Bawaal (2023)

Bawaal is the kind of swing you don’t see often in mainstream romance: a bruised marriage story that dares to set its emotional reckoning against the haunting echoes of World War II Europe. Nitesh Tiwari gives the film a restless, travelogue pulse—part intimate drama, part historical reflection—while Varun Dhawan leans into a deeply flawed protagonist and Janhvi Kapoor brings a steady, affecting presence that keeps the journey grounded. The tone moves between uneasy humor, discomfort, and hard-earned tenderness, and when it works, it’s because the locations don’t just look cinematic—they press in on the characters and force them to grow. It’s not for everyone, especially if you prefer your romance straightforward or your history untouched by metaphor, but if you’re open to an ambitious, unusual blend, it’s a watch that lingers.

Bawaal is clearly aiming for a glossy “relationship redemption” road trip where a flawed husband learns empathy, using famous World War II sites as a backdrop for personal growth. The problem is the writing leans on heavy historical trauma as a metaphor in ways many viewers will find tone-deaf or even offensive, and the emotional beats can feel engineered rather than earned. Pacing is uneven, with stretches that play like travelogue and arguments that loop without adding much, so if you’re expecting a thoughtful historical drama or a nuanced romance, this may test your patience. That said, the European locations and the central performances can be watchable if you can stomach the film’s approach and you’re mainly here for a mainstream redemption arc rather than sensitivity or depth.