series Scam 1992 ever since the launch of its trailer stands far short of the web series not just because of the first mover advantage to the former but also because poor writing and omission of many important characters from the story, wrote Shubhra Gupta, veteran film critic associated with the Indian Express.

According to Gupta, authenticity seems to be missing in the Bachchan starrer film from the very outset. In addition to not revealing the names of real people and events associated with the Harshad Mehta scam that occured in the 1990s, the film also fails to capture the feel of the share market and newsroom which were perfectly captured by Hansal Mehta directed Scam 1992. The film also betrays a stale look from repeated usage of the phrase ‘the one and only Big Bull’ not just by Bachchan but also by journalist Meera Rao which is played by Ileana D’Cruz and other characters.

Even if one were to make peace with such repetitive phrases and unreal look of the film, some of the crucial characters who played a central role in unfolding of the real events have completely been omitted out of the film. Take for instance the complete erasure of the role played by Debashish Basu who teams up with journalist Suchetra Dalal to unearth the scam. Other significant and prominent people who played the central role in turning the man into the Harshad Mehta including his mother and younger brother are not given meaty narrative in the film.

Talking of Bachchan, film critic Gupta wrote that the role of protagonist was played with utter sincerity by Bachchan which was also backed by his perfect look showing slicked back hair, fat rings, and an emerging belly. However, even Bachchan’s role betrays the gaps in writing of the film as the character lacks conviction and tries to fill up the parts with exaggerated laughter, unpredictable reactions among others. The film was awarded with 1.5 stars out of 5 in the Express review.