Hero

Rating : 5/10
Release Date : 11th September, 2015
Time : 131 minutes
Director, Co-Writer : Nikhil Advani; Co-Writer: Umesh Bist based on the original ’83 movie by Subhash Ghai; Music : Various
Starring : Sooraj Pancholi, Athiya Shetty, Aditya Pancholi, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Sharad Kelkar, Kishor Kadam, Chetan Hansraj, Vivan Bhatena



Disclaimer : I haven’t seen the original 1983 film by Subhash Ghai (Wiki link here), so that lets me out of any pesky comparisons

A goonda (with a heart of gold, obviously) falls in love with a top cop's daughter (spoilt SoBo types) while he has kidnapped her at his godfather’s behest…

What Nikhil Advani and Umesh Bist (Director-writer and writer resp.) then do is figure out the most convoluted, tortuous way to try and get the lovers (and their folks) to unite… they add unnecessary characters, twist plot lines, prolong the movie and also defy logic, gravity, space-time continuum etc in their holy quest.

Sample some of the senseless stuff
- The godfather, Aditya Pancholi, is never seen without his lawyer. Even in jail, in his cell. Didn’t know you could invite a roomie…
- Kidnapping an IG’s daughter should be no mean feat. However, here it happens peacefully. Twice. No casing the joint, observing her movements, or watching her security detail necessary. Not even so much as looking at your potential victims photo beforehand as Sooraj is surprised when he sees her (having had a run in with her at a club sometime ago)
- If you kidnapped her from Mumbai, in a car, dressed as cops, where would you go ? Jammu, obviously. Isnt it next door ? Arre – it’s so picturesque to show the young couple romancing in the snow !!
- Tigmanshu Dhulia, the IG, has to be the worst cop possible. Not only does he let his daughter get kidnapped, twice, he also lets Aditya Pancholi escape from custody. And then does nothing whatsoever to track him down. Obviously more worried about what people will say about his daughter cavorting around with aaj ka Gen Y goonda… On receiving a match for beloved daughter, he also falls head over heels for the same (Call me Dad) without doing any sort of reference check whatsoever
- I loved the gym Sooraj sets up – really fancy. Would love even more to meet whoever lent him the money to make it…also whichever institute did Athiya’s show (and allowed a novice to join in) ?
- Why was Vivan Bhatena needed in the film ? For that matter, why was Paris ?

Am not even touching on 20 other points that come to mind (how did she know when he was being released, didn’t the bike wash away in Jammu , how come the bomb blast laid twenty cops low twenty feet away but Aditya Pancholi is unharmed five feet away ?) just focused on the big ones above...

Also, the acting skills of Tigmanshu and Aditya were quite gloriously wasted. I really wish instead of wasting time on songs (too many, too ordinary) and devising new ways to stretch the plot, the makers had spent a bit more time building on the characters of the lead pair, showing us what they were about, why they fall in love etc. The two star kids actually look good, have good screen presence for their debut film and will get better with time. Unfortunately we don't really get to know them at all we are only dealt cliches. Just wish they’d got a better platform, script-wise, to showcase their talents