Baadshaho trailer: Ajay Devgn's gold rush is stacked with campy dialogues, melodrama

Who doesn’t like an edge-of-the-seat thriller? The problem in Hindi cinema, however, is that seldom do films live up to their promise. The makers of Baadshaho have released an action-packed trailer, but it is not convincing.

Directed by Milan Luthria, Baadshaho stars Ajay Devgn, Emraan Hashmi, Vidyut Jammwal, Ileana D’Cruz and Esha Gupta. The plot revolves around the government of the day wanting to confiscate the unaccounted wealth of Gitanjali, hailing from a Rajput royal family, who hires Bhawani (Devgn) to ensure the safety of her gold.

Bhawani is aided in his task by Dalia (Hashmi), Sanjana (Gupta), and Tikla (Sanjay Mishra). The group has to contend with intelligence officer Seher (Jammwal) and the Indian army.

Baadshaho comes across as an action thriller set in the desert. With Devgn and Jammwal in the fray, one is guaranteed high-octane action. However, the trailer suffers from melodrama and campy dialogues. Devgn, Hashmi and Mishra are rustic characters and we can probably judge them better when the film is released. But they are not very convincing in the trailer. 

The image of a little CGI snake on Jammwal’s arm will make you cringe and hope the film doesn’t turn out to be an over-the-top trailer. There are two intriguing things though. First, the suspense around D'Cruz’s character. We see Seher shooting Gitanjali, but there has got to be more to her. Who knows, probably Gitanjali and Seher are in cahoots and taking Bhawani & Co for a ride.

The other interesting thing is that the teaser that was released a few months ago had told us that the film is set during the Emergency (1975-1977). But there is no mention of this in the trailer, except for a glimpse of a man with an uncanny resemblance to the late Sanjay Gandhi saying, “Mujhe woh sona chahiye [I want that gold]”. Given the trouble Madhur Bhandarkar’s Indu Sarkar faced, perhaps Luthria decided that discretion is the better part of valour?

What Baadshaho will have going for it though is the high-octane action. Over the past few years, many filmmakers have resorted to biopics, social dramas and rom coms, but there haven't been too many out-and-out thrillers. So, lovers of the genre might welcome Baadshaho with open arms.

The film is set to be released on 1 September. Watch the trailer below and predict the film's box-office performance here.