I am not a supporter of soft porn, nor do I have a thing for the older women falling for younger guys. Most of the time, this thought brings me the image of Ashton Kutcher and his love tales. But this movie left me with awe and would have had set me in a mood if I would have been with a hot guy. But I was penniless so, I watched it alone.
The story is shot between a funeral and a rather anti-happening climax. Yet BA Pass is never less than spellbinding. A bold step to bring on scenes of a manwhore and a woman helping him turn millionaire.
The movie is set in neon-rich Paharganj, Delhi. To be honest, it looks like a poor man’s Tokyo in this one. The story is about a young college-going Mukesh (Shadab Kamal) orphaned and with a poor BA degree. Our man is crying with the downfall of the economy and a worthless degree- Mukesh needs a job and is all black and the story continues.
Here enters the vaguely dressed Delhi!
He is a young boy who loses both his parents in an accident. He is forced to leave his small town in Punjab and move to Delhi, to his aunt’s standoffish home in a Paharganj railway officers’ colony.
Mukesh is now manipulated by his uncle’s boss’s wife (Shilpa Shukla), he is soon into her bed and now, Mukesh is a manwhore. He is soon sucked into the chasm. He needs to fund his own education with his two sisters who are in an orphanage.
As the story continues, Sarika (Shukla) helps Mukesh in finding other aunties’ who won’t mind some young pleasure. Mukesh is now earning enough to live a dream and his hapless sisters.
And what’s a boy to do then but answer when treasure calls? Answer them.
The story is spellbinding till the intermission, however, Kamal’s no expression toward a rather busy sex life is really disappointing. He is all rock and expressionless. The bane, disgust, coercion, and the physical pleasure that sex is for him are all there along with the commercial value of sex itself.
It is after the intermission when it is all about concerns and people killing Mukesh’s anyway not so happening life. Everyone is pinching him right at the spot: Sarika’s husband, Mukesh’s extended family, Sarika, and others too. He goes psycho and with uncountable twists, the end breaks your heart and you’d wish it to finish.
BA Pass is made with a sense of mood. It has characters that create a noir ambiance with no fuss. Shukla is a beautiful and means well-suited character. The film is a fascinating journey into sequences that keep you stuck and convince you that the work is worth appreciation.
A story of sex and secrets, the treatment of this movie left me impressed. BA Pass is determined and moving because its characters, even the most minor ones, are very well carved.
The story is slow but constant. It is a huge step to start with for Bahl, who is both the director and cinematographer, and it is not the sex that makes you attached to the movie it is Bahl’s brilliance of displaying the neon-lit Delhi better than the neon bras.
My rating: 3.5/5
[Spoiler Alert: The movie is based on this short story. It gives up the plot but we recommend you watch the movie for how it has been made.]
