`Heropanti` review: Over enthusiastic kid trying to be a hero!

By Anindita Dev

The last few years have been rather good for newcomers. Whether it be Varun Dhawan or Sidharth Malhotra, Alia Bhatt or Parineeti Chopra; Bollywood has been kind to them. And they have proven their worth with their other movies. Unfortunately the same cannot be said about Tiger Shroff. Even though the trailers promised action and romance from the debutantes Tiger Shroff(Bablu) and Kriti Sanon(Dimpy), it has proven to be a disappointment. Where Jackie Shroff was a uncanny hit with `Hero` in 1983, looking every bit rugged, and the melancholic lead opposite Meenakshi Sheshadhri; Tiger Shroff has to work a lot on his screen presence to even match up to his father. And it is not all his fault. The movie opens to a pompous wedding of the local don Chaudhary`s (Prakash Raj) elder daughter in the inconspicuosly named `Jattland`. The daughter Renu (Sandeepa Dhar) elopes with her lover Rakesh. Bablu(Shroff) is held captive as he is Rakesh`s friend and his entry is as filmy as you can imagine, with apparent nonchalance. The crowd cheered when our hero Bablu says, `Heropanti sabko aati nahi, and meri jaati nahi`, but it becomes tiring with repetitions later on in the movie too. Predictable as the movie is, Bablu falls in love with Dimpy, the don`s younger daughter. The rest of the movie is about Bablu trying to woo dimpy and then her family to save the `izzat`. The problem is, that such plots have been so overdone in Bollywood that it kills the mood to watch a movie. Added to that is the melodramatic acting of Prakash Raj as the helpless father and drinking his sorrow away, and talking his heart to Bablu. Although Prakash Raj shoulders the movie as he seemed to be the only one who can act. The other respite was Sunil Grover, and he does lift the spirit of the movie with his comic timing. Unfortunately the script and screenplay go completely haywire. The movie has an ensemble cast and in the process loses the real essence of the entire script. After a couple of love songs and dancing here and there, the movie ends along the lines of `Dilwale Dulhanniya Le Jayenge`; no surprises there. Tiger Shroff borrows his dad`s famous signature tune of Hero, and it is continuosly played in the background whenever our little Bablu pulls up another of his stunts. He is good while flexing his muscles and promises to be an eye candy in the future. Heropanti is tasteless and as flat as could be. Frankly it is a movie for the masses per se, and there is little or no script at all. If you had high hopes of seeing action packed sequences, then you`ll be terribly disappointed. No doubt, that Tiger Shroff`s beefed body totally mesmerises the crowd, but there is nothing more to it. The love between Bablu and Dimpy loses its chemistry between the ongoing emotional drama. Kriti Sanon lives up to the image of a pretty girl, and is actually not too bad in the rather mediocre film. Flexing his muscles and swinging hips is all Tiger could bring out. He looked as constipated while delivering his dialogues at a couple of places. Even the lip-lock between the two, which was only for a split second fails to excite the audience. The plot could have had less drama, and director Sabbir Khan would have done more justice to the newcomers with a more comprehensive storyline. Having a star kid alone in the movie is clearly not enough. The music was decent, as expected of Sajid-Wajid, and few peppy numbers from the film actually helped to lift the otherwise haywire script. The dance numbers are entertaining but not worth remembering. By the end of the movie you` ll be exhausted of the whole bland drama and wait desperately for it to wind up. With a predictable end, the movie is strenously long and could have a had a better and crisp plot. If you want to see a sleek Tiger and his somersaults, and nothing else, then good luck for the weekend!