Bachelor Party movie review: Another women bashing dud

Bachelor Party movie review: Bachelor Party is a planned Indian comedy movie in the language Kannada. It was written and directed by Abhijit Mahesh, and it was produced by Rakshit Shetty. The main actors are Diganth, Achyuth Kumar, and Yogesh. The music was written by Arjun Ramu, and the film was shot by Arvind S. Kashyap and edited by Abhishek M. Bachelor Party came out in theaters on January 26, 2024.

Bachelor Party movie review

A hen-pecked husband scolds his wife for wasting all his money in the Diganth and Yogesh film.

Shivarajkumar’s 1997 film Ammavra Ganda flipped gender norms in a marriage. The film was criticized for mocking feminism and adhering to the current quo while promoting social change. Abhijith Mahesh’s Bachelor Party repeats the same thing 27 years later, but without a social message.

This film portrays Diganth Manchale’s Santhosh as a sad husband whose wife, Sandhya, loves the maid more than him. She will shout at him or invoke ‘patriarchy and misogyny’ if he criticizes her, so he is hesitant to speak up. His wife will chastise him for arriving home from work even a minute late. A film character calls him a ‘Ammavra Ganda’ (Henpecked husband).

His attendance at a friend’s bachelor celebration following Sandhya’s departure for her mother’s residence changes everything. After getting intoxicated at the party, he accompanies his childhood buddy Maddy (Yogi) and their former PT teacher (Achyuth Kumar) to Thailand. They are involved in a Mangalorean immigrant-African crime boss gang fight, which causes havoc.

The plot may resemble The Hangover or Guy Ritchie and Matthew Vaughn’s crime comedies. Rapid cuts, telescopic zoom-ins, and generous split screens evoke them. Each supporting member is introduced with unique camera angles and music.

Diganth’s ‘helpless’ condition dominates the first half of the film. He resists a divorce because “How can I tell my parents and live in society after a divorce?” He harshly criticizes his wife (and maid), who celebrates the maid’s birthday instead of his. Why does he not express his concerns? The film demonstrates he’s afraid and doesn’t need to impose himself. Yogesh’s character deems him impotent for not doing so, but we never learn why. He blames society for his lack of divorce plans and then complains about his marriage behind her back. The first part of the film feels like boomer WhatsApp forwards of bad spouse jokes. The film obsesses about hitting the wives back (literally).

The second half of Bachelor Party improves with Prakash Thumminad and Balaji Manohar. Thumminad’s Mangalorian lingo is hilarious as he throws phrase after term in desperation while being followed by numerous gangs. Balaji Manohar’s Mahabala, Thumminad’s brother-in-law and Mangalore crime boss, is a fearsome villain who builds on his antagonistic character in Avane Srimannarayana (2019). Abhijith Mahesh, part of Rakshit Shetty’s writing team ‘The Seven Odds’, wrote great character dialogues. Mahabala’s threat to the leads is hilarious.

Diganth plays the character with his trademark, doe-eyed innocence, who is never joyful (the film is too impressed with its Santhosha joke) and no one can take him seriously even in fury. Despite not playing Yograj Bhat parts, he gives his best. Yogesh as women-hating, single-by-choice Maddy is charismatic and witty. He portrays the character’s almost-immature nature well, but surface-level scripting and humor disappoint. Film star Achyuth Kumar is the standout. A inebriated instructor with life lessons for past students is a tired trope, but Kumar provides originality and some profound passages.

Despite its technical quality and strong acting, the film’s writing feels like old wine in a new bottle. Bachelor Party does not age well like old wine. This is a bad homage to 80s and 90s David Dhawan films. The film portrays women as gold diggers, which is problematic. Achyuth Kumar’s late wife, who gave him a ‘World’s Best Husband’ t-shirt, and a Thai native with a child (Achara Kirk) are the only ‘nice women’ in the film.

The incessant women-bashing (including thoughts of physical bashing) comes across as disguised misogyny, which the filmmakers minimized by making it a joke. Siri Ravikumar’s Sandhya is a one-dimensional character throughout the film, Yogesh’s former flame returns at the end and again marries for money, and Diganth’s co-worker gets a promotion by giving the manager sexual favors. Bachelor Party fails to provide a nuanced view of marriage issues from a male perspective.