Bawaal 2023

Ajay Dixit (Varun Dhawan) is a History teacher but is embarrassed that he hasn't achieved more in life, and that is why he has lied to everyone he knows that he fell behind due to circumstances. He could have been a cricketer if not for his tennis elbow; he could have been an IAS officer but wanted to teach kids to be IAS instead; or he fell sick right before an important exam, which is why he is now teaching history instead of already being a part of it. These are some of the lies he has told around the whole town to "maintain an image." Ajay loves his image in town and wants to protect it at all costs. The Principal (Shashie Vermaa) of the school gets several complaints from fellow teachers who believe Ajay is a fake, but due to lack of any evidence, the Principal does not take any action. Ajay also lives with his parents and buys expensive items to maintain his aura in town. His dad refuses to fund his lavish lifestyle.Ajay married Nisha (Janhvi Kapoor) some nine months ago, but he has never liked her. Nisha told him before they got married that she had epilepsy, but since she hadn't had a fit in over ten years, Ajay decided it wasn't a problem for him. Ajay married Nisha because he thought she would help him enhance his image. While Nisha selected Ajay as she saw him as friendly and compassionate, not knowing that it was only his image. However, on the day of their marriage, she had a fit, and since then, Ajay has been disappointed in her because he is embarrassed about other people finding out. He doesn't let her work a job or even take her anywhere because he is scared of what people will think of him if she has a fit again. Nisha has not left him because she has some hope.One morning in school, when he is in a particularly bad mood, he slaps one of his students Atul (Nikhil Chawla) for asking him a question related to the subject. Atul wanted to know why prisoners were stripped of their clothes before being taken to gas chambers in concentration camps. When Ajay couldn't answer, Atul mocked him for not knowing, hence prompting the slap.That gets him into trouble because the boy is the MLA's Vishwas Raghuvanshi (Mukesh Tiwari) son, and he gets involved. Ajay is suspended for a few days, and he could potentially lose his job, which he cannot afford because he wants to keep up his image. Therefore, he comes up with a plan to go on a tour of Europe and visit all the places relevant to World War II so that he can teach the kids about them through a live-stream, covering up the fact of his incompetence in the classroom. He plans on taking Nisha with him so that his father Mr Dixit (Manoj Pahwa) will agree to finance the trip, but he tells her that it is only for show, and he is not actually interested in their relationship. When Nisha thanks Ajay, he retorts that he only included her so that his father would fund the trip. He actually wants Nisha to go to her home from the airport and meet him only once he returns.A fed-up Nisha decides not to put up with his nonsense anymore and to go to Europe regardless. He could go his way, and she would do what she wanted. Unfortunately, though, things immediately go wrong for Ajay, and his bag is exchanged with another man Kalpesh (Vyas Hemang), leaving Ajay with terrible clothes for the duration of his trip. He is also not able to figure out his day and how to go about the city, while Nisha goes on to have an excellent time. When they get back to the hotel, Ajay sees this and understands that he needs her help to navigate Europe, and Nisha agrees, saying that she isn't going to abandon him the way he did to her.Since Ajay is shameless and Nisha is a pushover, this couple sets out to explore the city, and it is Nisha who tells Ajay the facets of history that he then starts relaying to his students. Nisha narrates stories like how the people of Paris left their city when Hitler arrived, so that he would not ruin their beautiful city. But they cut the cables of the Eiffel tower, so he could not view the city from above. They hire an audio guide for 5 euros and relive the harrowing first hour of Omaha beach at Normandy on June 6th, 1944. 10,000 soldiers died. They visit the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam.Nisha really comes through for Ajay by getting his mobile phone back from a thief, settling a fight, and even showing her resourcefulness by cooking food with the hot water from the bathroom. Ajay starts seeing Nisha as a person instead of someone he used to tolerate in his house. They start coming closer every day, and Ajay even starts getting possessive over her. Back in Lucknow, his videos on history are a hit and are gaining good attention, despite the MLA insisting that a committee be set up to decide on his suspension.When a video of Ajay dancing with Nisha is uploaded by her on her social media page, it goes viral, and Ajay is furious since he believes that it could hurt his chances with his job. In his anger, he says some really mean things to her, and Nisha finally decides to leave him behind and sign the divorce papers back home.Ajay visits a Berlin Museum, where he sees the last things that the people grabbed before they were scurried away to concentration camps. When he imagines himself in their situation, he realizes that Nisha means something to him, and he asks her to stay back for the rest of the trip instead of leaving midway. Nisha agrees. This is just another undeserved chance for Ajay. When they are in Auschwitz, they meet a concentration camp survivor who tells them how he should have paid more attention to his wife. Ajay relates this to his own situation, and this is what it took for him to learn to see Nisha as a person instead of a "misfire," as he called her and their marriage. This time, when she has a fit, he is there for her and really takes care of her.Ajay returns to India and tells the committee that he was never a good teacher and will accept whatever verdict they have reached. To his surprise, the committee decided in his favor because when they conducted a test for the students, they all aced it, thanks to Ajay's history lessons from Europe. Now that Ajay is a changed man, he has the respect of the MLA and the approval of all of his students, meaning that he is going to live his life as a changed person with the help of his wife.

Janhvi Kapoor

Nisha

Varun Dhawan

Ajay Dixit