Hero: Boring Drivel

Ameet Bhuvan

Sometimes it is in every one’s best interests to avoid digging up old closets and bring ghosts back to life. Subhash Ghai’s Hero, from the 80’s, is one such thing that deserved to sit in the dusty annals of history untouched and unremembered. Yet, Salman Khan and Ghai found it suitable to unleash this old drivel on to us. With two new comers to boot.

Sooraj (Pancholy) is a local thug who believes in not wearing a shirt if he can (and that he can is pretty evident all through the movie) who is loyal to a local don Pasha (Aditya Pancholy). Pasha asks him to kidnap arch rival Mathur, an IG’s daughter Radha (Athiya) which he dutifully does. Sooraj and Radha fall in love with each other (but ofcourse) and Pasha is happy, cause that is his weapon to get even with Mathur. Mathur doesn’t like this one bit, then yawn , yawn and some more yawn after, love wins and all is well.

A done to death plot line from the 80’s notwithstanding, Hero suffers immensely from the absolute lack if imagination and will on the direct Nikhil Advani’s part to even attempt at telling a story. Dialoges like “aaj main tumhe surprise nahi shock karne aaya hu” make you cringe, random action sequences where hero beats up baddies through brick walls , outdated as they are, are shot with such disinterest that you do not even care who got hurt and who won. Most importantly, for a launch vehicle, the makers do not even give the newcomers a chance to shine or show some promise.

Sooraj is a dull drab screen presence who is nothing beyond the sum of his muscles. Athiya, with her sportsman physique and sharp features is miscast as a bimbo with the brain of a four year old. One look at her and you would imagine a smart intelligent girl of today in there somewhere, forced to behave like a damsel in distress from yore. Both never get a chance to either emote or show some promise for the future. The insipid songs, boring action sequences take over so much of the films running time that one is exhausted to even bother noticing them.

The only saving grace is the end credits where Salman comes in singing Main Tera Hero, and all the behind the scenes footage that accompanies the song. That is where one sees the real Sooraj and Athiya, normal youngsters having a good time, like everyone else their age. Like we would want to see characters on screen in films made today, for today’s audiences. Hero is not that film. The two newcomers deserve a second debut.

Rating: 1/5