"Karan Johar described Anurag Kashyap as a mess, a glorious mess. He could have been talking about the film,” says film critic Anupama Chopra about the film, "Bombay Velvet".Anurag Kashyap’s latest release does not seem to have pleased film critics.“It’s one thing to be audacious, quite another to pull it off… Bombay Velvet is epic in its vision but tepid in its storytelling,” says a review by Suhani Singh of India Today.With the editing done by Martin Scorsese’s Thelma Schoonmaker who has editing films like "The Wolf of Wall Street" and "Gangs of New York", this is a film set in Bombay in 1960s. Starring Ranbir Kapoor as a boxer, Johnny Balraj and Anushka Sharma as an aspiring jazz singer, Rosie, this film is based on Gyan Prakash’s novel, Mumbai Fables.The Hindustan Times reported that Anurag Kashyap’s journey from shoestring budget films to a mega Bollywood thriller is not as in-depth as some of his earlier films, but he has spared no effort in making it a believable premise. Thanks to fantastic CGI, his sets look authentic and provide a credible backdrop to the characters. The set designing of Bombay Velvet is its real strength as it restricts the story from going all over the place in the first half.The newspaper also reported that self-deprecating humour turns out to be Karan Johar’s best asset. He hasn’t overdone himself but his popular image is definitely juxtaposed on his character, but overall he holds his fort. Not a bad entry into acting. That sly smile can be lethal.A review by Firstpost says that “Kashyap pulls of a Sanjay Leela Bansali”. Another criticism that has risen is that the film shows not the real Bombay, as the director claims to be. For any movie to fair well, it is important for the actors to have chemistry between them and also strike a chord with the audience. According to Gayathri Gauri’s review in the Firstpost, the film has ceased to achieve both.“The backdrop and jazz paraphernalia charm and seduce initially, but quickly becomes tiresome”. Balraj and Rosie’s love story is predictable and cliched, but despite all the show of passion — tempers flying, slapping, kissing, bathtub scenes et al — there’s little emotional connect between the audience and the couple”, said the review.The India Today review summarizes the film like this: “Bombay may be Kashyap’s muse here, but it also feels a bane. Kashyap tries to incorporate its myriad issues but fails to do it engagingly. At best, Bombay Velvet is a visually extravagant and stylish spectacle with Rajeev Ravi’s cinematography particularly striking. But it’s ultimately a superfluous affair”.