Shehzada movie review: In this noisy Kartik Aaryan film, logic is put on the back seat
Shehzada movie review: Kartik Aaryan takes over this boisterous family drama with an old-fashioned script that relies on its star
Shehzada, the Hindi version of Allu Arjun’s Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (2020), is a complete star vehicle for Kartik Aaryan. The film completely revolves around the actor, even ignoring other characters and stories in favor of its hero. The actor is credible enough in this old-fashioned tale of babies switched at birth and a motive for vengeance that defies all expectations. His character Bantu, on the other hand, is a charismatic, street-smart young man who is righteous in every wrong that comes his way.
Bantu (Kartik) wonders as he grows up why his father Valmiki (Paresh Rawal) is never satisfied with anything he does. Valmiki works for the Jindal family and previously worked alongside Randeep Nanda (Ronit Bose Roy). Randeep married the boss’s daughter later in life, and the rest is history. Valmiki feels abandoned and, out of malice, switches his son for Randeep’s on a wet night in Delhi 25 years ago.
Both families unintentionally deal with the consequences and continue with their lives. Till Bantu realizes his true parentage and chooses to heal his broken family. Here, Rohit Dhawan’s picture becomes a bizarre blend of Bawarchi (1972) and Mary Poppins (1964), adopting elements where an outsider comes to heal a family’s problems.
The film has its moments, particularly with Hussain Dalal’s monologues, that both highlight the lunacy of the plot and lack of logic. Rajpal Yadav makes a surprise appearance in Shehzada as a police officer investigating an attack on Randeep. His conversation with Kartik’s Bantu about what’s going on with the Jindal family is spot on. The spectator may be experiencing the same emotions as Rajpal in the film. But the film bypasses logic in favor of slo-mo action scenes in which the hero rescues the day once more.
Kartik, who is also a producer on the project, gets the maximum screen time in Shehzada. In addition, he is surrounded by a supporting cast as his real-but-not-really family, which includes grandfather Aditya Jindal (Sachin Khedekar), mother Yasu (Manisha Koirala), uncle Kailash (Ashwin Mushran), and Raj (Ankur Rathee), Valmiki’s stupid, underachieving son who took his place. Kunal Vijaykar plays Jindal’s butler Cadbury, who adores Raj.
Kriti Sanon’s role flits in and out of the film, appearing in the songs and occasionally in the story, but she offers nothing to the film. She has no function to perform until she becomes Bantu’s romantic companion after being introduced to brilliant lawyer Samara. Aside from Manisha, no other female character plays a significant role. Bantu’s sister is presented in the first half and then disappears.
The animosity in Shehzada stems from the Bantu’s effort to find his place in the world. Yet, Paresh is portrayed as a disgruntled man rather than a “true” villain. His intense desire to see his kid prosper and punish his nemesis’s son is played up for laughs. Bantu refers to him as his “pichhle janam ka paap” (karma from a past incarnation). The villain role is instead given to Sunny Hinduja’s Sarang, who serves as a plot device to carry the story forward and give the other characters something to unite around.
While I haven’t watched the Telugu original, it appears that the Hindi film stays quite close to the source material. Some aspects have been updated for a Hindi audience, but this is still a hero-driven feature. Shehzada, with its over-the-top production design and popular Pritam musical numbers, is just too loud to make an impression. It’s not exactly dull at 145 minutes, but it does slow as it drags out the parentage problem.
Yet Kartik is in his element, helped by situations in which he gets to deliver potentially viral performances and stride onscreen as the hero of the hour. While Rohit’s screenplay and directing lacked weight, Shehzada may appeal to those who seek an old wine in a fresh bottle.
