World War toh khatam ho gayi lekin yeh andar ki war kab khatam hogi koi nahi janta. This forms the crux of Nitesh Tiwari's Bawaal, as shown in the trailer which was launched today in Dubai. Headlined by Varun Dhawan and Janhvi Kapoor, the film revolves around Ajay or Ajju Bhaiya (Varun), a history teacher, who falls in love with Nisha (Janhvi) and marries her. 

The 3 minutes 3 seconds long trailer shows Ajju being the most celebrated person in town and is extremely conscious about 'image'. On the other hand, Nisha is more grounded and happy being in her own skin. One day, Ajju proposes the idea of taking Nisha on a tour to visit places affected by the World War. As they begin exploring those locations, their love story goes through a tumultuous phase. 

Nitesh Tiwari is a prolific filmmaker and there's no doubt about it. He has packed Bawaal with loads of humour and balanced it with a generous dose of love and heartbreak. Be it showing different shades of Ajju's personality or the stability Nisha brings across, he knows his content and target audience. Bawaal seems to be quite different from his previous directorials (Dangal and Chhichhore). Maintaining an air of intrigue and curiosity, the trailer doesn't reveal much about the film. It is rather chaotic and confusing. 

There's no thread that connects the first half of the trailer with the second, leaving several questions in mind. It is sure that Bawaal will explore the chaos within Ajju and Nisha but what's the connection with the World War? This keeps the fire burning. The references to Hitler, the deeper meaning of the term 'bawaal' and an unconventional plugin to the World War could uplift the film's emotional quotient. The trailer piques curiosity but offers little to be surprised. 

Nitesh is a master of emotional storytelling that caters to the youth. With Bawaal, he is back with a unique subject. The second half of the trailer when black and white footage of the war is shown is interesting. The contrast between the modern-day and war period is drawn strikingly well. As drama ensues, Nitesh comes in top form. The punchlines used in the trailer don't work as there's no context highlighted to make them land correctly. The closeness and coldness between the characters is one of the highlights. 

There's a shot in the trailer of Bawaal where Ajju looks at Hitler's photo and Nisha's voice says in the background, "Hum sab bhi thode bohot Hilter jaise hi hai na, joh apne paas hai usse khush nahi hai." That's a cinematic beauty. The trailer of Bawaal is a slow burn; catches attention gradually and not instantly. 

Varun's versatility as an actor shines. There are different shades to Ajju which he displays effortlessly. Janhvi looks pretty and does some heavy lifting with Varun in emotional scenes. Their chemistry is yet to be fully seen and enjoyed. 

The trailer leaves many questions unanswered. At some point, there's no clarity on which way the film will go. Some shots are haphazardly placed. The purpose behind attaching the last shot wherein a Gujarati family in the flight annoy Ajju isn't clear and is unsatisfactory. Overall, Bawaal's trailer will keep the curiosity alive till the film releases on July 21 on Prime Video.