REVIEW 346: HERO

Release date:	September 11, 2015
Director:	Nikhil Advani
Cast: Language:	Sooraj Pancholi, Athiya Shetty, Sharad Kelkar, Aditya Pancholi, Tigmanshu Dhulia Hindi

Within the first 10 minutes of the film, he bashes up a bad guy, dances in a nightclub, then bashes up a villain in the club. About 30 minutes into the film, we see him shirtless, pummelling a punching bag in a snow-laden setting.

Fighting skills displayed: check.

Dancing skills displayed: check.

Muscular body displayed: check.

Acting skills displayed? Ah now, there arises the problem.

Hero is very clearly intended primarily as a showcase for Sooraj Pancholi, son of actors Zarina Wahab and Aditya Pancholi, but someone appears to have forgotten that what counts most for a film actor are screen presence and/or acting abilities. No gym can compensate for a lack of those. Dance institutes and acting schools can give you moves and techniques, but they cannot teach you talent or charisma. Sooraj shows no signs of possessing either – well at least not in this film.

It’s possible that Master Pancholi is cute. He does show a glimmer of what might be a sweet smile in a couple of scenes. But at no point does that glimmer become a full-fledged grin because he appears to have been advised to ‘do intensity’ by staying unsmiling and expressionless here. Can he act? Who knows? What we do know is that in Hero, he barely twitches a facial muscle.

His co-star Athiya Shetty, actor Sunil Shetty’s daughter, is not one of those sparklers that goes pop, crackle and fizz at first sight, but let us not brush her aside. Her heavy bone structure takes some getting used to, but at least she looks different from the assembly-line women playing pretty props in film after film these days. When she’s not pouting and ‘doing cute’, she appears like she could potentially be interesting in an interesting film. In this one though, she is not.

Guess you’ve gathered by now that Hero is dull dull dull. As you may know, this is a remake of Subhash Ghai’s 1983 hit of the same name starring Jackie Shroff and Meenakshi Sheshadri. That Hero was not great, but it was fun, had likeable leads, Jackie really could act and the music was memorable, especially that lovely flute piece which was revisited exceptionally well in 2014’s Heropanti, which marked Jackie’s son Tiger’s acting debut. If you must remake a not-so-great film, at least contemporise the story and/or the treatment. This one does neither of the above.

Subhash G’s post-2000 films (except for 2008’s Black and White) have been disasters because he keeps using the same story tropés, the same camera angles, the same sweeping shots. It’s as if he is stuck in a time warp. Frankly, you could be forgiven for assuming that this Hero too is ghost directed by the veteran director. That’s how tired Nikhil Advani’s remake feels.

The story is about a hooligan called Sooraj Kaushik (Sooraj) in Mumbai who is commissioned by gangster Suryakanth Pasha (Aditya Pancholi) to kidnap Radha Mathur (Athiya), daughter of IGP Shrikanth Mathur (Tigmanshu Dhulia). Sooraj and his gang take Radha to a secluded place by pretending to be policemen and convincing her that her dad sent them to protect her from Pasha. True love follows. Though he insists that “Ek IG ki beti kabhi ek goondey se pyaar nahin kar sakti”, they decide to give their relationship a shot even after she discovers the truth. Their path is strewn with obstacles: her father’s opposition, Pasha’s anger and one laughably executed twist involving a prince called Rannvijay Shekhawat (Vivan Bhathena).

Actually, I did not mind that last stupid plot point too much because at least Vivan is good looking in a naturally sexy model-like way (FYI he is a former Mr India) and even though he is required to mostly over-act here, it’s still evident that he’s a far far far better actor than Sooraj.

The other cast member who rises above this limpid film is Sharad Kelkar as Radha’s brother Dheeraj. On the other hand, it’s sad to see a fine actor like Tigmanshu reduced to mouthing cliched lines in cliched settings that are amusing though they’re intended to be sorrowful.

Even the music is just so-so. Main hoon hero tera sung by Salman Khan – who is also the film’s producer – is not a bad melody I guess, but the only reason I was relieved to see Salman appearing in the end to sing it with the end credits was because that meant the credits would not be accompanied by an ‘item’ song featuring Sooraj and Athiya. Whew!

It’s time Bollywood films moved beyond trite build-ups to romances that involve the heroine being inexplicably mean to someone, thus providing an excuse for the hero to put her in her place with a touch of roughing up, seconds after which she falls in love with him. It’s time directors stopped getting well-built male stars to rip off their own shirts or have their clothes blown away by the wind in the middle of a climactic fight to flaunt their ripped torsos – for god’s sake, that worked in Dabangg because Salman’s confrontation with Sonu Sood was executed in a part-serious-part-comic tone. It’s time they stopped getting comedians to speak in rhymes. In Hero, a gori woman tells her obese lover: “You are my Mr Right, but I want your body tight.”

Yawn. Yawn. Yawn.

Rating (out of five): *

CBFC Rating (India):	U/A
Running time:	132 minutes

Poster courtesy: Salman Khan Films

REVIEW 259: KAANCHI

Release date:	April 25, 2014
Director:	Subhash Ghai
Cast: Language:	Mishti, Kartik Aaryan, Chandan Roy Sanyal, Rishabh Sinha, Mithun Chakraborty, Rishi Kapoor, Adil Hussain Hindi

It’s been a long time since I enjoyed a Subhash Ghai film. As a film reviewer though, it’s my job to be an eternal optimist, and I can vouch for the fact that that professional optimism often pays off. Not in this case though. Kaanchi – the story of a mountain girl who travels to Mumbai to avenge a loved one’s murder – is as insipid and insubstantial as all the films Ghai has been directing since Taal in 1999 (not counting the unfortunately unheralded Black & White in 2008). Truth be told, I’m not in love with Taal either but it was light years ahead of most of the films he’s been making since then; besides, it had Aishwarya Rai’s beauty, some lovely music and the fire ‘n’ ice of Anil Kapoor going for it. Kaanchi has, to use an acronym that’s popular these days, NOTA (none of the above).

The first half of the film is set in Koshampa, an idyllic village in Uttaranchal primarily inhabited by the families of retired or martyred defence services personnel. Among them are the firebrand Kaanchi a.k.a. Sigri (Mishti) and Binda (Kartik Aaryan), childhood friends destined for marriage. The powerful Kakda industrial family of Mumbai is eyeing their prized lands to set up a resort. Their artist son Sushant, meanwhile, falls for Kaanchi, which inevitably leads to a clash with the girl, and Binda.

Koshampa is beautiful as is newcomer Indrani Chakraborty who was assigned the screen name Mishti by Ghai, in keeping with his obsession with the letter M (after his success with Madhuri Dixit and Manisha Koirala, he re-christened veejay Ritu Chaudhry as Mahima Chaudhry for her Bollywood debut in Pardes). Mishti earlier played Prosenjit’s daughter in the Bengali film Porichoi. Kaanchi is her Bollywood debut.

Ghai knows how to highlight a woman’s loveliness. Mishti though does not yet have that X factor that put Madhuri and Manisha on the road to stardom. Some stars acquire charisma with age, so it’s only fair to give Mishti another chance, considering that here she is saddled with Ghai’s unimaginative writing, particularly the silliness of the ease with which Kaanchi brings down the Kakda family.

The problem with this film is that it’s full of itself, so impressed with its own camerawork, its national canvas and its director’s filmography. The presence of veterans Mithun Chakraborty and Rishi Kapoor as the Kakda brothers can do little to salvage Kaanchi. Kartik Aaryan who was impressive in 2011’s sleeper hit Pyaar ka Punchnama and even in last year’s lachrymose Akaash Vani, is fair enough in the acting department in Kaanchi, but he needs to be told that those body-baring ganjis just don’t suit his boyish face. Playing his bête noir Sushant Kakda is TV star Rishabh Sinha, an attractive guy who needs to work on his acting.

The only member of the cast who occasionally rises above Kaanchi’s lackadaisical script and direction is Chandan Roy Sanyal playing the heroine’s childhood friend who is now a corrupt cop in Mumbai. However, getting his character to narrate the story in flashback, and build up the girl into some sort of mythical character only further underlines the fact that this is a desperately ambitious film that does not get anywhere close to its grand ambitions.

Music used to be one of the strengths of Ghai’s films in the 1970s-90s, when he ruled the box office. Remember the memorable soundtrack of Karz or the success of Choli ke peechhe from Khalnayak? But even that department is a let-down here. Ismail Darbar and Salim Sulaiman have rolled out an uninspiring score for Kaanchi.

Nothing underlines the tragedy of the film more than the fact that Ghai thought it worth his while to feature Mahima Chaudhry in a guest appearance in one of Kaanchi’s lavish song and dance numbers. Guest appearances are meant to be pleasant surprises. Mahima just about made an impact in Pardes. Even back then it was hard to understand why Ghai was so taken in by her. How out of touch must he be with reality to think that her few-seconds-long appearance in this film, almost 17 years later, could generate an iota of excitement among the audience?

It’s always sad to watch the decline of a once successful artiste. Sadder still to write this review. There is just one word to describe Kaanchi: boring.

Rating (out of five stars): *

CBFC Rating (India):	U/A
Running time:	151 minutes

Poster and trailers courtesy: Everymedia PR

First look trailer: http://bit.ly/Kaanchi-Trailer                     

Video of Tu Sab Kuch Re: http://bit.ly/TuSabKuchRe-Kaanchi

Video of Thumka: http://bit.ly/Thumka

Video of Hindustan Kahan Hai: http://bit.ly/HindustanKahanHai-Kaanchi

Dialogue promos:

http://bit.ly/WohEkLadkiHai, http://bit.ly/AajKiRaajneeti, http://bit.ly/TuneMujheKissKiya, http://bit.ly/DilHilJataHai

Related Link: 

Subhash Ghai interview by Anna MM Vetticad / Maxim magazine / November 2013 http://annavetticadgoes2themovies.blogspot.in/2014/04/sit-down-with-subhash-ghai-interview.html

SIT DOWN WITH SUBHASH GHAI / INTERVIEW PUBLISHED IN MAXIM MAGAZINE:

Shah Rukh Khan with Subhash Ghai while shooting for Pardes (1997)

(A shorter version of this interview by Anna MM Vetticad appeared in the November 2013 issue of Maxim magazine. The full text was published in Maxim India’s online edition.) 

“CRITICS DIDN’T LIKE KARZ, BUT IT IS NOW A CULT FILM. HOW THEN CAN ONE TAKE CRITICS SERIOUSLY?” ASKS SUBHASH GHAI

In a Maxim exclusive, filmmaker SUBHASH GHAI talks about cinema, audiences, success and failure, Rishi Kapoor, Salman Khan, Dilip Kumar and Anil Kapoor.

Your film Kaanchi was supposed to release in August. What happened?

I can take the pressure of making a film, but I can’t take the pressure of a pre-announced release date. I want to make my film, watch it, test it, then release it. These days however there is such a maara-maari for theatres that some people announce their release dates even before they’ve started work on the film. I can’t do that. I don’t want to repeat the mistake I made with Yuvvraaj where we had announced the release date in advance so it was sent to theatres straight from the mixing and recording studio. Due to lack of time, even I couldn’t see the final cut in advance. I don’t want to make films like that. I want to make films the way I’ve made them all my life.

Is it hard to cope with some of the changes that have taken place in the industry since you started in the 1960s?

Distribution and exhibition have changed dramatically since the 1980s and 1990s when I was most active. For instance films are released in thousands of theatres now. But one thing remains unchanged: every kind of film is being made including films of the sort that were doing well in the 1980s. Films like Dabangg, Ready and Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani which are very much in the old mould are thriving alongside films from the Dibakars, Anurag Kashyaps and other new-age film makers.

Subhash Ghai and Dilip Kumar celebrate the success of Saudagar,
their third film together, the others being Vidhaata and Karma

But do you find it tough to adjust to the changes in the industry’s functioning? For instance, you mentioned the hype around release dates.

Yes, it’s become difficult for anyone who wants to make a non-star-cast film. The Khans have taken over Eid, Diwali and Christmas and the rest of the weekends have been taken over by other stars. But you can’t get disheartened by that. If the picture appeals it will do well irrespective of who’s in the cast. Bhaag Milkha Bhaag didn’t have a big cast but it did well because it was made in a cinematic manner. Finally it’s the film that works. Even an OMG! Oh My God worked. But yes, the pressure to announce a release date is hard for a film maker like me.

Kaanchi stars Rishi Kapoor and Mithun Chakraborty but the young leads are non-stars. Is there a specific reason behind not using some of the more established names? Couldn’t you have got a Ranbir or Shahid or Ranveer Singh?

None of my films has had a superstar. I always went for the script first, then the artistes. Throughout the 1980s and ’90s I made films with stars who were viable, available to me and excited about working with me. When I did three films with Dilip Kumar, he was available to me because it was his second innings. Even when Shah Rukh Khan did Pardes, he was in the process of becoming a star, he was not yet a superstar.

Anil Kapoor and Salman Khan with Subhash Ghai on the
sets of Yuvvraaj (2008)

But you made Yuvvraaj more recently with Salman and Katrina Kaif?

Yes, but Salman was going through a rough patch at that time, just like me.

Why is Salman on such a career high now?

Because all this time he was finding himself, experimenting, doing all kinds of films. Even I gave him the role of a musician, which was wrong. He’s now changed his image and realised that what’s working for him are action love stories.

Why have none of your films worked at the box office since Taal in 1999?


As a filmmaker, when you deliver 11 hits in a row, you want to evolve. So I made Kisna and Yuvvraaj, both of which were of an international standard. But audiences still wanted the same old mass elements from me. Those two films were ahead of their time for the Indian audience.

Subhash Ghai with Jackie Shroff, Dimple Kapadia and
Anil Kapoor during the shooting of Ram Lakhan (1989)

Quite to the contrary, with those two films, critics seemed to think you had not moved with the times.


They were critics of the time, so they didn’t appreciate a film that’s ahead of its time. Critics didn’t like Karz either when it was released in 1980, but now Karz is considered a cult film. How then can one take critics seriously?

So you actually feel Kisna and Yuvvraaj were good films?

Of course.

So Karz didn’t do well at the box office or with critics?

Both. And a friend who watched it said he felt it’s ahead of its time, that it may not do well now but it will have a shelf life. He was right. Thirty years later, people are still talking about it. What the film couldn’t make in its entire lifetime, I made in one day when I sold the remake rights for Rs 3 crore. It’s like Raj Kapoor’s Mera Naam Joker, rejected at that time, but now considered one of the best films of his career.

Did you like the remake of Karz (called Karzzzz) starring Himesh Reshammiya?


I didn’t want to watch it. I wasn’t in the country when it was released and by the time I came back, people weren’t saying good things about it so I didn’t bother. Anyway, how could I watch someone else’s interpretation of my creation?

Subhash Ghai with debutant Mahima Chaudhry (earlier known as
Ritu Chaudhry) and Shah Rukh Khan on the sets of Pardes (1997)

But you appeared in Om Shanti Om. It may not have been a remake of Karz but it was certainly a tribute to your film.


That’s different. We are all inspired by many sources. Karz itself was inspired by The Reincarnation of Peter Proud. That’s the process of creativity. Om Shanti Om was not a copy of Karz, it was inspired by both Karz and Madhumati. That’s different from a film being remade with the exact same name and story. It’s not that I was bitter about the Karz remake. After all, we sold the rights to them. It’s just that I was busy and didn’t get the time to watch it.

Do you think it’s advisable to make a carbon copy of an old film without re-contextualising it? Without re-interpreting it for a contemporary situation?

It depends on the producer or director. Let them do it if they want to.

Would you?

No. Because my box of ideas is still packed so why would I make a carbon copy of an old film. Many people have even asked me to remake Karz, Hero and my other hits, but I’ve refused. I’ve sold the remake rights of Hero to Salman Khan Productions but mera idea box abhi khaali nahin hai that I would remake it myself. I have more ideas than there are years left in my life.

You’re working with Rishi Kapoor again in Kaanchi? What do you think has contributed to his wonderful second innings in films?

It’s a stroke of luck combined with his talent. He’s getting good films from good banners, but what’s helping Rishi do so well right now is that he remains as passionate, dedicated and hard-working as always. I’m so happy for him because he went through a low phase and now he’s back in full swing.

How about your own low phase? Ever got disheartened because of your box-office struggles post-Taal?

Not for a single day. That’s because I’ve never taken either hits or flops seriously. Even when a film was a hit, I’d just laugh and say, ‘Oh now I have to make a bigger or better film.’ These things only affect other people in the industry.

How?

When a filmmaker doesn’t deliver hits, people in the industry say, ‘That person is gone, that person has lost his talent.’ This only happens in India. In Hollywood, people don’t judge a filmmaker by his last hit. If Steven Spielberg were to make a bad film, they’d say, ‘He’s a talented filmmaker and we’ll wait for his next film.’ If Kaanchi becomes a hit, the same people who have written me off will say, ‘We always knew Subhash Ghai had talent.’

Doesn’t that hurt considering that they are your own film industry people?

We have a lovely industry, we love each other but we also feel envious and competitive. It’s up to every individual to be mature, to realise that you march with your own talent.

Ghai with Anil Kapoor and then newcomer Madhuri Dixit during the shooting
of Ram Lakhan (1989), the film that made Madhuri a superstar

When you cast Anil Kapoor and Jackie Shroff as co-stars in several films, how did you handle their rivalry?


I managed to strike a balance between Dilip Kumar and Raaj Kumar, so Anil and Jackie were not difficult for me.

But Dilip Kumar and Raaj Kumar were seniors when you did Saudagar, it was part of their second innings, whereas when you cast Anil and Jackie together they were young and at their peak with all the insecurities that accompany youth.

There’s a difference between Anil and Jackie. Anil’s an aggressive guy and Jackie’s a cool guy, so he can take Anil’s aggression with a smile and laugh. I don’t know why people consider them rivals. I think they are friends. I’ve seen them admire each other and laugh at each other. Sometimes relationships like that do develop.

What are your future plans?

From now on, I’ll be directing one film a year. Subhash Ghai as a filmmaker will be very, very active for the rest of his years.

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Photographs courtesy: Mukta Arts Limited

Note: These photographs were not published in Maxim