Movie Review: ‘Hero’ a Forgettable Launchpad for its Newcomers

Movie is quite simply a biodata of the newcomers and we are supposed to only sit back and applaud for 130 minutes.

The original Hero directed by Subhash Ghai with Jackie Shroff and Meenakshi Sheshadri became quite a rage. The remake on the other hand, directed by Nikhil Advani has the potential to cause rage and anger and in some unsuspecting individuals, can even induce sleep.

Salman Khan and Subhash Ghai have put their money on this remake which serves as a launch pad for star kids Sooraj Pancholi and Athiya Shetty. The former has been jumping around town promoting the newcomers. So much so he even stood behind a microphone and gave sober expressions lending his voice to “Main hoon hero tera”.

So that brings me to the hero of the film. Lest we mistake him for anything else…this tune is on a loop throughout. Sooraj Pancholi is our hero! He has gone through the entire struggle, hard work, training, tough grind that any star kid goes through to prepare for his debut film. He my friend has gone to the gym! *claps*

The bulging biceps, the puffed up triceps, those clearly demarcated many - pack abs are all the proof we need. So has the lean, tall young lady Athiya. She has even done a 3 month diploma course to ace the perfect duck face. Phew! Poor hardworking debutants.

Now please forget anything that they might have told you about the movie. That it’s a romantic film which has generous portions of pyaar and passion and parivaar. Reject all claims about it having a plot and screenplay. This is not a film. It is quite simply a biodata of the newcomers and we are supposed to only sit back and applaud. Just for 130 minutes.

There are full slo-mo shots of the actors lighting up the screen, making seductive eye contact with the camera lens, wind in their hair, twinkle in their eyes and all the other stuff. We are forced to letch at Sooraj Pancholi’s chiselled body, are informed about how well Sooraj can fight all kinds of flimsy looking goons, how nicely he smiles displaying just a hint of a dimple - sometimes even when he is not supposed to, what lovely mop of hair he has even during jail time, how well her can “protect” his lady love who doesn’t even know she is being kidnapped, how good his dialogue delivery is as he mouths clichéd , cringeworthy lines off an Archie’s greeting card “ tumhare saath its Happy Everyday”.

Athiya who plays Radha is on the dance floor when love at first sight happens. How well she can move her slender long arms and call it dance, how well she can cry which she does at the drop of a hat, how good she looks practically playing Sonam Kapoor on screen, how pure and pious is she when she talks like a 6 year old kid and prays to Buddha ji .

So engrossed is Hero in trying to project Sooraj and Athiya as the bright new stars that it doesn’t even care to give us some answers we desperately seek. Where did Sooraj take Radha to after kidnapping her? Snow covered and pretty as it is it remains an undisclosed location. They fall into a river and reach Ladakh. How? Sooraj wants to share his loot with poor needy people. That makes him the good guy so why does he support Pasha, played on screen by his own papa Aditya Pancholi? Where does Pasha disappear bang in the middle of the film?

Why is he thrust upon us later? There are just too many of such mysteries for comfort.

Those who have daddy dear in the industry become the lead pair. Those who don’t are the supporting cast. Anita Hassanandani is the bhabhi, popular TV actor Sharad Kelkar is the bhaiyya. Vivan Bhatena, last seen in Chak de as the dumped boyfriend is seen here well post the interval as a weak plot twist. The only one I feel really bad about is Tigmanshu Dhulia. He plays Radha’s on screen papa. It’s a mistake and he knows it but still labours on.

Hero has a terribly weak script and ridiculously written dialogues. Except for the cinematography and the unwittingly funny end there is precious little we can cheer for. We want the lovers to unite and we want them to make it fast because it is after all an excruciating watch. No wonder inspite of having worked so hard in the gym Sooraj and Athiya fail to charm us. So I’m going to try my best and not be mean to the newcomers. Let’s judge them on their next outing. Till then let us make a pact and forget about Hero. That would be the smart thing to do.

My verdict – 1.5 Quint out of 5.