Film Review: PHATA POSTER NIKHLA HERO

It’s a fun watch if you are fond of masala flicks!

Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Ileana D’Cruz, Padmini Kolhapure, Saurabh Shukla, Darshan Jhaveri, Mukesh Tiwari
Director: Rajkumar Santoshi

Vinitha, Venkat and I went to watch this film on Friday night, the same day it released, at Cinemax Sion.

THE STORY

Even as a kid, it has been drummed into Vishwas (Shahid Kapoor in the adult avatar) that he should become an honest police officer. His mother (Padmini Kolhapure) is an auto-rickshaw driver in a small town where the duo lives. In the meanwhile, Vishwas dreams of becoming an actor, a hero.

On the pretext of giving an exam for the post of a police officer, Vishwas goes to Mumbai to try his hand at acting. There he meets Complaint Kajal (Ileana D’Cruz), who believes that he is a Police Inspector.

After taking a number of twists and turns, the film goes on to prove that Vishwas is a hero through and through. You have to see the movie to find out whether he realises his mother’s or his own dreams.

MY PERCEPTION

The film was a total fun watch with a number of hilarious moments. Shahid Kapoor is an excellent actor and even better dancer. There were a couple of songs that made for superb dance moves and Shahid has made perfect use of these opportunities.

It’s just that he disappointed me in the last scene. Just before he goes up on stage to receive an award, Shahid shows a strange expression on his face. There is a lot of emotion, but one is unable to make out whether he is feeling that way because of sorrow or joy. I was thoroughly confused and did not understand whether the film ended on a happy or sad note.

Ileana D’Cruz looks glamorous and has a very good dressing style. But her acting skills need to improve a lot. All the best!

I somehow did not like Padmini Kolhapure’s character of a loving mother. It was absolutely unconvincing. She dotes on her only child, but is absolutely clear that he should become only what she wants of him. She is aware of his childhood dreams that continue into adulthood. I am not able to understand how such an adoring mother does not give a damn about her favourite child’s dreams, not one jot. The actress did well as an emotional blackmailer, of course.

Saurabh Shukla is simply superb in his role as a local don. He brings forth ripples of laughter with his comic timing, again and again. Just loved it!

The rest of the cast including Darshan Jhaveri and Mukesh Tiwari performed quite well.

VERDICT: All in all, it is fun watching the film if you are fond of masala flicks.

RATING: ** ½ (could have been smarter)

*Silly
**Shaky
***Smart
****Snazzy
*****Super