It’s Kareena’s game
22 Sep 2012 12:00 AM GMT
It was perhaps Madhur Bhandarkar’s best decision to get Kareena Kapoor in once Aishwarya Rai left the mantle of his heroine vacant. For believe us, Rai would never have managed to garner the courage or the acting prowess to pull off a Mahi Arora.
Heroine is Kareena’s game, the other actors seem to settle around her like those diaphanous layers of glam and glitz that surround all superstars.
The plot is predictable, there is just that much that any director can do with the rise and fall of an actor. Bhandarkar plays with the cliches — jealous, plotting co-stars, cut-throat PR agents, the art film directors et all and leaves it upto some brilliant sparks of histrionics to save the movie.
Mahi seems to be in a constant battle that she just cannot win. Either it is one to save her hazardous relationship with Aryan (Arjun Rampal) or it is a war to save her career. She never seems to get what she really wants. Neither in love, nor in her career. And that is the tragedy of this heroine.
Plagued with a bipolar disorder, alcoholism and a series of unfortunate dalliances, Mahi needs to save herself from her stardom. Sadly, her kind of stardom needs a saving from.
What plagues Mahi is also what saves her and in the end gives her that one chance of some hope. However, a solitary figure is rarely ever perceived to be a beacon of hope.
Her relationships with two men — Aryan and Angad (Randeep Hooda) are what defines Mahi’s public life. One relationship bleeds her out, the other is a calculated move. But then love seems to evade her with a haunting regularity. She never manages to possess anything entirely, leave alone her own psyche.
Arjun Rampal and Randeep Hooda are revelations for this film. Arjun Rampal plays the perfect playboy actor who controls Bollywood and the heroine he sleeps with; but in time, it turns into this level-headed protective lover for Mahi who despite all on cannot really save her. Randeep Hooda plays the role of a dashing cricketer who falls head over heels in love with Mahi but never gets there because, in the heart of heart the shattered, perpetually heartbroken actress has only loved one man. And that is Aryan (Arjun Rampal).
Divya Dutta is spot on in her role. Sahana Goswami comes as a refreshing break in the movie that predominantly is a tragedy of sorts of the actress.
The background score falls in very smoothly, no song is unnecessary or overdone. Bollywood is just like that. As expected, Saiyyan, Halkat Jawani, Mein Heroine Hoon hits the mark a 100 per cent. What is perhaps the perfect leitmotif to the character of Mahi is Mein Heroine Hoon. It plays when the movie begins and one last time when it is all over thereby the circle of the heroine’s tragedy is complete.
However, at the end of it all — the tragedy must be embraced, Mahi learns it a bit too late, but then she does learn.
Heroine is a heavy film — give it a shot if you want to handle the emotions that come with it. Otherwise there is always Judge Dredd.
Heroine is Kareena’s game, the other actors seem to settle around her like those diaphanous layers of glam and glitz that surround all superstars.
The plot is predictable, there is just that much that any director can do with the rise and fall of an actor. Bhandarkar plays with the cliches — jealous, plotting co-stars, cut-throat PR agents, the art film directors et all and leaves it upto some brilliant sparks of histrionics to save the movie.
Mahi seems to be in a constant battle that she just cannot win. Either it is one to save her hazardous relationship with Aryan (Arjun Rampal) or it is a war to save her career. She never seems to get what she really wants. Neither in love, nor in her career. And that is the tragedy of this heroine.
Plagued with a bipolar disorder, alcoholism and a series of unfortunate dalliances, Mahi needs to save herself from her stardom. Sadly, her kind of stardom needs a saving from.
What plagues Mahi is also what saves her and in the end gives her that one chance of some hope. However, a solitary figure is rarely ever perceived to be a beacon of hope.
Her relationships with two men — Aryan and Angad (Randeep Hooda) are what defines Mahi’s public life. One relationship bleeds her out, the other is a calculated move. But then love seems to evade her with a haunting regularity. She never manages to possess anything entirely, leave alone her own psyche.
Arjun Rampal and Randeep Hooda are revelations for this film. Arjun Rampal plays the perfect playboy actor who controls Bollywood and the heroine he sleeps with; but in time, it turns into this level-headed protective lover for Mahi who despite all on cannot really save her. Randeep Hooda plays the role of a dashing cricketer who falls head over heels in love with Mahi but never gets there because, in the heart of heart the shattered, perpetually heartbroken actress has only loved one man. And that is Aryan (Arjun Rampal).
Divya Dutta is spot on in her role. Sahana Goswami comes as a refreshing break in the movie that predominantly is a tragedy of sorts of the actress.
The background score falls in very smoothly, no song is unnecessary or overdone. Bollywood is just like that. As expected, Saiyyan, Halkat Jawani, Mein Heroine Hoon hits the mark a 100 per cent. What is perhaps the perfect leitmotif to the character of Mahi is Mein Heroine Hoon. It plays when the movie begins and one last time when it is all over thereby the circle of the heroine’s tragedy is complete.
However, at the end of it all — the tragedy must be embraced, Mahi learns it a bit too late, but then she does learn.
Heroine is a heavy film — give it a shot if you want to handle the emotions that come with it. Otherwise there is always Judge Dredd.
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