The quality of Indian mainstream cinema is falling by the day be it Bollywood, Tollywood, Kollywood or any other regional cinema. No matter how much people overhype basic masala films of South, the industry as a whole is suffering at the moment. Though certain films like Sita Ramam, Runway 34, Ponniyin Selvan, and Jhund have impressed this year, most of the ventures fell flat. With just 3 more weeks to go in 2022, not many exciting mainstream projects await us but one of them was An Action Hero. I am happy to inform you that this film will definitely not disappoint the viewers unless they are hellbent on hating Bollywood. It is fresh, unique, and a stereotype breaker for both Ayushmann Khurrana as well as Bollywood action thrillers. The following review has no spoilers so you can continue on without any issues.
An Action Hero Is An Unpredictable Joy Ride From Beginning to the End
Rating – ★★★★
An Action Hero by debutant director Anirudh Iyer succeeds in breaking the stereotypes with its unpredictability, dark humor, and surprisingly good action. In fact, the action in this film is highly impressive as for the most part it is quite realistic and well executed. The climax’ hand to hand fight scenes did have that familiar Bollywood unrealism but apart from that, it was really well done! So, kudos to the stunt team and action choreographers. One particular house fight scene right after the interval was especially mind-blowing with some deft moves and creative use of the surroundings. The car chases and parkour sequences in the film were also quite realistic and unlike the usual over the top dynamic action sequences we see in Indian cinema.
Moving on, the cinematography and sound design of the film were also well executed and enhanced the viewing experience a lot. The editing, set designs, and other technical aspects of the film were also handled well, so there are absolutely no complaints from the film’s technical department. That leaves us with the big three of film making aka direction, performances, and writing. Let us talk about the performances first as there aren’t may characters in the film and it carried by Ayushmann Khurrana and Jaideep Ahlawat. There were a few cameos (Akshay Kumar, and Malaika Arora Khan) in the film as well, that the audiences might enjoy but they don’t really add much to the plot.
Bhoora Solanki portrayed by Jaideep is definitely the MVP of the film not just character wise, but also due to the exceptional performance by the actor. He absolutely nailed the Haryanvi accent and there isn’t one person alive who’d deny that. His comic timing, dialogue delivery, facial expressions, and voice modulation were all work of a fine and polished actor. He is a gift to this industry and if used well, there is no limit to what he can achieve. Jaideep’s performance and screen presence widely overshadowed everything else in the film but Ayushmann Khurranna held his own. Being the protagonist and the more popular name, he had a lot of work to do in the film and he did it satisfyingly.
Not only does his performance as the action hero Maanav stand out from most of his roles, it is also his finest since Andhadhun. It can be seen that he truly committed to this role and that he not only sweat at the gym, but also learned martial arts. But aside from his physical labor, he succeeded with his overall performance as well. Aside form these two, rest of the cast and characters were just “there”. So, let us move on to the direction and writing. First of all, the humor is well written and well placed as it never felt forced or absent. Be the satirical portrayal of the public and media with obvious Arnab Goswami and Ravish Kumar like journalists, or the inclusion of obvious Dawood Ibrahim like overlord, it’s societal commentary was on point.
Certain witty and humorous lines were also placed throughout the film and even when it was as its darkest, it managed to be naturally funny. That is exactly why it is being called a black comedy as it treats subjects like murder, death, organized crime, and injustice very lightly. So, if that upsets you, then I’m sorry but you do not grasp the concept of a dark comedy film. Moving on, the story of the film is highly unpredictable and that always keeps the viewers invested. It is smart, thrilling and well written. The only upsetting part about the writing were the dialogues as they seemed quite mediocre. Not that they were bad, but there is a lot of scope of including impactful and meaningful dialogues in such films.
Another minor issue in the film was it was quite inconsistent in some logical aspects. For example, the police and the villains only showed up when the plot required them to. Similarly, Bhoora had many chances throughout the film when he could have easily killed Maanav but didn’t because again, the plot demanded so. Also, in one scene Bhoora quickly snatched away the gun from one of the underworld henchman, but he somehow forgot how to do that whenever he faced Maanav. So, yeah this may seem like nitpicking but it is inconsistencies like these which held this film back from being an Andhadhun.
Final Verdict – Even though An Action Hero is not an Andhadhun, it manages to be one of the best films of the year. The overall concept is not that fresh, but the execution and the unpredictability of the film sets it apart from other such films. How it all turns out to be in the end is not only humorous, but also very creative and fresh. It felt like a classic Quentin Tarantino venture with a twisted ending which is. once again, well written and hard to predict. I mean, it is nothing shocking like a mystery movie but the way it all plays out, is something you wont see coming. So, all in all, I personally was very impressed with this film and I hope it gets the recognition it deserves.
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