A Flashy But Flimsy 'Hero'
The Hero:
Love Story Of A Spy
Starring:
Sunny Deol, Preity Zinta, Priyanka Chopra
Director:
Anil Sharma
Music Director:
Uttam Singh
It is the Gadar team all over again comprising writer Shaktimaan and director Anil Sharma, the same raw nerve called Indo-Pak relations but the magic is missing. You see, in The Hero the macho Sunny Deol plays Major Batra, a gentleman officer, which means he doesn't scream, rarely bellows and flexes his muscles only when it is absolutely necessary. Most of the time he executes his mission through technology, much like Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible. So somewhere along the second half, the viewer begins to miss the Punjab da puttar's naked wrath that he unleashed in Gadar as truck driver Tara Singh. Watching him fiddle with computers hardly appealed to his fans. Nevertheless, The Hero is a watchable film, well shot and well acted.
On the whole, the idea of presenting the love story of a spy in the format of a thriller is executed well but along the way the balance gets somewhat tilted and romance becomes a victim of comic book villainy and stunts that defy all laws of gravity and velocity. If only the interest evoked in the thrilling goings-on of the first half could be sustained till the end. Even an impressive appearance by debutante Priyanka Chopra as the pretty Pakistani doctor in Canada, doesn't help relieve the post-interval boredom caused by inane jargon in the name of nuclear warfare. But this isn't a shortcoming that overwhelms the positive elements of the movie.
The last of good lyrics by the late Anand Bakshi are set to some interesting tunes by Uttam Singh. But the music pales when you compare it to Gadar's lilting chartbusters. Deol, donning various get-ups, packs in the punch the way only he can and Preity as the pretty Kashmiri lass, does her role with commendable ease. Besides, slick cinematography by Kabir Lal, lavish production values and taut direction make it a film worth a dekko. The Hero is indeed this year's most happening film till date. And not to forget, most expensive too, surpassing even Devdas.
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