Bade Miyan Chote Miyan review: Action and a swashbuckling Prithviraj Sukumaran are the highlights of Ali Abbas Zafar’s directorial

Action-based movies with patriotism are one of the favourite themes of mainstream Indian directors.

The storylines are simple, there is a deadly enemy who wants to cause harm to the nation and brave-hearted soldiers have to tackle him with lots of action-packed sequences.

Director Ali Abbas Zafar’s Bade Miyan Chote Miyan follows this formula to the hilt. the first half has some minor suspense regarding Prithviraj Sukumaran’s Kabir. But the rest of it is utterly formulaic.

Synopsis

Both Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff haven’t had the best time since the pandemic and the movie isn’t likely to change that although Tiger comes off much better here than his last two ventures.

Bade Miyan Chote Miyan focuses on two ex-soldiers — Rakesh aka Rocky (Akshay Kumar) and Firoz aka Freddy (Tiger Shroff). They are court-martialed for not following orders. However, they have the reputation of being the bravest officers.

Eight years later, Rocky and Firoz get back to tackle an enemy who wants to cause mayhem in the country with the help of AL.

This tech-savvy villain aims to create a situation where India will find itself in a war-like situation with its volatile neighbours. This is the story in brief.

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Analysis

The first half of Bade Miyan Chote Miyan keeps you guessing about the antagonist’s motivations and why Kabir has so much anger towards Rakesh and Firoz. It also helps that the pace in this half is frantic with a lot of action thrown in.

Marcin Laskawiec’s cinematography goes well with the scale of the movie and the cinematographer deserves distinction marks for capturing the scale of a war-like situation.

The action sequences are also of a good standard, particularly for those who enjoy hand-to-hand combats and cars and choppers crashing in Rohit Shetty style.

The banter between Akshay Kumar and Tiger Shroff does have some funny moments, thanks to the one-liners of Tiger. For instance, Tiger gets the most fun repartees like the scene where he says, “Yeh aadmi hai ya dandruff, jaata hi nahi!”

The back story of Prithviraj Sukumaran’s Kabir and the reason behind his angst has been well-written and enacted.

After playing a victim who undergoes a lot of suffering in Aadujeevitham (The Goat Life), the actor has a ball playing to the gallery in this one.

A major problem with Bade Miyan Chote Miyan is the portions after the flashback of Kabir, a certain monotonousness creeps in.

The complex geo-political situation of India with Pakistan and China is merely used as a background with oversimplified solutions.

The film also suffers from a lack of strong female characters. The absence of an unnecessary romantic track is welcome but the female characters in Sultan (2016) and Tiger Zinda Hai (2017) were far better written.

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Performances

Tiger does a good job of portraying the suave and charming nature of Firoz.

Akshay Kumar, on the other hand, is mostly wasted except for the action bits.

Prithviraj Sukumaran makes for a delightful psychopath who has ambitious dreams.

Rakesh’s serious nature feels like an extension of Neeraj Pandey’s Baby (2015).

Manushi Chhillar lands lethal blows on her enemies, but beyond action, there isn’t much.

Alaya F irritates the audience with her comic timing.

Sonakshi Sinha repeats her “damsel in distress” act with a one-tone expression.

Verdict

Bade Miyan Chote Miyan is strictly for those who like seeing larger-than-life stunts with a predictable storyline.

(Views expressed here are personal.)