Review: 'Helmet' is Nothing More Than an Interesting Idea

Helmet’s story is bookended by data. The first scene has NGO workers talking about how India’s population keeps increasing, but not the sale of condoms. Before the end credits we have a snippet of PM Narendra Modi’s speech that talks of population explosion and how that will affect our nation’s growth. In the middle, there is an attempt to weave a story around why the use of condoms is such a taboo subject. 'Attempt' is the operative word here.

A film with a social message doesn’t necessarily need to be burdened by it. Take Aparshakti Khurrana ‘s brother Ayushmann’s film Vicky Donor, which gave us a hugely entertaining film around a taboo topic. Sadly, Helmet never manages to strike a balance, and is saddled by a theme that further dwindles its pleasures.

Aparshakti Khurrana, Abhishek Bannerjee and Ashish Verma are actors who have proved their mettle. However, Helmet’s script is schizophrenic and leaves them in a lurch. It’s neither witty, nor funny. The satire doesn’t land and the serious moments feel abrupt and a jarring segue crash. Three friends, Lucky (Aparshakti), Sultan (Abhishek) and Minus (Ashish), hail from the fictitious town of Rajnagar and want to quickly rustle up money. Lucky loves Rupali (Pranutan Behl), but Rupali’s dad (played by Ashish Vidyarthi) has his eyes on some other MBA-Harvard graduate.

So they plan to loot a truck full of mobile phones, but instead get hold of one with cartons stuffed with condoms. They are shocked. Lucky can’t believe his luck. He now has a bulk of condoms at his disposal, the very product he can't go and buy from the friendly neighbourhood chemist for fear of ridicule and judgement.

This gives rise to the genius plan, to sell the said item to eager customers wearing helmets, so no one recognises them. Condoms are needed by men who want to release their 'frustration'. Women seek pleasure without the risk of unwanted pregnancies. Sex workers demand it for their health and safety.

There is a market for sure, and the boys slyly pass packets of condoms. However, writers Gopal Mudhane, Rohan Shankar and director Sarram Ramani are never able to make the film anything more than an interesting idea. They make the same point repeatedly, till we are bored and frustrated. For the majority of its duration, we keep seeing the same modus operandi of passing bags full of condoms to willing customers. It almost feels like the makers were waiting for the next idea to be whispered to them.

There is a half-hearted attempt at humour, but most of the jokes fall flat. Suddenly, with the climax approaching, a survey is conducted by the same NGO workers we met at the beginning. It shows that cases of STD and abortion have gone down ever since condoms are in free supply. The approval ratings for the boys and their idea go up. More importantly, a smiling ladki ka baap, Ashish Vidyarthi, comes to receive them as they are released from the police lockup.

The final act of triumph is Lucky addressing a huge crowd of supporters by making them chant 'condom' aloud, thus announcing quite literally that the word is no longer to be spoken of in hushed tones. We give out a long painful sigh in the end. Aparshakti and Abhishek make an earnest effort, but Helmet remains stubbornly banal thanks to the unimaginative writing.

Helmet is streaming on Zee5.

Our rating: 1.5 Quints out of 5!