Sabir Khan brings to us a snappy romantic film, introducing Tiger Shroff (Son of Jackie Shroff). Heropanti conveys the present atmosphere in India, this barrier between the young ones and their parents. Ultimately it is very similar to Jackie Shroff’s first film, even to n extent where intentionally they use the same theme song to represent Tiger’s entrance in the Film industry.
Heropanti follows the story of Chowdhary (Prakash Raj), the strict yet loving father whose in search for his daughter Renu (Sandeepa Dhar), the runaway bride. Finding out the news drives him crazy, constantly wondering what the society will thing, what his dignity will look like. His violent family or should I say army, find a few suspects which seem to be Renu’s husband’s best friends. Holding them hostage in the shed, Bablu (Tiger Shroff) tries to find a way out, yet fails due to being dazzled by a beautiful young girl. Falling in love with her there and then, the train is missed and him and his friends are back to square one. The only way out is to find Renu and her husband, Rakesh. Renu’s sister (Bablu’s crush) becomes kind of a helping hand in the situation. She loves her father, yet she almost feels trapped in her own house. No college, no going out and already having her marriage fixed, Dimpy (Kriti Sanon) is confused in her own little world whether her sister may have done the right thing after all. The film becomes this whole chase after the elopers whilst at the same time each character realizes something about themselves and learns how to deal with ‘life’.
Heropanti takes us through the current issues people face in India. With this gap in the generations, the ‘youths’ have different values to their parents. And this differential opinion can lead to disaster. The film makes you think about Renu’s actions, where you question has she done the right thing to run away from home to be with the man she loves? Yes, because its her life and if she didn’t she would be stuck at home being forced to marry a total stranger just to make her dad happy. And maybe no as well, she could have explained to her parents and atleast have told them. But I guess, this whole opinion depends on who you are and that’s what the films gets you thinking. There is this time generation gap and its so huge, its in the way and honestly it causes disruption, but its never going to go and its always going to be there in the middle feasting off difference.
Tiger Shroff earns his credit as the youth whoms brave, gets the girl and saves the day. His first impression comes across as a decent lad, where his entrance in heropanti was very Bollywood friendly. It’s clear Shroff is an acrobat, as the action scenes seemed very realistic, where his flips and twists and jumps, basically the stunts were all real. However, there were moments when Shroff became too smiley and his reactions to things seemed far to unrealistic. Though, I have to admit that he brought his own style and flare, giving him a new stand in the Bollywood industry.
Kriti Sanon played the annoying young girl, who loves her daddy. Even though she played up to her role, I felt as if she was trying to hard, which resulted in over-acting. The romance between Bablu and Dimpy felt flat, where the chemistry was quite low.
Although, the star of the show is Tiger Shroff, I believe a part of the stardom is Prakash Raj whom steals the show. Raj represents all the strict fathers in India. It’s clear when he’s in control and angry. Prakash’ s body language and gestures are significantly realistic whereby each action is readable. When he’s in doubt, when he’s nervous, when he’s emotion – it’s all powerfully performed. The scene when he breaks down and genuinely cries for his daughter is definitely emotional. The still long shot of him bursting is one of the most memorable and effective scenes. Likewise, when his character is in doubt, you can’t take your eyes of him, eager to know his decision.
The support cast held the film together and overall the narrative is very simple to follow. Shroff seems to have fit well in the role of a male hero whereby I’m sure he will succeed in his upcoming films. Prakash Raj was brilliant as the fatherly role and definitely brought the emotion, but also made us think us modern India and where parents stand in the society. Unfortunately the romance was weak and the chemistry simply wasn’t there. Heropanti is a good watch, but I would say only for a one-time watch.
My Rating: 7.5/10
Written by: Meera Darji
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