Bhoomi movie review: Sanjay Dutt-Aditi Rao Hydari starrer lacks cinematic punch

Omung Kumar's directorial venture ‘Bhoomi’ was one of the most-awaited flick of Sanjay Dutt since it brought back Deadly Dutt back on the screen after three years. The movie also features Aditi Rao Hydari and Sharad Kelkar in lead roles.

Released along with Shraddha Kapoor starrer ‘Haseena Parker’, the movie is a revenge drama of father-daughter duo who live a simple life and a sudden turn of events changes their lives completely.

Fans of Sanjay Dutt will be more than happy to see him back on the screen after a long gap of three years.

But, did Sanjay’s comeback movie managed to impress the audience at the box-office? Let’s take a look at some of the reviews by leading dailies:

Hindustan Times: The initial banter between Sanjay and Aditi is syrupy sweet and you already know that half of the scenes will be later used in montages to relay the pain. However, despite being high on melodrama, the emotional scenes manage to convey the love Sanjay and Aditi share onscreen. Sanjay is a single parent; a doting father and Aditi is the cute-but-motherly daughter who often chides him for his drinking habits.

NDTV: If not wholly egregious, Bhoomi is a bad enough film to merit summary banishment. Sickeningly prurient, it goes off the rails at the very outset never to regain any semblance of sanity. It is loud, violent, exploitative and completely hollow in its posturing against rapists. It is the sexually assaulted girl who is reduced to harping on her helplessness, facing humiliating questions in a courtroom and encountering situations - including a bunch cops sniggering at her plight - that paint her into a corner. 

The Indian Express: Sanjay Dutt’s umpteenth ‘comeback’ is a 70s style worn-out rape and revenge film, reeking of staleness. Under the guise of striking a blow for feminism, ‘Bhoomi’ is, mostly, disturbingly voyeuristic.

Yes, a father (Dutt) has every right to rage over the rape of his daughter Bhoomi (Hydari). Yes, he can plot violent revenge. And yes, the film does pay lip service to the notion that a girl, despite being violated, has every right to live ‘with her head held high’.