Badass Ravikumar Movie Review: Once every four years, we do need a ‘Himesh Reshammiya trying to be an actor’ fix, don’t we? So, catering to public demand, the man - who is better off as a composer - has returned to our screens as Badass Ravikumar. The man is so gracious to us critics that he even decided on the adjective to describe his character himself. What a wonderful man! But how wonderful is his new movie? ‘Badass Ravi Kumar’: CBFC Edits Close-Up Bikini Cleavage Shots and Sensual Scenes in Himesh Reshammiya’s Film, Mutes B*tch Word and Removes Alcohol Name – Check Certification and Runtime!

Okay, let’s not kid ourselves. We know what we’re in for. This is Himesh going full blast with corny dialogues, shoddy action scenes, and bizarre acting, all of which we’re supposed to enjoy as if it’s a parody of ’80s films. Cool, che? You may have every reason to hate the film - bad performances, terrible CGI, and writing that often goes for a toss - but how can you not vibe to "Dil Ke Taj Mahal Mein"? Himesh will punish you with onscreen atrocities, but at the same time, he’ll reward you for sitting in that theatre with some very cheesy, entertainment-hungry fans who clapped at every scene. Honestly, I think I may need to watch the movie again just to hear those dialogues properly. Oh, damn it!

So, what’s the story, if you care? Directed by Keith Gomes, Badass Ravikumar is a spiritual spin-off to the 2014 suspense thriller The Xpose, which is still famous for the best dialogue in the history of cinema: “Tere shareer mein itna khoon nahi, jo Ravi Kumar ek baar mein mut deta hai!” (I am not translating because that magic would be lost in translation). Anyway, back to Badass Ravikumar - set in 1989, our protagonist is a cop who has been suspended from service for being... yes, you guessed it, badass! He hates corruption and corrupt people, so they’ve got to go. And when enough of them went, his department asked him to go.

But as Al Pacino (forgive me, O Cinema Lord, for dragging you here) once said in The Godfather Part III: “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.” Ravikumar is also pulled back into service—albeit unofficially—by his Commissioner (Saurabh Sachdeva) and an Interpol agent (Prashant Narayanan) for a deadly mission in Muscat. If Muscat, like the USA, starts deporting Indians back here, do understand this: they’ve seen this movie.

Watch the Trailer of 'Badass Ravikumar':

So, what’s the mission? Ravikumar has to take down a nexus involving a powerful kingpin, Pedro (Prabhu Deva), a Pakistani official, Syed Bashir (Manish Wadhwa - the go-to guy for creepy bad people these days), and a femme fatale, Laila (Kirti Kulhari). During his mission, he also meets his ex-lover, Madhubala (Simona J). Twist, twist... Madhubala also happens to be Laila’s sister, who also has a crush on Ravikumar—because why not! Ravikumar is the alpha-est of males walking around, pre-Ranvijay Singh.

'Badass Ravikumar' Movie Review - A Corny Homage to '80s Bollywood

In case you’re not clear about what kind of movie Badass Ravikumar is, just make sure you’re in the theatre in time to watch the beginning - Himesh Reshammiya’s voiceover is there to warn you that this movie is a homage to Hindi cinema of the ’70s and ’80s. Here, silly me was thinking films like KGF and Pushpa 2 were doing exactly that. Is this a parody movie? Well, it may want you to think it’s a parody, just so Himesh can get away with doing atrocious stuff on screen while the quality of those scenes - be it their execution or the performances - remains parodically bad. As Russell Crowe (sorry again, Cinema legend, for dragging you here) asks in Gladiator: “Are you not entertained?”

And entertained, you should be, as Himesh fulfils his most ambitious action-hero aspirations under the guise of ‘you know this is a joke, right?’. This includes an admittedly so-bad-it’s-good heist sequence, which, after watching, made Tom Cruise decide that Ethan Hunt needs to retire after Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning - there’s no way he can ever top that.

Are you in for the violence? Well, Badass Ravikumar puts Marco—arguably India’s most violent Malayalam film—to shame for trying to pull off disturbingly gruesome violent scenes and making you look away from screen. Here, Himesh chainsaws a guy in two, and you don’t need to close your eyes and waste even a second of your screen time by doing so. This is what paisa vasool means, right?

But as Al Pacino (forgive me, O Cinema Lord, for dragging you here) once said in The Godfather Part III: “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in.” Ravikumar is also pulled back into service—albeit unofficially—by his Commissioner (Saurabh Sachdeva) and an Interpol agent (Prashant Narayanan) for a deadly mission in Muscat. If Muscat, like the USA, starts deporting Indians back here, do understand this: they’ve seen this movie.

Watch the Trailer of 'Badass Ravikumar':

So, what’s the mission? Ravikumar has to take down a nexus involving a powerful kingpin, Pedro (Prabhu Deva), a Pakistani official, Syed Bashir (Manish Wadhwa - the go-to guy for creepy bad people these days), and a femme fatale, Laila (Kirti Kulhari). During his mission, he also meets his ex-lover, Madhubala (Simona J). Twist, twist... Madhubala also happens to be Laila’s sister, who also has a crush on Ravikumar—because why not! Ravikumar is the alpha-est of males walking around, pre-Ranvijay Singh.

'Badass Ravikumar' Movie Review - A Corny Homage to '80s Bollywood

In case you’re not clear about what kind of movie Badass Ravikumar is, just make sure you’re in the theatre in time to watch the beginning - Himesh Reshammiya’s voiceover is there to warn you that this movie is a homage to Hindi cinema of the ’70s and ’80s. Here, silly me was thinking films like KGF and Pushpa 2 were doing exactly that. Is this a parody movie? Well, it may want you to think it’s a parody, just so Himesh can get away with doing atrocious stuff on screen while the quality of those scenes - be it their execution or the performances - remains parodically bad. As Russell Crowe (sorry again, Cinema legend, for dragging you here) asks in Gladiator: “Are you not entertained?”

And entertained, you should be, as Himesh fulfils his most ambitious action-hero aspirations under the guise of ‘you know this is a joke, right?’. This includes an admittedly so-bad-it’s-good heist sequence, which, after watching, made Tom Cruise decide that Ethan Hunt needs to retire after Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning - there’s no way he can ever top that.

Are you in for the violence? Well, Badass Ravikumar puts Marco—arguably India’s most violent Malayalam film—to shame for trying to pull off disturbingly gruesome violent scenes and making you look away from screen. Here, Himesh chainsaws a guy in two, and you don’t need to close your eyes and waste even a second of your screen time by doing so. This is what paisa vasool means, right?

Are you in for the comedy? From Johnny Lever to Prabhu Deva, everyone tries to make you laugh, either intentionally or - mostly - unintentionally. And if you’re not laughing, it’s not because the humour is cringe; it’s just that your sense of humour hasn’t adapted to Himesh’s levels of onscreen awkwardness.

'Badass Ravikumar' Movie Review - The (Over) Acting and The (Whammy) Soundtrack

Are you in for the acting? Everyone competes here to see who can ham it up the most, which makes Himesh Reshammiya seem the more bearable of the lot - and that’s saying something. The only candidate who doesn’t ham is Simona J, because even to ham, you need to try to act. I wonder if Kirti Kulhari is here because she found out the late Irrfan Khan was somehow in The Xpose and she needs to fill the space of a 'good actor trapped in a bad movie' here, or if she was bored waiting for the next season of Four More Shots Please! to begin production. I never thought I’d say this, but after Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3 and now Badass Ravikumar, Sanjay Mishra has found a hatred for my patience.

Are you in for the dialogues (Bunty Rathore)? I have nothing to say - all masterpieces mouthed here in this new-age Gunda, and when it’s Himesh, they also come with an echo effect. ‘Badass Ravi Kumar’: 11 Himesh Reshammiya Meme-Worthy Dialogues From the Trailer That Are So Cringe They’re Unmissably Hilarious!

Are you in for the songs? Well, Badass Ravikumar scores the best here. "Dil Ke Taj Mahal Mein" is an instant winner, and a couple of other songs also work like "Tandoori Days" and "Hookstep Hookah Bar". But then there’s good stuff, and then there’s too much good stuff - and Badass Ravikumar aims for the second approach, suffocating you with back-to-back songs in one stretch, hoping you’ll be distracted because the movie puts Sunny Leone on screen.

'Badass Ravikumar' Movie Review -  Final Thoughts

With Badass Ravikumar, Himesh Reshammiya has once again proven that he’s not just a musician, actor, producer, singer, or co-writer (basically a one-man Bollywood buffet) - he’s an experience. Now, I’m not here to define whether that experience is good, bad, meaningful, or utterly nonsensical. Let’s be honest, the man defies definition. He’s like a cosmic glitch in the fabric of cinema, and we’re just lucky to witness it. So, should you watch Badass Ravikumar? If you’re the kind of person who finds joy in a cinematic trainwreck so gloriously chaotic that it somehow becomes oddly entertaining, then absolutely. This is a film that embraces its absurdity, complete with an echo effect. And don’t even worry about the rating of this review. Ravikumar is far too badass to be bothered by something as trivial as stars.

(The opinions expressed in the above article are of the author and do not reflect the stand or position of LatestLY.)

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Feb 07, 2025 04:36 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).