Directed by Anurag Kashyap, "Bombay Velvet" is an ambitious Bollywood gangster movie about an ordinary man who goes against all odds and defies his destiny to become a so-called "Big Shot."
"Bombay Velvet" stars Ranbir Kapoor as Johnny Balraj, an underdog battling the system. The character is a petty gangster who runs a nightclub and desires to make it to the real-estate industry in Bombay in 1969.
The film featured Johnny Balraj watching the 1939 gangster classic "The Roaring Twenties," particularly the scene in which James Cagney, who was shot dead, lies in the arms of Priscilla Lane telling a cop, "He used to be a big shot."
This particular "The Roaring Twenties" scene makes Johnny Balraj tear up, showing where the film is heading. Based on the opening credits, the script written by the director with Vasan Bala, Gyan Prakash and Thani is inspired by historian Gyan Prakash's book titled "Mumbai Fables."
On the other hand, the story of "Bombay Velvet" revolves around the romance between Johnny Balraj and nightclub singer Rosie Noronha (Anushka Sharma) against the backdrop of Bombay, when it was on the onset of becoming a metropolis in the 1960s.
Among the cast, Karan Johar seemed to have outshined Kapoor and Sharma. Johar gave an outstanding performance as the manipulative newspaper baron and bootlegger Kaizad Khambatta, who owns the jazz-club Bombay Velvet where all the action is centered in.
As The New York Times noted, "Bombay Velvet" is a great title for the film. But running 149 minutes, the film is too long.
Moreover, its plot appears to be too much as viewers may have a hard time keeping track of all the dirty deals in Bombay in the film. This is possibly why IBN Live gave it an average rating of 2.5 out of 5.