For those of us who grew up in the 90s on a steady diet of David Dhawan films, Main Tera Herois a circa 21ist century packaging of his cinema. The familiar lampooning and chicanery is back, and this time it’s his son Varun Dhawan who carries the not-so-heavy-burden of delivering the entertainment. Judging from the joyous squeals of young female fans every time he rolled his tongue on the word ‘harrrami’ or flexed his pectoral muscles, both father and son have made good on their promise.
While polished may not be the correct word to describe it, the film has the assured stamp of David Dhawan’s experience, that sets it apart from the production line of horrendous comedies we’ve seen recently. The scenes are sharp, and there’s an economy in the story telling that makes the difference. Coupled with Varun’s energizer bunny performance, there’s enough happening on screen to keep you curious, if not always interested. Consider how Varun goes from a school brat to super hero college boy in 30 minutes, or how the second half actually begins from a point in the beginning of the first half. If you’re willing to suspend belief in the idea of a plot, and if you’re flexible in your cinematic aesthetics, there’s an explosion of Bollywood waiting to envelope you. From chartbusting songs to beautiful actresses to comic villians to comical sidekicks, and a hero who keeps it all together, this is a self tribute his films more than twenty years ago.
But for those of us who grew up in the 90s on a steady diet of David Dhawan films, Main Tera Hero feels like a poor imitation, a Chinese import of the real thing, if you will. Govinda not only executed Dhawan’s idea of entertainment, he enhanced it and made it his own in parts with the effortless buffoonery that, in retrospect, was as charming and as superbly performed as it was entertaining. Seen in this context, the urbane, cocky and extremely well endowed Varun Dhawan’s attempt to pull of a cross between Salman and Govinda is a #fail and so finally too, the film.
Oh Raja Babu, where art thou?
Hindi, Comedy, Drama, Romance, Color