“The film is somewhat inspired by true events and is more a work of fiction” – the disclaimer greets us as we settle down to watch The Big Bull on Disney+ Hotstar. Mehta’s terrific rise, the multi-crore scam that made headlines, manipulating the stock market, and his eventual but inevitable tragic fall… the familiarity to the arc and predictability in the telling keep the proceedings jaded.
Trapped by the requirements of formula filmmaking, The Big Bull starts overstating the case from the very first scene itself. Ileana D’Cruz as the journalist who unearthed the truth is seen addressing an audience with two tacky strands of white hair framing her model face. It’s 2020, and her character Meera Rao is recalling the events which occurred almost two decades ago, but apart from the white ‘reverse antennas’, it appears that age has been pretty kind to her .
“Uske ameer banne se pehle uski soch ameer ho gayi thi” (His mentality became rich before he did). With that, we flashback…