Melodramatic,clichéd, predictable, and at times cheesy are all things one can attribute to Salman Khan Productions second venture Hero the remake of the 80s classic which was made by Subhash Ghai. That film introduced Jackie Shroff and in the new Hero we see newcomers Sooraj Pancholi and Athyia Shetty being introduced. But all things said and done, this new Hero like the former, is pretty entertaining, its what we call a true blue Bollywood masala entertainer, there is romance,comedy, action, and emotions.... And the songs are very good also. Just don't go into the theaters excepting a new age love story, and you should be fine. Its a homage to original Hero, so if you liked the classic you will enjoy the new one.
The films story is about a goon named Sooraj who has to kidnap the IG of police's daughter, so that his adopted father a big gangster Pasha, can be freed from jail. The IG has proof against Pasha, regarding a journalists murder, and the IG cannot be bribed because of his honesty so the only way he will break is if Pasha kidnaps his daughter, and he exchanges the daughter for the proof. In some confusion Sooraj goes to kidnap the IG's daughter Radha, Sooraj is dressed as a policeman so she goes willingly, thinking he is there for her protection. But after a couple of days while acting as they are at a safe house, Sooraj is attacked by the police and he then confesses to Radha, that he is a goon working for Pasha, but by then they have fallen in love. Radha then convinces Sooraj too surrender himself, and she will convince her dad the IG about her love. What happens to Pasha and does the IG accept the love the of Sooraj and Radha is what makes up the rest of the story.
Acting wise the débutantes Sooraj and Athyia were outstanding. Sooraj Pancholi especially is a star in the making, his action scenes, his raw intensity, were first rate. Athyia is proves she is not only beautiful,but that she can act well also, here emotional scenes are superb, one can see a good future for her. Other than leads Tigmanshu Dhulia and Aditya Pancholi also act very well.
Hero does work as a masala entertainer but the film offers no novelty at all.The film is highly predictable, and there have been a zillion films with the same story, but at least the presentation is fresh/breezy. The screenplay and script needed work.Moreover one wishes the 2nd half didn't drag as much, and whats with a new villain added at the end for no effect?However what works for the film is the impeccable chemistry by the leads, Sooraj's acting( don't miss his great intro scene), the good music, and that the film never really bores.
Also a word to the wise for Dir Nikhil Advani,Salman Khan cleaned up your mess in Hero, hopefully next weeks Katti Batti is directed better.
Overall Salman Khan has proved he is not only the Superstar of India but also the godfather of Bollywood because after Varun Dhawan we might have our next young Super Star Sooraj Pancholi.SK truly has the golden touch. And i would like to note a another thing that living in Vancouver I get to read all the Indian reviews of a film before I watch any film, so seeing such negative reviews of Hero I was kind of surprised how enjoyable it was. I mean after watching the trailer what did you except.However I do feel the film is a more of single screen film then a multiplex one. Finally all withstanding if you watched Welcome Back last week you can definitely watch Hero. It has some good masala entertainment, and the new leads are outstanding. If only the film had a better director and screenplay.