Heroine

Heroine is superficial and plot-less!

                Heroine touches the life of a Hindi film female actor superficially, without conviction and surety. Mahi Arora (Kareena Kapoor), an over emotional, obsessive, vulnerable, weirdly dynamic and decently talented film star, is at the peak of her career, when she realises her married lover (Arjun Rampal,), a star himself, isn’t interested in committing to her. Her obsession for him turns to frustration, which reflects on her work. And the clichéd career downfall follows, with drugs and alcohol (not to forget). The story continues with a new lover, new career peak and eventually a downfall again.

                Unlike for most of his movies, Bhandarkar fails to give his film a plot. The film suffers as it almost seems like a bunch of episodes unintentionally woven together. Heroine could have been a better film, had it been a well etched story right at the scripting levels.

                The director does provide us with some realities of the Mumbai film industry popularly known as Bollywood. For instance, the ignorance of the film production towards a senior artist played by Helen, by not offering her a vanity van and letting her rehearse her dialogues under the sun. Or the over dominant wife having a say in the casting of her husband’s heroine. Keeping this handful of scenes aside, Bhandarkar has nothing new to offer in Heroine. Alcohols, sex, drugs, homosexuality were all part of his previous films with just a new addition of a leaked sex tape. It’s time for Bhandarkar to reinvent his direction style to keep up with the viewers’ expectations.

 

The film is glamorously shot with focus on Kareena’s look. The costumes are apt. Music is disappointing, but it hardly bothers. Real film studios, popular cafes of Mumbai, hotels and restaurants are widely used filming locations.

                Arjun Rampal is competent as a confused male superstar, but the script doesn’t give him too much scope to perform. Divya Datta is perfect as the cruelly compelling PR. Randeep Hooda is again competent as the charming cricketer. The one who gets a fake deal from something that looked like a humungous opportunity is Kareena Kapoor. In spite of being sincere and fine with her performance, Kareena suffers due to a badly written role. Her character makes such silly mistakes that they hardly look real. Eventually, the audience finds her character stupid and hardly sympathizes with her. Yet Kapoor looks glamorous, acts with faith and gives her best. She is the reason one might recommend a watch of Heroine

 

The director had previously declared this one to be his career’s best. Surely it isn’t! Heroine could have been a great piece of work, had the director written a better story. The film however belongs to its lead actor Kareena Kapoor. I am going with 2 out of 5 for Madhur Bhandarkar’s Heroine, watch it iff you must!

Rating: 2/5

Trailer Link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWB_h91HqP0

 

Dont worry, be Barfi!

            For a change, we get to see the bright side of a handicap’s life without ignoring the dark. Barfi! is a warm film made with a lot of heart. After a series of dark flicks of the disabled like Black and Gujarish, here’s a movie which reflects every ray of bright light in the life of its characters. And the surprising part is that, it succeeds to be effectively funny without being derogatory towards the disability of its lead characters.

            With an intelligently chosen setting of ‘Darjeeling’, director Anurag Basu makes you smile and sympathize with the characters’ simplicity and innocence, even when they make evident mistakes. And with subtle yet strong performances by the actors, Barfi! proves to be a pure treat. The scenic beauty of Darjeeling is well captured, cheers to the cinematographer. The story unfolds slower than one would want it to, but one wouldn’t mind it, because the simple Charlie Chaplin inspired sequences, bravely and skilfully acted by the film’s lead actor keep one thoroughly engaged. Music is apt, and so is the background score.

               The only hitch one might encounter in this lovely piece of art is its screenplay. Director Anurag Basu prefers to throw the film’s narrative from present to past and further past. The screenplay runs wild between the three time lines, with scenes from different time lines randomly popping in. And this leaves the viewer a bit puzzled and the second half partly tends to become ‘solely’ an answer to the puzzle. Having said that, the screenplay is just one small issue that may or may not bother the viewer.

                 The film eventually serves as a love story, a well etched love story with a thoughtful moral. Besides, the film preaches positivity, happiness and the attitude of seeing the glass half full. The producer didn’t pay me to endorse this product of his, but I still do, by my own will. That is probably the film’s biggest achievement.

Go and taste this barfi. It’s as sweet as the sweet it has got its name from while it doesn't cost you any calories!