The Big Bull Movie Summary

This film is based on a real story. The film ‘The Big Bull’ follows the life and times of Hemant Shah. A small stockbroker who plugs loopholes in the country’s archaic banking system to create a massive bull run on the stock exchange. But at a time when the Indian economy was taking its big leap towards liberalisation, the race for Hemant Shah’s dreams was just about to end in a nightmare.

The Big Bull Review in Hindi

This is the true story of wealth that has captured the collective conscience of the world. First successfully told in a bestseller and hugely successful web series. We already know very little about India’s multi-crore stock market ‘scam’. Hence, co-writer and director Kookie Gulati did a great job of reconciling the ups and downs of an enigmatic character in a two and a half hour feature film. And for a film that is ‘somewhat inspired by true events’, Gulati succeeds only partially, as the real story is far more engaging and exciting. Here we take the film through the journey of Hemant Shah (Abhishek A Bachchan) from a salaried middle-class man to a seasoned stockbroker. Without actually seeing him slip in the stock market. The premise of his meteoric rise from common man to common man’s messiah feels hasty and heaviest. A glimpse of his modest life in a chawl in Mumbai, his family and his relationship with Priya (Nikita Dutta), for whom his heart beats, takes longer than his stock market.

However in the second act, the story of the film picks up pace, as Hemant Shah’s increasing popularity and wealth has made him name, fame and enemy. Writers Arjun Dhawan and Kookie Gulati manage to create intrigue and tension around various episodes of Hemant’s ongoing tussle with the police, politicians and media, as he shamelessly molests each one. Some scenes stand out for their confrontational value. Plus, non-linear storytelling helps break up the monotony of repetitive conflicts. While it is always pleasant to see Mumbai in Bombay, the cinematography of some locations in South Mumbai is almost fine.

Abhishek Bachchan has given a decent performance in the film, despite the fact that his character could have been done with more depth and detail. For starters, his appearance remains fairly constant from his youth to middle age, which makes it hard to believe that his character has actually come a long way. The repeated shots of loud and fake laughs seem compelling and his chemistry with Nikita Dutta is lacking. Their scene and a quirky love-song shot in Delhi slows down the pace further. The film’s dialogues are also quite casual, like, ‘We have more money than God’. Most of the dialogues don’t inspire the characters to look powerful even when the scenes demand them. Ileana D’Cruz gives an honest performance as journalist Meera Rao, digging into the aftermath of Hemant’s scandals. Sohum Shah as Hemant’s younger brother Viren is decent and so are most of the seasoned character actors like Saurabh Shukla and Ram Kapoor.

Overall, ‘The Big Bull’ is a good attempt to tell the dramatic story of one of India’s biggest financial scams, perpetrated by a common man looking like a con man. If you are a fan of Abhishek Bachchan then definitely check it out, but don’t let your store of expectations get too high.