After the phenomenal success of Stree, Amar Kaushik returns with Bala, a dramedy starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Yami Gautam and Bhumi Pednekar as leads while Saurabh Shukla, Javed Jaafrey, Seema Pahwa and others play supporting roles. Bala is produced by Dinesh Vijan.

Bala tells the story of Balmukund Shukla a.k.a Bala (Ayushmann Khurrana), a twenty-something sales executive who is charming in every way possible. He can mimic Shah Rukh Khan, has a well-mannered and impressionable demeanor. The only catch is that his hairline is thinning at a rapid pace. The construct gives a lot of room for genuine humour. Bala's efforts to conceal his baldness is shown with many hilarious instances.

For instance, any sequence where Bala applies anything to see his hair grow is shown with visual humour. The film thrives in the silliness and that aspect gets higher with the entry of Pari (Yami Gautam plays the model of a beauty cream), an over-the-top Tik Tok sensation.

On the surface level, Bala pokes fun at society's quest for attention and how looks play a major part in it. The narrative tries to pull it off with some good ironic flourishes. For instance, Bala's childhood was characterized by his conventionally good looks and using that to bully his friend Latika (her grown version is played by Bhumi Pednekar) for her dusky complexion. The first half succeeds at showing Bala's frustration and insecurities in a hilarious way.

But the fun ends as soon as the story runs out of bald jokes. After baldness plays spoilsport in Bala's marriage, the film becomes a long winding melodrama about self-acceptance and tries to take itself too seriously. Latika preaches about feeling comfortable in her own skin but is it necessary for an actress to apply darker makeup in order to portray that character. The same rationale applies to Ayushmann Khurrana's role. The film killed its own irony a thousand times and in these cases, it becomes difficult to separate art from the artist.

Bala has some fine intentions and tries to be politically correct, but the problem is that the film doesn't practice its own message. Despite the flaws, Bala has a really entertaining first half due to its witty dialogues and ample throwbacks to retro songs. Ayushmann Khurrana portrays the insecurity of the protagonist with aplomb while the supporting cast (especially the characters playing Bala's family) add more to the effortless humour. Overall, Bala is engaging for its comical touches and Ayushmann Khurrana's performance