Bholaa is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language action-adventure film directed by Ajay Devgn and jointly produced by Ajay Devgn FFilms, Reliance Entertainment, T-Series Films and Dream Warrior Pictures. It is a remake of the critically-acclaimed 2019 Tamil film Kaithi and stars Devgn in the titular role alongside Tabu, Deepak Dobriyal, Sanjay Mishra, Gajraj Rao and Vineet Kumar. 

Principal photography took place from January 2022 to January 2023 in Mumbai, Hyderabad and Varanasi. The film score and soundtrack album are composed by Ravi Basrur with cinematography by Aseem Bajaj and editing by Dharmendra Sharma. 

Bholaa was released on 30 March 2023 and received mixed reviews from critics. The film has grossed  worldwide , thus becoming the tenth-highest-grossing Hindi film of 2023.

Plot

SP Diana Joseph captures members of the Sikka Gang and confiscates a haul of cocaine worth 1,000 crores. An undercover officer Abbas Ali known as Raunak, has joined Ashwathama (known as Ashu) who is co-leader of the Sikka Gang. Raunak gives information about Ashu to Diana while Ashu seeks help from corrupt NCB officer Devraj Subramaniam who instructs another corrupt officer Deep Singh to add rohypnol to drinks made for police officers at the farewell party of IG Jayant Malik. Diana does not partake but everyone else falls unconscious.

A prisoner named Bholaa has been released from prison and Joseph tries to convince him to drive a truck taking the sedated officers to the hospital then on to Laalganj police station. Although he is reluctant at first, he agrees. Meanwhile, Ashu hires a bounty hunter on Joseph and the rest of her police force. As Joseph, Bholaa and sidekick Kadchi drive they are attacked by various gangs. The mole Deep Singh, who has hidden with the sedated officers, provides them with the location updates. Bholaa reveals his fighting powers and kills all the goons. Ashu also sends his gang to attack the police station and to free his brother Nithari, who was caught with the cocaine. A new inspector, Angad Yadav, who was recently transferred to Laalganj, gets assigned by Joseph to defend the police station.

When Ashu arrives with his gang, they try to breach the police station which is barricaded by Yadav and some students. Joseph is nearly tricked into ordering the release of the prisoners but she realizes that it was a trap set by Nithari. Ashu manages to get inside the police station but Yadav and the students manage to arrest him. The student Chetan gets strangled to death by Ashu's gang with a lasso through a window and Yadav, fuming with rage, kills Ashu. Joseph contacts medics to provide an emergency ambulance at a temple of Lord Shiva. As they wait, Bholaa narrates his past to Kadchi: he was a notorious gangster in Uttar Pradesh and fell in love with a doctor named Swara, who reciprocated his love after he saved her from being sexually assaulted. Before their marriage, Bholaa gave up his gangster life, but Swara was killed by a ruthless gang leader known as Chomu. Before dying, Swara gave birth to their daughter, Jyoti but Bholaa got separated from her after receiving a long term prison sentence. Joseph shares her story about how she lost her unborn child when she was pregnant. An ambulance finally arrives and takes the sedated officers to hospital, then Ashu's big henchman Bhoora also turns up. Before Bholaa is able to fight, Deep Singh stabs him and he is brutally injured. While Joseph and Kadchi are taken away, Abbas is killed when he is discovered as the mole. Bholaa later regains consciousness and single-handedly kills the whole gang, including Deep Singh, using the Trident of Lord Shiva. After this he chases after Bhoraa, rescuing Joseph.

After driving all night, Bholaa, Kadchi and Diana arrive in Laalganj police station using a secret passage and help the students along with Yadav to escape safely. Joseph burns the cocaine and after Ashu's reinforced gang finally breaches station, Bholaa destroys them all using a M134 Minigun. Shortly after, Nithari dies of shock after learning about Bholaa, and Devraj Subramaniam shoots himself after knowing that Bholaa was behind everything. Bholaa is reunited with his daughter Jyoti and they drive off happily in the truck with Kadchi and a puppy. 

In the mid-credits scene, Chomu Singh learns about Bholaa's release and decides to destroy him.

Cast

Production
Principal photography for the film commenced on 13 January 2022. Filming took place in Hyderabad, Madh Island, Kharghar, Mumbai and Varanasi. The entire filming for Bholaa was wrapped up on 6 January 2023.

Soundtrack

The music of the film is composed by Ravi Basrur while lyrics are written by Irshad Kamil. The first single titled "Nazar Lag Jayegi" was released on 20 February 2023. The second single titled "Aadha Main Aadhi Vo" was released on 15 March 2023. The third single titled "Paan Dukaniya" was released on 20 March 2023. The fourth single titled "Dil Hai Bholaa" was released on 24 March 2023. The fifth single titled "Aaraaro Aararo" was released on 6 April 2023.

Release

Theatrical
Bholaa was released theatrically on 30 March 2023 in 2D, 3D, IMAX 3D,  4DX and ICE 3D formats worldwide.

Home media
The digital streaming rights of Bholaa were acquired by Amazon Prime Video in 30–40 crores. The film was premiered on Amazon Prime Video on 25 May 2023.

Distribution
It was distributed worldwide by Panorama Studios and PVR Pictures.

Reception

Critical response
Bollywood Hungama rated the film 3.5 out of 5 and termed the film as "mass-appealing" with scale, grandeur, breathtaking action, and Ajay Devgn and Tabu's mind-blowing performances as its USP.
Harshada Rege of The Times of India rated the film 3.5 out of 5 and wrote "Bholaa packs in quite a punch with his strength, grit and charisma". Sowmyabrata Gupta of Times Now rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and termed the film as an "engaging watch" and wrote "some fight sequences are excellent but the plot is slapdash". Roktim Rajpal of India Today rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and stated that the film is a "treat for Ajay Devgn's fans" and wrote "It has everything, right from action scenes to punch dialogues, that one would expect from a big-screen spectacle meant for the mass audience". Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "Ajay Devgn-Tabu's all-out action film is not for the faint-hearted but it is bang for your buck". Monika Rawal Kukreja of the Hindustan Times praised the action sequences and criticised the plot. Udita Jhunjhunwala of Mint wrote in her review that "the film has a chaotic screenplay with video game like action sequences." She criticised the quality of 3D in the film by saying that "the 3D adds little to the experience, besides further darkening the visuals.

Box office
The film grossed  crore on its first day. On the second day the film collected only  crore. While Day 3 and Day 4 collections were  crore and  crore respectively. The film grossed  in its first week of release. As of 4 May 2023 it has grossed  crore worldwide.

References

External links
 
 

2020s Indian films
2020s Hindi-language films
2023 films
2023 action adventure films
2023 action thriller films
2023 crime action films
2020s chase films
2020s prison films
Hindi remakes of Tamil films
Indian 3D films
IMAX films
2023 3D films
4DX films
Indian action adventure films
Indian action thriller films
Indian crime action films
Indian crime thriller films
Indian prison films
Films about drugs
Indian road movies
Films about police officers
Films about criminals
Films directed by Ajay Devgn
Indian chase films
Films about substance abuse
Siege films
Films about father–daughter relationships
Films about police corruption
Films set in Uttar Pradesh
Films about the Narcotics Control Bureau
Fictional portrayals of police departments in India
Films set in prison
Films shot in Hyderabad, India
Films shot in Mumbai
Films shot in Varanasi
Films about travel
Films about Hinduism
Films about the illegal drug trade
Indian police films