← Home · Hindi · 2019
Bala review
Keep your shortlist together and see where it’s streaming
Keep your shortlist together and see where it’s streaming
Filmi Score
Very good
6 reviews
74
What the critics say
Audience Score · not yet · appears once three readers have written a review
Critics praise Bala's sharp small-town writing and Ayushmann Khurrana's performance, with some calling it near flawless, but several flag Bhumi Pednekar's dark-skin makeup as jarring and the second half as preachy.
Your rating
Rate it
Drag or tap the slider. Not rated yet.
Say why · optional, public under your name
StoryPerformancesMusicWatched
Posting as
Public, beside your review. Needed once you write words; a verdict or aspect numbers alone needs none.
Filmi reads what you write under the same rubric it uses for critics.
12+
Language
Positive messages
Role models
Your age call
Set the age you’d allow
Drag the slider. Not set yet.
Tell other parents why · optional, 280 characters
0 / 280
ViolenceIntense scenesLanguageSex & nudityDrinking, smoking, drugsPositive messagesRole models
Posting as
Public, beside your note. Needed once you write words; an age pick alone needs none.
Your age call counts now; the levels show once three parents have rated.
Saved. One more thing, if you like — your kids’ ages.
Set once, and your vote shows other parents which ages it came from. Kept on your account; only the ages travel with your vote.
One email on Fridays: the five films worth your time, read from every review. See the latest issue
Summary
Bala (2019, Hindi) has a Filmi Score of 74 from 6 critic reviews, is rated 12+ by Filmi (CBFC: U/A), and streams on Hulu in the US.
A man suffering from alopecia copes with his lack of self-confidence and the societal pressure that comes with being bald.
Where to watchAvailability by JustWatch · some watch links pay filmi.ai a small commission; it never changes what we show or how we score.
HULUWatch nowNot streaming yetNot streaming yetJIOHOTSTARWatch nowNot streaming yetNot streaming yet
Box office collection
No sourced figure yet.
Cast & crew
Cast
Directed by Amar Kaushik · written by Niren Bhatt · music Sachin Sanghvi & Jigar Saraiya
Amar KaushikDirector
Niren BhattWriter
Sachin SanghviMusic
Jigar SaraiyaMusic
Anuj DhawanCinematography
Hemanti SarkarEditing
Ayushmann KhurranaLead
Bhumi Pednekar
Yami Gautam Dhar
Saurabh Shukla
Javed Jaffrey
Seema Pahwa
Abhishek Banerjee
Dheerendra Kumar
Sachin Kavetham
Sunita Rajwar
Sonam Bajwa
Harrdy Sandhu
Full crew
SoundRavi Dev Singh · Shajith Koyeri · Justin E Thomas
Production designAmrish Patange · Dayanidhi Patturajan
CostumeSheetal Sharma
LyricsMellow D · Badshah · Jaani · Vayu · Jigar Saraiya
More like this
Also by Amar Kaushik
Hindi · Aug 2024 · U/A
74
Hindi · ·
62
Hindi · Nov 2022 · U/A
63
Hindi · Aug 2018 · U/A
70
Other well-rated Hindi films from 2019
Hindi · Jun 2019 · U/A
84
Hindi · Mar 2019 · U/A
81
Hindi · Dec 2019 · U/A
76
Summary
A man suffering from alopecia copes with his lack of self-confidence and the societal pressure that comes with being bald.
Bala (2019, Hindi) has a Filmi Score of 74 from 6 critic reviews, is rated 12+ by Filmi (CBFC: U/A), and streams on Hulu in the US.
Where to watch
Availability by JustWatch · some watch links pay filmi.ai a small commission; it never changes what we show or how we score.Not streaming yet
Not streaming yet
Not streaming yet
Not streaming yet
What the critics said
6 reviews · the critic’s own number where they gave one
Five of 6 · the critic’s own number where they gave one
Umesh Punwani · 10 Nov 2019
Bala Movie Review: Ayushmann Khurrana Gifts Us Our ‘Best Hair Day’ Read it there →
Published · 4/5
Filmi’s reading 90
80
Anmol Jamwal · YouTube · transcript read · 8 Nov 2019
The critic praises Bala's authentic small-town dialogue, writing, and the full ensemble cast (especially Ayushmann Khurrana and a career-best Yami… Watch it there →
Derived by Filmi
82
Jyoti Kanyal · 8 Nov 2019
Bala Movie Review: King Midas Ayushmann Khurrana delivers another blockbuster Read it there →
Published · 4/5
Filmi’s reading 82
80
Monika Rawal Kukreja · 8 Nov 2019
Hindustan Times finds Bala outrageously funny and empathetic, anchored by Ayushmann Khurrana, while flagging a preachy, slower second half and… Read it there →
Derived by Filmi
80
Ronak Kotecha · 7 Nov 2019
Bala Movie Review {4/5}: Bald is beautiful, indeed Read it there →
Published · 4.0/5
Filmi’s reading 80
80
Kennith Rosario · 8 Nov 2019
The Hindu's reviewer finds Bala's small-town details sharp and funny but says the film falls into predictable arcs, shallow gender politics and a… Read it there →
Derived by Filmi
32
How this number was made. We read every review and derive a 0–100 reading from each — including where the critic printed a number, which stays first on its row, because it’s theirs. The Filmi Score is the mean of 6 readings; 3 of those rows also carry the critic’s own rating, shown beside ours. Rubric v2.1, computed 26 Oct 2026. Any critic can ask us to remove a derived reading.
PublishedStated in videoDerived by FilmiNo score
One email on Fridays: the five films worth your time, read from every review. See the latest issue
Bala: quick answers
Box office, where to watch and what critics said — from the same data as the page.
Where can I watch Bala?
Bala is streaming on OTT: JioHotstar (India) and Hulu (the US). Availability comes from JustWatch and is checked every Friday.
What did critics say about Bala?
Bala has a Filmi Score of 74 (Very good), the mean of 6 readings of critic reviews, one per review. Readings run from 32 (The Hindu) to 90 (Koimoi). Every review and how it was scored is listed below.
What readers say
The Audience Score appears once three readers’ reviews have been read under the rubric — built from what people write, never from the rating numbers.
Loading…
New to Hindi cinema? Start here: the Hindi starter pack →