Phata Poster Nikhla Hero

Not a good story and narration. An average screenplay. Rare to witness a poor movie from rajkumar santoshi. Only people can watch it for the stellar performance from Shahid Kapoor.

It showers few newness & respite into our palate after few let-downs in 2013. The man who gave us Ajab Prem Ki... has made a comeback but fails to understand that same formula does not work all the time.

Shahid Kapoor has probably lost it, with no signature to him at all. His performance is fine for the plot which talks about a mother-son relationship and all the drama surrounding to her dreams of seeing her son as a policeman & some underworld mystery which later turns into tomfoolery. Somewhere or the other, a feeling that the scene you just watched has happened before may trouble you, but I promise it ain't deja vu. I feel sorry for Illeana D'Cruz playing the role of a side-character who has very little screen space, provided the songs are excluded. Padmini Kolhapure is good, so are the other supporting cast.

Coupled with inventive writing & terrible character depth, it tries to indulge its audience, referring hell of a lot of Bollywood cult classics & the actors who played in them. A cameo by a popular B-town actor adds humor to it. Not to mention, the humor is terrific throughout, but fails if we consider the slapstick involved (mostly through Shahid's) & ask our brains to indulge. A tad melodramatic towards the end, PPNH is an average watch with your friends & family which is able to quench your movie thirst if long running time, sentimental drama and 5 songs (incl. one item number) doesn't affect your watch..

BOTTOM LINE: Fairly recommended 'cause it manages to stand up and wave, then tumbles down into a limbo. Easily forgettable.

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES

Profanity/Vulgarity/Nudity/Sex/Alcohol/Smoking: No | Violence: Strong | Gore: Very Mild | Porn: No

Reviewed by: Dare Devil Kid (DDK) Rating: 3.1/5 stars

Partly funny, somewhat emotional, intermittent witty dialogues, a couple of peppy songs, and sporadically wonderful scenes. Therein lies the inherent problem of "Phata Poster Nikla Hero" - it might entertain you throughout, but it never comes together as a wholly cohesive unit. Though it is better than most other mediocre Bollywood films this year, it never comes close to scaling the heights of Mr. Santoshi's erstwhile laugh riots - "Andaz Apna Apna" and "Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani".

Lastly a word must be put in about Shahid Kapoor's, who surely surprises many with his performance. He's in full flow and in complete control of his act, displaying his entire range from comedy, to emotions, to conventional Bollywood hero. After ages, he successfully carries an entire film on his shoulders, albeit with some help from Padmini Kolhapure (great to see her talent on display after so long), Darshan Zariwala, Sanjay Mishra, Saurabh Shukla, and Zakir Hussain. Ileana D'cruz is a total let-down.

In the contemporary bollywood, there are three ways to make a movie hit: sex,cast or making a masala flick. This movie has last two alluded elements. It is funny and emotional. As is being said that it is a tribute to two of bollywood's blockbusters DON and MUNNA BHAI M.B.B.S, you'll find half of the half part and half of the last part of the movie as intermingling of said movies. You'll also find that as in funny movies of Rajkumar Santoshi the element of comic fighting is prevalent through out the movie. Story: As I told that this story is intermixing of two movies. Despite of copying,film has got some genuine ideas and stuff. 5/10 I will award to the story.

Acting: Shahid kapoor has once again proved that no doubt he's a verstile actor and can justify every role given to him. Funny expressions can make you laugh even you may fall from your seats and said expressions can make you cry. I'll give 8/10 to the acting.

In an era when Bollywood movies are becoming bolder with new treatment and storyline and are getting plethora of kudos for it ,it is actually quite a risky business to follow the old school way of movie making.Yes you do get all the clichéd characters,songs out of sequence,over the top acting and intermixing of a few Bollywood plots but what stands out for the movie at least for the first part is that it has got its soul in the right place.In contemporary times the plot of a movie gets praised just for showing a couple of intimate scenes (and promoted as pathbreaking) and live in relationships this movie tries what others have forgotten,that is a movie which you could watch with your entire family without being embarrassed .Talking about the movie the first half is better than the second which looses what already was a thin plot.Still the movie will make you laugh(the guffaws of audience in the cinema hall at least proves so).Overall the movie stands on the thin line of passable vs watchable,personally born in late 80's having grown up watching films with my family throughout I found the movie a nice refresher.If you have free time go out with your family and enjoy this movie.

6+1 ..extra one for being a clean family entertainer (pathbreaking for contemporary times i guess!!!)