Original Reigns Supreme. Review on Hero (2015)

Remake of the Jackie Shroff starrer hit movie ‘Hero’(1983).

I strongly feel a remake of an already hit movie in the same language should be attempted only if there is scope for improvisation and if the new cast could further glorify the characters with their X-Factor. Else a remake would be a wasted attempt – ‘Himmatwala’ was a classic example.

Story: Pasha(Aditya Pancholi) is in jail and awaiting final court hearing. He has raised up Sooraj(Sooraj Pancholi) for the last 14 years in the field of crime. Sooraj’s entry is inspired by Salman’s entry in ‘Wanted’ and ‘Dabang’(worth watching). Pasha instructs Sooraj to kidnap Radha(Athiya Shetty), the daughter of Inspector General(IG), Shrikant Mathur(Tigmanshu Dhulia) until the court hearing date which will enable him to get acquitted. Sooraj and Radha fall in love within a fortnight and hence there is a change in plan. Sooraj returns Radha back to her father and surrenders. Sooraj is sentenced for 2 years, being the maximum punishment for kidnapping. The parents want Radha to forget Sooraj and get her married off. Radha’s brother(Sharad Kelkar) supports her and in order to buy time until Sooraj is released, sends her off to Paris while informing his parents that she would be dating his good friend and businessman Ranvijay(Vivan Bhatena). A reformed Sooraj is released and later sets up his own gym. Ranvijay who was supposed to be in Paris runs into Radha’s sister-in-law(Anita Hassanandani) and is later introduced to the family as the fiancé of Radha. Ranvijay owes Pasha Rs.12.5 Crores but has a plan to get this amount forfeited and demand another Rs.25 Crores by proposing to ruin the family of the Inspector General. He accuses Sooraj of becoming a State Witness against Pasha and deteriorates their relationship. However, the climax has him exposed and after inspiring fight scenes, is eliminated by the IG. Thus the movie concludes with the IG doing the predictable – accepting Sooraj as his son-in-law.

Diluted plot: The original plot was much stronger, rational and articulate. Though the core storyline remained the same, alterations rendered to the script made the screenplay quite weak. The editing had many flaws and the final product came across inadequate and incomplete. It was assumed that the viewer is aware of the story and the screenplay was rushed with key links missing. Someone new to the script will fail to fill in the blanks. It was believed in the first scene that Police had enough evidence to convict Pasha which resulted in the kidnapping of IG’s daughter. The contrasting element was when the Police advise and pester Sooraj to become a ‘State Witness’ in order to nail Pasha else he could get away. The character of Pasha was meek in contrast to the original dreaded character. The four friends of Sooraj were reduced to bunch of jokers with no significant role to play. Sooraj’s confrontation with Radha’s father was a damp squib. This was nicely done by Jackie if one recollects the scene – “Maine sirf Radha ka haath maanga tha, Radha ki Bheek nahin”.  The character of Sanjeev Kumar(in original) was replaced by Sharad Kelkar who was underutilized. Sanjeev Kumar’s role was key to the plot but Sharad’s was left irrelevant.  Shakti Kapoor’s character was played by Vivan Bhatena who did a wonderful job but again this character failed to create an impact. The emotional quotient was missing throughout the movie and acting came across like an obligation, thus lacking resolve.

Cast Performance: Sooraj Pancholi is definitely a new star born. His personality delivers. He executed the fight scenes with elegance and so were his dialogues.  Athiya Shetty is good as an actress, however her endeavor as a lead heroine has to be accepted and endorsed by the audience. The lead pair successfully displayed their dancing skills. Tigmanshu Dhulia was brilliant as the Inspector General of Police. Sharad Kelkar was also quite impressive and so was Chetan Hansraj in a negative role. Overall, the cast performance was satisfactory and credit goes to the deficient script.

Direction: I liked the direction of Nikhil Advani in ‘D-Day’. Knowing a movie is a remake, he already has a vision of how the end product should be. The best a Director could do is to improvise on the screenplay and deliver a product better than the original. However, his attempt with ‘Hero’ was not good enough when there was scope for improvement. Fight choreography was fascinating except that too many close-up shots marred its effectiveness. The cinematography was excellent.

Songs: You will miss the catchy numbers of the original - ‘Nindiyaa se jaagi bahaar’, ‘Lambi Judaai’, ‘Ding Dong O Baby Sing a Song’, ‘Tu mera Hero hai’ and ‘Pyaar karne wale kabhi darte nahin’.  You will have to be satisfied with ‘Main hoon Hero Tera’ repeated umpteen number of times throughout the film.

Conclusion: The world has advanced incredibly since 1983 and we are living in the fast food era and in a highly competitive environment. Time is money and everything is expected in a quickie, thus compromising on the quality and value of the product. Multitasking is order of the day with the Cast and Directors continuously working on multiple projects, thus unable to give their undivided attention. ‘Hero’ is a victim of poor script and direction. Focus was more on the new comer ‘Sooraj Pancholi’ and not on the plot.  I would be foolish to tell you ‘Do not think of a banana’ when I know you will in the next second.  Comparison with the original is imminent and it will be an Apple to Apple comparison.  If you have already seen the original and loved it, this film is sure to disappoint you. If you have not seen the original, ‘Hero’ provides you entertainment like any other masala flick - once seen and then forgotten.