There was a Hindi movie that came out a while back titled Ujda Chaman, where a bald man was told to learn to be happy with an overweight woman as a life partner because there was another man who had found happiness with his wife who could not speak. The comparison was crass and offensive on so many levels, but no one learned anything from it and decided to make another story like that called Bawaal. “Be happy with what you have” is not the compliment the film’s writer seems to think it is, and comparing the woman’s (Nisha’s) epilepsy to the love lost between people during World War II to convince the man (Ajay) to offer his wife the bare minimum is also not the romance that the writer thinks it is.
Bollywood has always loved Europe, but since the mountains and chiffon sarees have been done to death, they decided to find romance through one of the worst chapters of human history. It wasn’t the presentation of the facts of World War II that was the problem. It is using them to make a clearly ignorant and pathetic man fall in love with his wife. Nisha is the understanding wife who waits for Ajay, no matter how badly he treats her. Till the very end, we are shown that Nisha is a catch “despite” her epilepsy, and this reeks of the writers’ ignorance. Then comes Ajay, and we never quite know what he has done to deserve Nisha while she continues to prove how she is an ideal life partner. If you are into that brand of romance, Bawaal is a well-executed story. If not, you are not going to like the movie, but here is a recap of it anyway.
Why Do Ajay And Nisha Go To Europe?
One of the worst characters in Hindi cinema in recent times, with a terrible excuse for a redemptive arc, is Ajay Dixit. The man is a History teacher but is embarrassed that he hasn’t achieved more in life, and that is why he has lied to everyone he knows that he fell behind due to circumstances. He could have been a cricketer if not for his tennis elbow; he could have been an IAS officer but wanted to teach kids to be IAS instead; or he fell sick right before an important exam, which is why he is now teaching history instead of already being a part of it. These are some of the lies he has told around the whole town to “maintain an image.”
Ajay married Nisha some nine months ago, but he has never liked her. Nisha told him before they got married that she had epilepsy, but since she hadn’t had a fit in over ten years, Ajay decided it wasn’t a problem for him. However, on the day of their marriage, she had a fit, and since then, Ajay has been disappointed in her because he is embarrassed about other people finding out. He doesn’t let her work a job or even take her anywhere because he is scared of what people will think of him if she has a fit again. This man is simply terrible, but Nisha has not left him because she has some hope.
One morning in school, when he is in a particularly bad mood, he slaps one of his students for asking him a question related to the subject. That gets him into trouble because the boy is the MLA’s son, and he gets involved. Ajay is suspended for a few days, and he could potentially lose his job, which he cannot afford because he wants to keep up his image. Therefore, he comes up with a plan to go on a tour of Europe and visit all the places relevant to World War II so that he can teach the kids about them through a livestream, covering up the fact of his incompetence in the classroom. He plans on taking Nisha with him so that his father will agree to finance the trip, but he tells her that it is only for show, and he is not actually interested in their relationship.
A fed-up Nisha decides not to put up with his nonsense anymore and to go to Europe regardless. He could go his way, and she would do what she wanted. Unfortunately though, things immediately go wrong for Ajay, and his bag is exchanged with another man’s, leaving Ajay with terrible clothes for the duration of his trip. He is also not able to figure out his day and how to go about the city, while Nisha goes on to have an excellent time. When they get back to the hotel, Ajay sees this and understands that he needs her help to navigate Europe, and Nisha agrees, saying that she isn’t going to abandon him the way he did to her.
Since Ajay is shameless and Nisha is a pushover for reasons we fail to understand, this couple sets out to explore the city, and it is Nisha who tells Ajay the facets of history that he then starts relaying to his students. Nisha really comes through for Ajay by getting his mobile phone back from a thief, settling a fight, and even showing her resourcefulness by cooking food with the hot water from the bathroom. Ajay starts seeing Nisha as a person instead of someone he used to tolerate in his house, but we don’t see how he is proving himself as a good person. Regardless, they start coming closer every day, and Ajay even starts getting possessive over her. Back in Lucknow, his videos on history are a hit and are gaining good attention, despite the MLA insisting that a committee be set up to decide on his suspension.
When a video of Ajay dancing with Nisha is uploaded by her on her social media page, it goes viral and Ajay is furious since he believes that it could hurt his chances with his job. In his anger, he says some really mean things to her, and Nisha finally decides to leave him behind and sign the divorce papers back home.
‘Bawal’ Ending, Explained: Does Ajay Keep His Job?
We can assure you that everything from here on out is uncomfortable and cringe-worthy. Ajay visits a museum, where he sees the last things that the people grabbed before they were scurried away to concentration camps. When he imagines himself in their situation, he realizes that Nisha means something to him, and he asks her to stay back for the rest of the trip instead of leaving midway. Nisha agreed though we desperately wanted her to leave. This is just another undeserved chance for Ajay. When they are in Auschwitz, they meet a concentration camp survivor who tells them how he should have paid more attention to his wife. Ajay relates this to his own situation, and we absolutely hate that this is what it took for him to learn to see Nisha as a person instead of a “misfire,” as he called her and their marriage. This time, when she has a fit, he is there for her and really takes care of her. We don’t think it proves anything, though, because Ajay had said that he did not mind going out with Nisha in Europe since no one knew them there. We just have to assume that Ajay would have been just as caring if Nisha had the fit back in India because that is what Nisha does, and when they go back home, she is ready to be with him.
At the end of Bawaal, Ajay tells the committee that he was never a good teacher and will accept whatever verdict they have reached. To his surprise, the committee decided in his favor because when they conducted a test for the students, they all aced it, thanks to Ajay’s history lessons from Europe. Now that Ajay is a changed man, he has the respect of the MLA and the approval of all of his students, meaning that he is going to live his life as a changed person with the help of his wife.
Final Thoughts
We can bet good money that Ajay and Nisha will not last as a couple. If Ajay’s entire basis for being with Nisha is the gratitude that he should be happy with what he has, since people during the world war had it worse, how long will it take for them to fall apart? Additionally, how long before Nisha realizes that Ajay does not deserve her, and she can do better? It wouldn’t have taken much for the sexism to be avoided in Bawaal, but someone was obsessed with the idea of tying love to forgiveness and waiting—that too, only from the woman’s side. We take a step back on the path of progress every time people waste their energies on stories like these. We don’t have the patience to say much else except that Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor deserve a better story than Bawaal.
