Badla movie review: A well-crafted suspense thriller

Badla, an official remake of a Spanish murder mystery, pulls off a mostly gripping whodunit, something Bollywood rarely manages. Badla is essentially a two-hander filled out by Bachchan and Pannu, last seen together in Pink. Most of the film takes place within a room, with these two main characters constantly shifting positions, both physically and morally. Badla does well enough. If both Bachchan & Pannu start off.

Two dead bodies. Two locations: one in the open, in a forest; the other a closed-room, made popular by Agatha Christie’s novels. Are the two connected? Who is the killer? The one who is arrested? Or someone else? Badla, an official remake of a Spanish murder mystery, pulls off a mostly gripping whodunit, something Bollywood rarely manages.

Successful businesswoman Naina Sethi ( Pannu) is a murder suspect, with all evidence stacked against her. Her husband and child have turned their back on her, and things look bleak, till a saviour arrives in the shape of ace lawyer Badal Gupta (Bachchan), who has, of course, never lost a case.