'Bisi-Bisi Ice-cream' movie review: Poor ending bogs down a great cinematic experience

Arvind Sastry’s Bisi-Bisi Ice-cream explores the underbelly of Bengaluru, focusing on events an average Bengalurean is perhaps unaware of. His previous film Kahi had a similar tone, where four different lives intersect in their most vulnerable moments.

Through a slow-paced narrative, Bisi-Bisi Ice-cream is an interesting analysis of how people from different walks of life manage to make a living in the hustle and bustle of the city. Raghav, a cab driver (Aravinnd Iyer) is a heart-broken lonely man living in a shanty house on the terrace of an apartment building. An enigmatic and nameless girl, played by Siri Ravikumar, lives in the same apartment complex.

The two characters are unaware of how their livelihoods are all set to cross paths with each other through a notorious pimp, Mahantesh alias Manto — played by an incredible Gopal Deshpande. The plot thickens when it is revealed that Siri's character is in fact an escort who is on the hunt for a different profession. Unhappy about this decision, Manto employs crooked means to retain her. Around this time is when Raghav too falls into one of Manto's traps and a seemingly endless battle ensues between the three.

Gopalkrishna Deshpande is incredible in his role of Manto in the film.

Amidst all this is the intriguing chemistry blooming between Raghav and the nameless girl. These new-found feelings provide Raghav — who is suffering from a deadly bacterial infection — with a renewed zeal to live. Placed against the restlessness of city life, these moments are beautifully captured by Enosh Olivera, and accompanied by the music create an amusing sensory experience. The narrative is also accompanied by rotoscope animation giving the images a touch of surrealism.

The background of Raghav’s character is shown through recurring flashbacks, revealing a little each time until he — along the audience — figures out that he is ready to let go of his past. This makes for an interesting portrayal, sharing glimpses of the past, present and the future.

Gopal Deshpande excels in his performance, embodying the character with perfection. His character Manto thinks of himself as an important businessman and Deshpande’s body language — just the way he walks, moves his hair, takes a sip from his drink — makes the audience believe that such a person exists in real life.

One will also get to see social media’s favourite blabbermouth Sonu Venugopal in a brand new avatar.

Despite the interesting plot, good acting and impressive cinematography, Bisi-Bisi Ice-cream loses its magic due to a hurried and poorly written ending. The climax sequences come across as a last minute decision, not adding much to the overall plot. The emotions of the characters involved in the climax was hardly established throughout the course of the movie. This made the film’s climax look rather dramatic, in contrast to the rest of the film.