The notion that Vidya Balan is the hero of her films has been around for years. It's a great sentiment one that lends a sense of justice to cinema. But that trend alone can't be enough to make a film worthy of the price of its admission ticket. There needs to be a balance between the star and the content. Bobby Jasoos lacks wit and the right kind of punch. But where the film and its narrative dodder, Vidya picks up the charge and delivers a hit.

Samar Shaikh's nave detective is not savvy but despite the lack of sophistication, our lady Karamchand has a certain charm that keeps us intrigued. The same can be said about the film 'Bobby Jasoos', while it might not break new ground as a Bollywood detective film, it manages to keep us entertained.

The busy Moghalpura area in Hyderabad comes alive, thanks to the lovely, determined budding detective, Bilkis aka Bobby Jasoos (Vidya Balan) staying there, along with a bunch of delightful people which includes her endearing mother (Supriya Pathak), her sincere but confused friend, Tasavvur (Ali Fazal), her partners in crime, Shetty (Prasad Barve) and Munna (Akash Dahiya), the local goon Lala (Arjan Bajwa) and some more.

<strong>'Bobby Jasoos' has a weak script, but Vidya Balan saves the day!</strong><br/> Bobby (Vidya) is a curious cat by nature. Living in the colorful bylanes of Hyderabad overlooking the Char Minar, she's the nosey sorts who loves to sneak up on innocent bystanders and find out what they are up to. Her ambition is to be a full time detective and open her own agency. Unfortunately her abba and extended family don't share the same sentiment.

The hype around Samar Shaikh's directorial debut, Bobby Jasoos, which hits theatres on Friday, was no less than the expectations from Vidya Balan, especially post her stellar performance in Sujoy Ghosh's Kahaani. To be fair, it starts on a high note and the ingenuity of the opening scene is surprising. It shows a couple (Arjan Bajwa and Anupriya Goenka) passionately making out in an alley, only to be interrupted by a strange looking maulvi staring weirdly at the duo.

Bobby Jasoos makes a half decent attempt to attain the wholesome pace and the gritty thrill of Sujoy Ghosh's Kahaani. And going by this film's first half alone, it is semi successful. But that's all. Minus Vidya, the film is quite a staple Bollywood affair which I had hoped was earnest about breaking the stereotypical shackles.

There's a spurt of women-centric films. Films like NO ONE KILLED JESSICA, THE DIRTY PICTURE, KAHAANI [all three featuring Vidya Balan], FASHION, HEROINE [both helmed by Madhur Bhandarkar], ENGLISH VINGLISH and more recently, QUEEN and REVOLVER RANI [both featuring Kangna Ranaut] have encouraged a number of film-makers and writers to think beyond the clichd, formulaic male-dominated movies. The BO triumph of a majority of those films has certainly given an impetus to the trend.

<strong>It works till the time Vidya Balan gets to lead from the front: the courtship with her reluctant suitor is one of the high points of the film.</strong> Bilquis aka Bobby is a first in Bollywood. She stomps about in frumpy salwaar-kameez- dupatta, shod in worn-out keds. She dreams of becoming a `jasoos', to which end she will fight an ultra-conservative father, and a fumbling lover, and come out on top.

Vidya Balan does more than just don multiple guises in Bobby Jasoos. She hits many high points as she effortlessly breezes through her role, bearing much of the weight of the film with aplomb in the bargain.

Post Kahaani, expectations from a Vidya Balan film have always been high. No doubt it's tough to match those expectations but the sad part is that no film has even reached the half-way mark since then.