Caste: Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal, Randeep Hooda, Divya Dutta, Helen, Cigarattes & Liquor.
Heroine is a papier-mâché misadventure that has nothing great to offer except the actress with super screen presence and performance- Kareena Kapoor
Scene 1: The pretty actress is thrown out
of a vehicle. She poignantly sits in her car and moves to police station in all
tears, crestfallen and speechless. Before humble Mumbai Police could ask her about the complain, her secretary rescues her out. In case you
were wondering "underworld threat"...watch on.
Scene 2: Heroine
attends a party in spite of her married boy friend's wishes
(who conveniently wanted her to come after his gold digger wifey
leaves) and pour wine on the bitchy Mrs. Déjà vu?
Scene 3: Heroine after a steamy session
with her Yuvraj Singh alike cricketer boyfriend, asks him to recommend her name
for an ambitious venture to his moohboli sister who incidentally is trophy wife
of the lecherous producer/ actor, giving her fading career ka hawala. She
conveniently munches the dialogue- No problem, if my career ruins, I will team
up with a businessmen and buy an IPL team. Believe me or not the statement does
the trick and hey presto next scene he is in successfully recommending his new starlit GF.
Scene 4: Heroine joins a political
bandwagon sans red tika but symbolic shirt, with a broom in hand to bring- clean Mumbai, green Mumbai drive,
only to manipulate a favor from the reigning party leader to get the real birth date of a
rival actress exposed through her fake passport scandal.
Scene 5: Heroine in the feign end of her
so called “always fading” career, with no movies in hand, vanished assignments,
denied child adoption, stalled much awaited arty film and much more, gets so desperate that
she circulates her wild MMS with superstar male colleague to get her small
budget, sidey movie hit, while she goes in self imposed smoke & liquor
filled hibernation for few days (and painfully long movie slot). Her "holier than thou" boyfriend, sheds a tear and deletes her name from his phone contact list signaling
a post interval end of their “never made a sense” relationship.
Still did not have a hang of it? Then….
Scene 6: Heroine’s secretary goes on PR
visit to a notable producer and heroine ex co actor (a blink eye close take off of
Akshay Khiladi Kumar) with whom she had given couple of hits in past, for a
casting in upcoming film to which the producer/ director cheesingly rejects by
saying- her career is over. She may try & get in some reality show or marry
an NRI businessman!!!
Déjà vu anyone?
The film is full of such clichés and déjà vu
narrations start to end. Apparently, Madhur Bhandarkar, still soaked in his “Fashion”
fame fatale, after having watched “The Dirty Picture” thought of clipping
together his leftover screenplay from Fashion and making another “set” “themed”
movie and named it- Heroine.
The film has nothing new to offer. The
story line is erratic and the screenplay is even more moody and unpredictable
than her lead protagonist in the film. Mugdha Godse doesn’t graduates from her “fashion”
character. Divya Dutta as a sang-froid, shark PR pulled this one off as all her
other roles brilliantly. Helen is incomparable and has a screen presence still
untouched, unmatched. Govind Namdeo as secretary works well even in his limited
frames. Sahana Goswami as “You may caste my assets for film but I am not a
lesbian” Bengali actress looks convincing, Ranbeer Shorey, widely known for his
funny roles is a misfit as an irritable, rigid, erratic Bengali- national award
winning director. Sanjay Suri pulled off his stint as Aamir/ SRK-esque role of "you like drinking wine, oh then sleep with me or else I will chop your role off" act well. Arjun Rampal apart from looking good acted well (better than a lot of his films) and Randeep Hooda is same gibberish, wasted (nothing new).The films’ trump card and the only reason that makes this
movie watchable or work is- Kareena Kapoor.
Mahie’s life is sidled by her Delhi based “we
do not do compatibility but can smoke & drink together” caring, socialite mother
played charming lillete Dubey who has been (sic) wasted again in a pygmy role.
Wonder what happens to the age old tale of Heroines bringing mommy dears to
shoot & everywhere? The duo however manage to come up with two highly “seetimaaro”
(whistle generating) dialogues in the movie-
“Kyunki
tum meri ma nahi mein tumhari maa hoon”
“Tumhare
liye bees mein kar rahi hoon, bahar tees leti hoon”
Cheesy? but the crowd loved it.
Affairs galore, the second person in her life is apparently her third boy friend “married but available” who is “superstar with a gold digger wife and see a cute son too” who to please his estranged “add more in my alimony” wife throws his devoted girl friend of year outside his car. He does so only to have another 2 failed relations and return back to Mahi post a wedding dance ceremony sort of encounter.
Then there but off course is her cricketer
boy friend, soberly played by Randeep Hooda who falls head over heels in her
strategy and love and does everything that her past boy friend did not do for
her to woo her. He lands up in her bed and holidays abroad but fails to slip
his love ring in her finger and leaves grimly and grumbling to be never seen
again in this movie.
Then there is Helen who portrayed a
character of a yesteryear’s star who is now reduced to doing small time roles in films.
She effortlessly essays the role wherein despite being awarded for a lifetime
achievement she lives and dies in oblivion.
And yes. There are not one but two item
nos to up the ante with masses and wannabe babes (who may just love the babe-licious
salutations at almost all the bitchy shots of the movie). While Halkat Jawani may strike a chord or two at B centers and all; wherein Main Heroine hoon is absolute tacky & jarring!
And then there is lot of booze, smoke, trans sexual reference and
explicit scenes that conveniently frames the Hollywood ishtyle life portrayal of
a heroine. The movie deploys usual decoys from stars attending public wedding
to casting couch to their art cinema fetish to endorsement spree and what not.
However rarely any unique situation or scene that may make you sew to the movie
other than Kareena’s scintillating performance. Poor thing for she may have
thought if nothing else she could bag a national award like other actresses
from his set stables but Alas, Priyanka seems to have taken the Barfi away this
year. “Bas kar” (enough) says Uncle Oscar to Madhur Bhandarkar who
like the scolded child abruptly ends the movie with no head, no tails, ask if
it were there at all.
Heroine could have been better movie. Its
neither resurrecting as Fashion, nor hard hitting as “The Dirty picture” nor as
path breaking as Bhandarkar’s earlier ventures like Page 3 or Chandni bar. With
a weak screenplay and even weaker storyline it’s a contrast to all that hype it
created, all controversies it generated, all brawls it entered and may further embroiled into. Music is so so. There is nothing new or promising in
this movie except the beautiful Kareena Kapoor and her strong performance. Its she who makes the blow hot, blow cold Mahi, neither conventional nor a wild child Mahi, a "what could be an author backed role but stands as wasted sketch" Mahie works and looks good.
Mr. Bhandar-kar, its high time you spic brush
your creativity bhandar-ghar (store) and give us something better. Dil toh
bachcha hai ji phir bhi Heroine ki satta nahi tiki. Chandni baar aur Jail ka
fashion ab purana ho gaya hai. Page 3 pe aane ke liye thodi aur pyaas badhao.