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Monday, April 21, 2025
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BOLLYWOOD PHATA POSTER NIKLA HERO
EDITOR'S PICK
`Phata
Poster Nikla Hero` - `Phata Poster...Nikla Salman!`
Rating: **1/2
Let`s get one thing straight. This isn`t what you want to see a super-gifted
filmmaker like Rajkumar Santoshi do when he gets together with a talented
star-actor like Shahid Kapoor.
But what to do? Everyone wants a good laugh! It makes us forget about the
troubles outside. Never mind the trouble that humour seems to encounter on
screen each time someone makes a comedy.
To his credit, Santoshi deftly delivers the dynamics of drollery. No two ways
about it. Unlike last week's lewd laughter in "Grand Masti", "Phata
Poster Nikla Hero" (PPNH) avoids vulgarity like the plague.
Dirty word plague....sorry wordplay is firmly eschewed. What we get is an earthy
robust over-accentuated tribute to Salman Khan's Chulbul Pandey act from "Dabangg",
with Shahid Kapoor stepping into the khaki uniform with the same wonky elan as
our dear Chulbul Khan.
Shahid has confessed it is easy to play a Salman Khan fan. The young actor who
has so far not revealed his comic chops and has in fact shown dramatic synergy
to be his forte, pulls out all stops to play an imposter cop, a role that makes
him a Chulbul Pandey twice-over because Salman's cop-act was underlined as a
spoof in the first place.
So what we get in PPNH is a khaki-clad clown impersonating a cop who is actually
impersonating Salman Khan in "Dabangg".
Does that make sense? Even if it doesn't, it's just fine. Don't sweat over it.
This is not one of Santoshi's seriously-intended films. For that, please refer
to this wonderful director's "Lajja" or "Halla Bol". And if
you are looking for hardcore gut-spilling action, go to Santoshi's Deol-driven
juggernauts "Ghayal" and "Ghatak".
Come to think of it, PPNH is not even an all-out zany comedy of errors like
Santoshi's 'Andaz Apna Apna'. So what is it? After painful pondering over the
over-punctuated parodic material in PPNH, I'd say it's a mongrelized mirth
machine. A sort of "Dabangg" mated with Santoshi's last very
successful comedy "Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani" which evidently taught
Santoshi a lesson: farcical frivolity and lengthy titles translate into big
bucks.
"Phata Poster..." gives poster-boy Shahid Kapoor a custom-built
opportunity to get seriously comic. He digs deep into the very slim plot,
ferreting out meager meat from the skimpy material. I must think that Shahid has
a ball doing the droll act for the doll Ileana d'Cruz who abandons her serious
sari-clad audacious wife's role in "Barfi!" to play the kind of
"social worker" who brings a bad name to all charity work.
Didn't Katrina play a similar busybee's role in Santoshi's "Ajab Prem..."?
Didn't Ranbir do the goofy Chaplin-meets-Kondke act for the commodious camera in
that film? Shahid seems comfortable doing the irrepressible comic impresario.
But he's far more at home in the more sensible sober scenes he shares with his
screen-mom Padmini Kolhapure, who looks too young to play Shahid's mom. But then
at least her talent is being aired.
Come to think of it - everyone in this over-the-top comedy seems to be in it for
the sake of getting into a massy mode. The art direction is kitschy. The camera
wallows in the carnival mood. In the endeavour to enroll enthusiasm into the rom-com,
the film succeeds. But be warned: the writing is repetitive. The scenes all end
in exclamation marks and italics... like an essay by a schoolboy who is out to
impress his favourite teacher. The humour jumps out of the screen like an eager
5-year old brat which must get your attention at any cost.
If you think Shahid is one of the more interesting star-actor's of the current
generation, then PPNH is a frenetically fashioned farce fest with excessive
energy oozing out of every saturated pore. Shahid's songs and dances, especially
the zanily unpredictable "Agal bagal" number are the highlight of the
humour-hamper. And that's not such a good thing. Shahid gets to share camera
space with some accomplished actors like Saurabh Shukla, Mukesh Tiwari, Darshan
Jariwala and Sanjay Mishra. And that's a good thing.
At least we are ensured that the slender pretext for laughter is bolstered by
hefty actors.
Oh yes, and the real Salman Khan shows up.
Filmmaker Rajkumar Santoshi on Thursday said he is well and has no heart ailment, contrary to media reports. His is, however, admitted to a hospital here for routine tests."I am well and have no heart ailment. I had gone to Nanavati Hospital for a routine check up. Thank you for your concern. I value it," Santoshi said in a statement.Read More
Cannot sweet-talk to people to get a film: Ileana D'CruzBollywood actress Ileana D'Cruz, who is known for her no-nonsense attitude, says she has got all her films on merit and she does not want to impress people to get work. Read More
Promotion of movie Phata Poster Nikla Hero Stills
Wrap-up party of film Phata Poster Nikla Hero - Stills
Promotion of film Phata Poster Nikla Hero Stills
Shahid, Ileana on sets of Phata Poster Nikhla Hero