Director Guddu Dhanoa has proved in the past that sizzling, action-packed thrillers is his forte.

He has churned out some major films like ‘Elaan’, ‘Gundaraaj’, ‘Ziddi’, ‘Aflatoon’ and ‘Salaakhein’.

His latest, ‘Bichhoo’ is produced by Guddu himself.

‘Bichhoo’ is the story of a professional killer Jeeva (Bobby Deol), who blows out people’s brains with cold-blooded callousness. No, he is not a sadist who derives hidden pleasure by inflicting suffering on other people, nor is he a necrophiliac. The reason for his callous disregard for human life lies in his past.

Once, he too was a part of a happy and loving family comprising mother, two sisters and a beloved. But when baddies killed his mother and sisters – and even his beloved was not spared –a killer was made out of him.

It doesn’t take Jeeva very long to even the score with his tormentors and make them pay back in spades for all that they had done to his family. But Jeeva’s past still haunts him. He is unable to get his life back in the same old stride. Stonehearted and full of bitterness, he befriends a Bichhoo and turns into a professional hit man.

Settled in a different town and working as a hit man on the sly, Jeeva comes across Kiran (Rani Mukherjee) – a slatternly girl who has an indefatigable capacity for doling out well-garnished expletives. Her father is an illegal drug dealer who works for a ruthless narcotic officer and the drug lord Devraj (Ashish Vidhyarthi); her stepmother is a vixen. The only one in the family who cares for Kiran is her elder brother.

One day in a bloody fight Devraj killed Kiran’s entire family. She sees the fight through a keyhole. Now, being the sole witness to the crime, she decides to approach the police and bring Devraj under the law’s baton. But doing so, she only opened the Pandora’s box as Devraj is now after her life.

Thus begins the race for Kiran’s life who is incapable of fighting the baddies alone. This is where Jeeva comes to her rescue. Kiran’s plight being similar to his own, he is not only able to empathize with her sufferings, but also develops a soft corner for her. As expected, love sprouts amidst bloodshed and violence. Then how Jeeva goes about shielding Kiran from the bad guys and nonchalantly piling up dead bodies for her sake is what Bichhoo is all about.

Bobby Deol has done similar kind of trigger-happy roles in his earlier films like ‘Soldier’ and ‘Badal.’ In ‘Bichhoo’, however, he is more silent, rapid and retains his stolid composure even when the gore is spilling from the splattered guts around him. On the other hand, Rani (minus flab), infuses some liveliness in the film with her never-ending blabber.

Anand Raj Anand’s music and Sameer’s lyrics are definitely strong points in the movie despite the fact that they fail to fit in the storyline. In fact, it is hilarious to see Bobby Deol, who is broody throughout the movie, do those pelvic-friendly song sequences with Rani Mukherjee, and thus display his less-inhibited self.

Tinu Verma’s action, Dilip Shukla’s screenplay and Sripad Natu’s cinematography form the backbone of the film.

What makes ‘Bichhoo’ different from Guddu ’s earlier films is the darker shade that he has given to it. The move ends with a sad note...