To begin with, if a person is eager enough to either appreciate or criticize HERO just because its produced & presented by Salman Khan then that would be a faulty way of watching or rating the film unarguably. So let us keep ‘The Salman factor’ associated with the project aside and consider this as an important debut venture of a young ‘industry’ couple willing to win over the audience through their honest efforts.
But moving ahead, the second hurdle HERO is bound to face inevitably is the comparison with its original musical gem HERO (released in 1983), that is still fresh in the minds as well as in the precious collection of Hindi film music lovers all over the world. The present version of HERO largely follows Ghai’s classic in the first half and therefore cannot avoid the comparisons drawn by the viewers, being an official remake coming after 32 long years.
However, respecting the makers as well as the debutants relying a lot on the film, I would like to keep the comparison for the later part of the review and begin with the film as a fresh release presented with a major publicity campaign.
So as a love story with the catchy title HERO, introducing two youngsters from the families belonging to the industry itself, what can be the first thing expected from the film by the excited viewers?
The very first thing has to be some kind of novelty in the project in terms of storyline, execution, sequences, action, conflicts, the loving chemistry and the soundtrack making it a worth watching experience for all. But sadly Nikhil Advani’s HERO has got nothing to offer in these crucial departments and the film simply remains a lazily or rather unintelligently made project relying too heavily on the person promoting it from the front having a gigantic fan following. In fact watching the film progressing so boringly on a badly written script with nothing engrossing at all happening in those two hours, one is forced to assume that maybe it’s the case of too many cooks spoiling the dish as the saying goes. Probably too much interference coming from all corners (Shettys, Pancholis & Khans) turned the film into an unentertaining mess that was supposed to be a remake of a highly enjoyable and hit movie of the 80s.
Commencing on a very poor note following the typical Bollywood format and a below average party song, HERO fails to make any kind of impact within its first 20 minutes itself and then everything happening so quickly defying all the logics simply puts the viewer off before the intermission only. Post interval it even stops following the original and goes on with its own clichéd and mediocre plot with no sense of time-gaps or logical justifications as such.
To say the least, there is no depth found in either the two persons loving or the others opposing their love right till the climax. As a result, you never feel like watching an intense love story with a lot of conflict involved. The film begins and keeps delivering the same seen before sequences one after another without caring about the people sitting in the theater having spent their hard earned money and time. In other words, HERO of 2015 can easily be presented as a perfect example of most irresponsible film made in the present times playing with two young careers.
Also its a film having the most inappropriate people chosen as the cast, who fail to establish any kind of connect with the given roles be it a father, an uncle, a bhabhi, a mother or the villains. So where Tigmanshu Dhulia falters big time in playing the father (despite being a gifted performer), the rest of the actors simply play their roles as another usual assignment signed to earn some quick bucks. And as it is said, nothing can hamper a film more badly than a wrong casting.
A fine cinematography and action accompanied by some mediocre writing, sloppy editing and dull dialogues keep affecting the film at various points. Like its really amusing to notice an inspector suddenly giving the instructions from a helicopter, who was just doing the same at the ground in exactly the previous shot. Moreover a scene showing the girl praying to BUDDHA considering him as a GOD, clearly reveals how much less the writers as well as the youngsters know about the enlightened soul and his views about the existence of God.
A big letdown in the music department too, the only likable track remains the Salman Khan number that has been arranged well with a catchy hook line working fine. But God knows when the music directors would understand that by only calling in Rahat Fateh Ali Khan to render a track doesn’t ensure you a hit song always.
Coming to the two debutantes, Sooraj certainly has got a decent screen presence with a solid physique to display, particularly in the actions sequences and Athiya Shetty looks pretty in some specific scenes only to put it honestly. However as far as the performances are concerned, they both got to thank their ‘surnames’ much more than the inherited talent, that needs to be accepted as a harsh truth at this particular point of time (as nobody knows what fate or luck has in store for them in the coming years).
Now lets get to the comparison part of the review studying the film as an official remake of Subhash Ghai’s HERO released in 1983 establishing Jackie Shroff as Jackie Dada and Meenakshi Sheshadri as Radha among the young viewers.
In few words, Nikhil Advani’s film quite brutally and shamelessly murders Ghai’s HERO, particularly while adapting its fabulously written characterizations. Accepting the fact that there wasn’t any path-breaking storyline in the original, the 1983 film actually worked due to its immensely lovable characters reaching out to the audience, its entertaining execution, an outstanding soundtrack and an engaging script that even incorporated the ‘in-thing’ of those times i.e. the motorcycle mania used brilliantly (along with the brand promotion way back in 1983).
So if you are amongst those lucky friends who have personally witnessed the enigma around the original HERO of the early 80s, then in this latest 2015 version of the hit,
You are not going to find any raw, unpolished talent as Jackie Shroff (Jackie Dada).
No intelligent, homely girl as Meenakshi Sheshadri (Radha).
No big, scary fighter as the ugly Billa.
No evil, bald man as Amrish Puri (Pasha).
No strong and firm father as Shammi Kapoor.
No entertaining, helpful uncle as Sanjeev Kumar with his easily caught disguises and the dialogue “Pallu Upar Karo”.
No irritating widow as Bindu who loves to read erotica hiding from all,
No lovable Madan Puri supporting the changed Jackie giving him a decent job.
No exciting competition race between Yamaha Rajdoot and Honda with the dialogue, “Honda Hove Ya Fonda, Jitega Mera Munda”
No drug addict Shakti Kapoor making the cunning faces and attempting a rape
and no exciting climax with those soul stirring notes repeatedly playing in the background.
Besides if you wish to know more about how the times have changed in these 32 long years from Subhash Ghai’s HERO of 1983 to Nikhil Advani/Salman Khan’s HERO of 2015 then….:
A. Now we have actually lost all those directors who could pick up a raw talent as Jackie Shroff from nowhere and turn him into a rage with a single film all over. (The reason being, as now we have many youngsters in the filmy families itself, waiting to be introduced together as per their individual turns.)
B. Now we don’t believe in our hero playing a ‘Sadak Chhaap Gunda’ smoking and drinking openly, speaking rough language like Jackie Dada, as that may sound cheap and down-market to the high spending audience of our multiplexes. (So for them we have to present him as a sophisticated, body building gangster who doesn’t seem to be even close to the teasing reality.)
C. In the present scenario we don’t like our hero to play a simple flute, probably because flute is not up to the standard of multiplexes! (May be a flute seems to be less youthful and trendy............in comparison to a Guitar or Piano eyeing the target audience.)
D. Now we don’t like to portray our heroine as an intelligent, well read girl who asks proof from the kidnapper for being a policeman. And who happens to be a homely girl too, able to cook food and wash clothes for the entire team of boys staying together. (May be that kind of portrayal will spoil all the designer dresses given to the leading lady.)
E. Now we have stopped shooting dramatic sequences within a temple in front of the respected deity with “Hare Krishna” chanting and rhythmic beating of drums going on in the backdrop. (May be because the makers have assumed that people don’t like to see such emotional & religious based sequences in their entertaining films……as if that is not a part of our actual life anymore.)
F. At present we don’t have characters like an over-talkative widow lady in the family, who shows a change of heart in the end. (Probably because the writers-directors have stopped including such realistic characters in their superficial films to be mostly shown in the multiplexes.)
G. Now we don’t believe in focusing on family values, traditions and self-respect in conflicting scenes between the young boy, the girl and their concerning yet bigheaded father. (May be because that is supposed to drag the film as per the newly found formula of the new age millennium.)
H. Now our hero cannot work as a mechanic in a factory so he has to be given a whole gym to run in order to make an honest living.
I. Now we don’t have time to work on film soundtracks, indulging in long overnight sittings with music directors, lyricists and rhythm musicians together. As now random songs can easily be received through Whats App and E-mails on our mobile phones (to choose from), made by various composers without even knowing about the actual requirement of the film or its basic theme.
As a result we do not get to hear a flute/shehnai-piece or a voice like that of Reshma with some heart wrenching lyrics capable of giving us goose bumps with just a few starting notes of a melodious song. As a matter of fact we don’t even get to hear our own Indian instruments in the songs, all overstuffed and full of electronic sounds that can be easily controlled by learning a mechanical technique and not any human art.
J. And lastly we don’t waste footage anymore in establishing relationships on screen as earlier. Now our girl should fall in love quickly in just her second or third scene and then everything should happen fast forgetting anything about the much needed depth regarding love or relationships portrayed as per the film’s subject.
In short this is how our cinema has changed in the last few decades resulting in an utter confusion, wherein the hugely famous flute piece from the original HERO (1983) finds place in a film called HEROPANTI (2014- introducing Jackie Dada’s son), but goes entirely missing in the official remake with the same title co-produced by Subhash Ghai himself in 2015.
Now, whether this can be considered as a positive, constructive progress or not, that’s a question to be thought upon by the makers and the viewers together at the earliest.
Rating : 1 / 5
