Vidya Balan starrer Bobby Jasoos is an attempted comedy-cum-drama. Set in Hyderabad, Bobby is an aspiring and struggling detective without any education qualification and managing to investigate few love affairs in her neighborhood. She pursues her jasoosi career much to the disapproval of her Muslim family. The story is centered around Bobby getting hired by Khan (Kiran Kumar) to find 3 people based on age, name and birth marks, for which Bobby gets paid heavily. Bobby is helped by 2 amusing companions who keep the comic theme running in the movie. Subsequently, Bobby finds out that she is part of a larger conspiracy plotted by Khan to kidnap the missing people. Bobby gets involved in unearthing Khan's motives, mired with her personal problems of family's disapproval and wedding arrangement.The movie begins on interesting caricatures where Vidya Balan takes the lead, but gradually the movie becomes a lackluster. Vidya Balan has played her part wonderfully well, however the film is neither thrilling nor comic, and to top it up ends up on a melodramatic note. Shot extensively in Hyderabad, the movie has a very local background-setting. Music is all over the film and in very bad shape. Wish the directorial debut of Samar Shaikh could have been a better piece of work!

Ever since she burst on the screen in Parineeta, bearing a smile as radiant as the sun, it was evident that Vidya Balan was not your everyday Bollywood heroine. Her wardrobe may never have been spot on, and her weight might have been on the heavier side, but bucket loads of talent ensured that for author backed, strong female characters, she was the undisputed choice. The Dirty Picture proved it, and Kahaani guaranteed it. No surprises then, for a character as unique as Bobby in Bobby Jasoos, the choice of Balan was a no-brainer. But can she make any movie great? No.Bobby Jasoos is the story of Bilkis "Bobby" Ahmed, a Hyderabadi aspiring to be a detective. Bobby is smart, talented and driven, and for the lack of opportunities- she spends most of her time solving trivial neighborhood cases in Mughalpura, Hyderabad. But her choice of career has its downsides. Her orthodox father does not speak with her, and there is a perennial cash flow problem. Well, at least till she chances upon Anis Khan (Kiran Kumar), who puts her on a well-paying, missing persons case. The rest of the plot focuses on Bobby solving this case, and also sorting out her love life. The good is mostly centered around the acting. Balan with her authentic Hyderabadi accent, colorful kurtas and bubbly charm almost pulls it off single handedly. Ali Fazal as her reluctant lover/friend is an excellent foil to the enthusiastic Bobby. The support cast consisting of Rajendra Gupta, Supriya Pathak, Tanvi Azmi, and Arjan Bajwa are good too. The bad is the script- it is just not funny enough. Bobby Jasoos has an interesting start, a decent middle but an absolutely pointless Manmohan Desai style ending. Patchy screenplay, boring songs, forced melodrama further pull the film down. The character of Bobby Jasoos has shades of Veronica Mars? Bingo. And I feel this would be a great idea for a TV serial, of course, if only they could get Vidya in the small screen. Advice for debutant director Samar Sheikh - There is more to sleuthing that disguises. 5/10

Indian Cinema has certainly evolved over the years with experimental movies Queen, Holiday , Filmistaan to name few. Bobby Jasoos succeeds in experimenting the truth but final act pauses the entire movement of the film.Bobby Jasoos tells the story of a wanna-be-detective(Vidya Balan) who has been given a secret assignment to search for people whose identities are provided by a multi-millionaire unknown guy. Directed by Samir Shaikh , Bobby Jasoos starts off well with few hilarious moments in the first half with the doubt factor remains till the end. Unfortunately , the movie tumbles in the climax which could have been made better. Editing is loose. Screenplay is weak . Cinematography and art direction is simple. Music is below par. Background score does not gel well with film. Dialogues are good. It is Vidya Balan's show all the way. The actress gets into the character of Bobby Jasoos and gives a performance with aplomb.Overall, a very brave niche flick with commendable first half and not so engrossing later half. Average 2.5/5

The realization you gather that the whole film could've been done without the title character is ironical. But then the makers would have been jobless and also, the people behind other departments of this film wouldn't have got the opportunity to showcase their talents.The film is built on a make-believe story: an aspiring female detective finds herself defying odds and in between a mystery where a rich boss hires her to find three specific people. The climax succeeds in disclosing this mystery but it is foolish enough for the audience to actually believe it; the story I mean. That is where Bobby Jasoos stumbles.The first half is brilliant, funny and entertaining. It creates an aura as Bobby (Balan) spearheads her character with blink-and-you-miss multiple characters, donning various colorful costumes and masquerading as a beggar, astrologer, peon, what-not. It is evident that the film was written with Balan in mind. Rest of the cast are equally supportive of the narration. The screenplay is sweet: while the first one hour is used up to narrate the life of Bobby & her family and her acquaintances, the second half is averagely gripping. It never bores.Art dept., costumes, make-up, locations & technical dept. all are top- notch. I couldn't bear the songs but they are negligible. There are at least 3 scenes that can be counted in some of the best films sequences in Bollywood this year.BOTTOM LINE: I hate to sound equivocal. So, Bobby Jasoos is a definite recipe for entertainment, but falters when thinking movie-goers find and deride and ridicule and debate the pretentious story it so heavily depends on. Balan fans rejoice. Watchable!Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES