Hero

I am a BIG Salman fan but that does not put me away from writing an honest feedback about any film where he is involved in any capacity like in the case of this week’s release – Hero produced by him.

If Bajrangi Bhaijaan gave Salman Khan Films accolades and box office success then I am sorry their new venture is a disappointing fare. With huge expectations I entered the movie theater to see the much hyped remake of Subhash Ghai’s 1983 classic that kick-started the careers of Jackie Shroff and Meenakshi Sheshadri. However, where the yesteryear movie scored high i.e. the script department and direction, the remake loses heavily.

The Nikhil Advani directorial starts with the heroic entry of Sooraj (Sooraj Pancholi) who is a gunda with a golden heart who cannot see any injustice. He beats the henchmen of Changezi (Chetan Hansraj) and then immediately later goes clubbing where he meets Radha (Athiya Shetty) and sparks fly between them after he shows her some of his dance moves.

On the other hand Sooraj’s ‘Baba’ Pasha (Aditya Pancholi) gets imprisoned for killing a journalist by Radha’s Baba (Tigmanshu Dhulia) who is the Inspector General of Police, causing friction between the two senior citizens. IG is adamant of nailing Pasha with hardcore evidences and send him to jail for a longer time. Result? Baba tells his black sheep oops sorry ‘Sooraj’ 😉 to kidnap Radha and keep her hidden safely somewhere away from her family. Immediately Sooraj gets into action by disguising himself as a police-escort and kidnaps Radha.

In the snow-clad mountainous environs, ‘cupid’ plays its own games and strikes his arrow at the youngsters making them fall deliriously in love. In-spite of knowing Sooraj’s reality Radha stands by him. Would Radha’s love reform Sooraj and make him show his back to the world of crime, and his Baba? Would IG be able to nail Pasha forever? What happens to the young ‘Prem Deewane‘ are few questions answered during the course of the movie.

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Performances of both the debutantes are average, although Sooraj shows some promise in the action scenes. Tigmanshu Dhulia is a total misfit (I feel directors should just mind their job which is to direct rather than exploring other avenues – more on this topic, I will save it for another day and another article). Aditya Pancholi still needs some crash course in acting.

Music is a sore point here. If the original had some wonderful songs then the remake has nothing to harp about. I honestly feel that they should have taken the original songs and remixed it (something what they did with the story). The cinematography by Tushar Kanti Ray is good while the action sequences choreographed by Ravi Varma and Dave Judge is wonderful.

Nikhil Advani seems to be quite uncomfortable directing a movie which is not conceptualized by him and it is quite evident. Hero is a huge let down making Nikhil’s previous disasters Salaam-E-Ishq and Patiala House seem classics in front of this remake.

Overall the movie is a below average fare and might not even appeal to hardcore masala movie viewers.

My Verdict: **