Hero
Cast: Sooraj Pancholi, Athiya Shetty, Tigmanshu Dhulia, Aditya Pancholi, Sharad Kelkar
Rated: 5.5/10
It is a proven fact that Bollywood remakes can never generate the kind of hype and fervour that the original managed to create. The same is holds true for Hero as well. The problem here is that director Nikhil Advani has tried too hard to fit the 80s film in the 2015 mould. At least in the original Hero, starring Jackie Shroff and Meenakshi Seshadri, Shubhash Ghai had got many things correct including good tracks.
Here, except for the song sung by Slaman Khan — Mein hoon hero tera — nothing really stays with you once the 132 minute movie is over. Which is rather unfortunate since the film is about young love starring two actors — Sooraj Pancholi and Athiya Shetty — who are making their debut.
May be Salman Khan could have made a film with an entirely new story idea instead of making a remake with clichéd if not exaggerated dialogues like IG ki beti and main surprise nahin, shock dene aaya hoon. They appear to be a little misplaced in this time and era. The fact that the film has nothing new to add means that one knows exactly what is going to happen; so there is no innovation that one would associate when one has new faces.
But what works here is the fact that it is a story about two young people in love. Viewers, in India love to watch a love story that ends happily. Moreso, when the climax involves the hero beating the bad guy and rescuing the damsel in distress.
Who, by the way, does nothing but try to look pretty, act brattish and pout for the major part of the film. May be next time Athiya Shetty needs to pout less and act more. As for Sooraj Pancholi, in parts where he doesn’t look so much like his father, who plays the villain here, holds his ground. His six-pack abs, muscles and tattoos are very much in tune with the macho hero look. Some of the action sequences are really good and sit well on him. Sharad Kelkar and Tigmanshu Dhulia hold their ground.
Over all, the movie makes for a one time watch even if the last 10 minutes of it makes you want to laugh at the incredulity of it.