Shehzada Review: The other cast members, including Paresh Rawal, are at hand primarily to help the male lead display his wares. Kriti Sanon is the romantic interest and the focal point of a couple of musical set pieces.
Cast: Kartik Aaryan, Kriti Sanon, Manisha Koirala, Paresh Rawal, Ronit Roy, Sachin Khedekar
Director: Rohit Dhawan
Rating: Two and a half stars (out of 5)
Shehzada‘s pivotal scene before the interval very much sums up what Rohit Dhawan’s latest movie is like. A woman who has been unconscious for 25 years unexpectedly comes to life, blurts out a long-suppressed truth, and then passes away right afterwards once she has caused a stir.
The movie itself also kind of comes and goes. After a brief preamble that takes place 25 years ago, it degenerates, gains some life on either side of its halfway point, and then quickly reverts to what it was mostly in the first hour and a half: lifeless, uninspired, and devoid of real humour.
Kartik Aaryan, the principal actor and co-producer of the two and a half-hour film Shehzada, is in good health regardless of how the storyline plays out. To demonstrate his acting range, he utilises the movie as an extended demo reel. He frequently strikes the sweet spot by fusing slow-motion swag, some controlled effervescence, and flashes of emotion.
No of the genre of the movie—melodrama, comedy, action, or romance—Aaryan gives it his all. Parts of this swapped-baby dramedy may be enjoyable, but only because of what Aaryan gives to the role: a likeable demeanour with a strong sense of what is acceptable and what is not, tempering his machismo.
The protagonist, Bantu (Aaryan), was switched at birth by a factotum of a wealthy tycoon, and ends up at the naukars’ house when he should have been reared in the palace of the affluent maalik. He is engaged as an assistant by a lovely lawyer (Kriti Sanon) who has a degree from the Government College of Law, Amritsar.
It takes him the entire first half of the movie to realise who he is as Shehzada progresses through all the typical spiel about the rich being predatory and manipulative and the poor enduring the burden.
When he finally discovers the truth about his birth, he does not rush to the first opportunity that presents itself. He accepts responsibility for making up for the terrible wrong that was done to him. Those who have watched the original are familiar with the techniques and ruses he uses. The mischievous Valmiki (Paresh Rawal), the cause of the young man’s woes, may be pleased by Bantu’s antics, which are meant to ensure that he gets his just desserts.
In one swift motion, Aaryan transforms into a lover, an action hero, a mamma’s child, a furious crusader against those who have mistreated him, and a staunch guardian of the family with which he shares an undeveloped tie. Shehzada places a strong emphasis on the performer. He seizes the opportunity and does not let it pass him by.
The other cast members, including Paresh Rawal, are largely there to assist the male star in showcasing his goods. Kriti Sanon, the romantic interest and the centre of a few musical set pieces, is a lawyer who never appears in court. Indeed, she occasionally reappears, but never for any other reason than to serve as her ‘assistant’s’ second fiddle.
Manisha Koirala, who plays a mother figure, receives unfair treatment, and Ronit Roy, who portrays the patriarch, hardly gets any screen time. Raj is the young person Raj who gains from the crib switch at the beginning of the movie (Ankur Rathee, an actor who clearly deserves to reap the fruits of his talent to a far greater extent than the Mumbai movie industry has permitted thus far).
Raj is a man-child who is incapable of handling problems, making decisions, or even feeling rage when the girl he believes he will marry pulls the rug out from under him. If not an annoying brat. He is the complete opposite of Bantu, a misfortunate youngster who has spent his entire life relying on hand-me-downs.
Bantu’s unwavering refusal to tell lies is both his strength and weakness. The poor prince does not get lost when it comes time to go back to his realm and press his claim to the silver spoon that is rightfully his. He makes steady progress, and out of a sincere desire to be of assistance, he charms Aditya Jindal, the mansion’s owner (Sachin Khedekar). cliched but not harmful
Shehzada, a remake of the 2020 Telugu superhit Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, has an unmistakably retro vibe, but Rohit Dhawan’s adaptation gives it a contemporary, millennial spin by using all the clichés that go along with the plot’s absurdist techniques. It’s challenging to ignore the film’s inherent obsolescence, though.
The son of producer Allu Aravind and star of the Telugu movie, Allu Arjun, brought a degree of vigour to the character that required Kartik Aaryan to use every limb. He does so with style and even makes fun of the nepotism-driven new-generation Bollywood star system in the process.
Shehzada is fuzzily entertaining. If Kartik Aaryan were to be removed, the movie might not have much to offer. Shehzada proves, at the very least, that the actor can now carry a complete movie without relying on a particularly talented Tabu, as he did in his last smash, Bhool Bhulaiya 2.
Post a Comment – Aaryan’s career can undergo a critical turning point if Shehzada is a financial success at the box office. That would be an utterly deserving result given the time and effort he put into this jumbled mess of a movie.
