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Bag, in his impulsiveness, falters in the scenes – especially the action sequences and ‘secret’ missions he is not qualified for – and Bajpayee knows how to strike a balance between a ‘hero’ and a trapped animal. It’s a difficult role – films have mostly divided ‘media figures’ into opposite bins. One is a determined, honest journalist who is driven by ambition and a noble desire to speak truth to power and the other is a ‘vulture’ – hunting everyone down to get a ‘scoop’. But the bag is different – he’s nothing – and that complicates this character.
However, the problem with the film is that the screenplay is not complex. This is a journalist trying to expose the 2G scam and yes, we’re told to keep an eye on big, bad powers, but the story doesn’t really seem compelling enough to articulate those risks. The film wants to capture Bag’s frustration – he doesn’t have answers so we don’t either – but the film is too long, and tedious in places, not to pull that stunt.
Then there’s the film’s confusing ‘gaze’ – Bag doesn’t exactly respect people who aren’t ‘useful’ to him, especially not the women around him. And it’s also supposed to be reflected in how the film sees the characters around them, but there’s a disturbing sense that the gaze remains indifferent to them.
For example, why does a successful female journalist (played by Parvati Sehgal) agree to a joint byline with Bag, even though he seems to have more information about the case than she does? That doesn’t mean she might not have her reasons for this – maybe Bag can act with impunity that she can’t – but we’re left to fill in these gaps on our own. .
