Kartik Aaryan has established himself as an entertainer, and Rohit Dhawan’s ‘Shehzada’ is no different. He plays Bantu, in this remake of the Telugu hit Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo. He was switched at birth with a millionaire’s son, the story follows his way back to the wealthy family he was born into. He is mostly effortless on screen, however, his action sequences could still use some work.
Produced by Kartik Aaryan and starring Kriti Sanon as the female lead, the film was expected to be lighthearted, fun and amusing — and it tries, but it doesn’t quite hit the nail on the head.
Bantu is the grandson of Aditya Jindal, a big business tycoon in New Delhi. But as fate would have it, he grows up in a humble home in Old Delhi oblivious to his lineage. He learns the truth in his mid-20s and looks for an opportunity to charm his way into the Jindal mansion.
The movie follows the trope of a poor but honest man teaching the rich but cold family the meaning of love.
The role of his girlfriend Samara (Kriti Sanon) is more as eye-candy than anything else. Her unrealistic work outfits are the least of her problems as she’s completely written out of the ending of the film. Having made her name as a solo lead in Mimi, this movie is a disservice to her. Bantu’s sister too, gets the same treatment.
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Shoddy sequences
Bantu is raised by Valmiki, played by Paresh Rawal. A trip to the theatre is usually worth it just to see him on the big screen, but even he cannot shine in this poorly-written role. Rawal’s comic timing is overshadowed by Kartik’s.
Another Bollywood comedy legend Rajpal Yadav also makes an appearance as a police officer.
Ronit Roy plays Randeep Jindal, Bantu’s biological father. It is a well-suited role.
While the movie has all the elements for a hit, it tries too hard. It puts so much effort into being a mass film — that its sequence appears shoddy and disconnected.
In particular, the various action scenes, where Bantu “saves the dignity” of his sister, his partner and eventually his biological mother appear to be a forced attempt at projecting him as a Bollywood hero.
Ankur Rathee plays Raj, who was raised as Jindal’s son in place of Bantu. He is terribly infantilised. What appears to be a comical element is reduced to a cringe-worthy. He too, barely makes it to the end of the film with his fate completely unclear.
What the director considered a happy ending, was just a pot of confusion.
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Kartik is good, but he is not versatile
Kartik Aaryan’s comedic timing as Bantu is his saving grace. Following his legacy from his debut Pyaar Ka Punchnama, he delivers another monologue that the audience will enjoy. If he sticks to comedy, no one can fault him.
But as good as he may be in these roles, it doesn’t make up for the fact that he cannot play anything else, yet. His attempt at playing an unsettling murderer in Freddy tanked, so did his avatar as an action hero in Shehzada.
The inconsonant screenplay and writing make him look far worse than he is.
The story is strong and so are some of the characters but the writing of the film often loses its track, making everyone look bad. It is still a decent watch.
(Edited by Theres Sudeep)