Hero Hiralal

Little flavor of 80s (long skirts and no obnoxious dresses), Good music, Naseeruddin Shah at his best as usual, and add a new face on top of that. That's Hero Hiralal for you. People said that it was an inconsequential movie. May be so. What could we expect at the time when Govinda, Anil Kapoor, and other actors were churning out non-sense in the late 80s. Hero Hiralal was a breath of freshness, which was obviously not meant for the masses, however, it may have seemed so. All shots that focused Naseer and Sanjana together were superb in terms of photography, facial focus and dialogues. True that Sanjana couldn't speak Hindi without an accent. What do you expect from an Anglo-Indian girl? But ironically, I still find hers better than the accent of some of today's actresses who speak Hindi like they were born and raised somewhere in Midwest USA.

I found Sanjana quite charming (much more beautiful than her nieces Karishma and Kareena). Sapno Ki Duniya (slow version) was a terrific song, obviously lost due to movie's commercial failure. Saeed Jafri, Satish Shah and Mr. Yogi fame actor were good in supporting roles. Deepa Mehta was OK and others merely filled in. This is a movie with no frills, no beach dances, no non-sense. A simple and pure means of entertainment meant for the whole family.

It's unfortunate that Sanjana's career didn't click in Bollywood. May be it was her accent or may be it was her timing. Or may be she was just meant for Prithvi Theater. A great movie. Watch it at least once and then decide. By the way, finally the DVD is out for this movie. At least someone recognized the movie!

Naseeruddin Shah is Hero Hiralal, a Hyderabadi Auto-driver, who happens to meet a Newcomer (Played by Sanjana Kapoor) starlet. Becomes a tourist guide to her, and in-turn they fall in love.

Cut the starlet is back in Bombay and Hero wants her and follows her to Bombay, but her family wants him out of her life. She is made to say that she does not like him (but she actually does like). Dejected Hero wants to commit suicide. Saved by a Show Lady who wants Hero to die like a great lover in a greatest show on earth (played by Deepa Sahi). But will he die? Let it be suspense!

Amitabh Bachchan has made a special appearance as himself. The movie has brilliant moments and the first half is very good, second pales in comparison (but is still worth watching). Naseeruddin Shah is dramatic, but good. Sanjana Kapoor (the first Kapoor daughter on screen - her niece Karishma is latecomer by over half a dozen years) is charming and has underplayed her role. Deepa Sahi in small role is good.

Overall a movie worth watching!

For a long time I wanted to watch Ketan Mehta's Hero Hiralal. While seeing it I managed to understand why it's liked by some and why in turn it's not a very famous movie today. The movie is quite entertaining and unusual but its second half really lets it down and is close to being pathetic. The film is about Hiralal, a young auto rickshaw driver who has been an avid movie watcher since childhood and whose behaviour is pretty much like of a movie hero. He calls himself Hero Hiralal and that's how people use to refer to him. The movie follows his story, how he falls for a young and beautiful movie star named Rupa and how far he is willing to go in order to prove his love to her. The movie is really enjoyable in the first half and the relationship between Hiralal and Rupa is portrayed effectively. The main reason the movie makes an impact is undoubtedly the presence of Naseeruddin Shah, a great actor who makes an exception in this film by portraying a very naive and innocent young man whose behaviour is at times laughable but mostly makes him a likable guy whose sincerity is really unbelievable. Shah is an actor who is unafraid to make fun of himself on-screen, and that's what he does. Sanjana Kapoor is beautiful and graceful. Too bad the second half of the film was so unrealistic and unclear with Hiralal's weird decision to die a hero's death. Having said that, the movie is nice and it gives the viewer a nice glimpse into the world of cinema. Not the best of Ketan Mehta, an ordinary movie from the general point of view, but still a watchable and different movie which is worth seeing at least once.

This movie came in 1988 when I wasn't even born. A boring day. Nothing to do. Nothing to watch on TV. Then, while flipping the channels, suddenly something caught my attention. Naseeruddin Shah and a pretty lady spending time together at the Charminar. I found it interesting and decided to watch it. Glad I did!

Though I missed some parts of the movie on TV, I later did watch the parts I had missed online. Overall, the first half was excellent. The second half was typical Bollywood stuff although the decision of the hero to attempt suicide as an event was unusual. It wasn't as good as the first half, but was equally enjoyable. The song "Sapnon Ki Duniya Hai" was terrific in both the original and sad versions.

Naseeruddin Shah once again showed his prowess in the titular role. Sanjana Kapoor as a newcomer was also good. Wish more of her could be seen on screen.

All the other actors suited the supporting roles. Amitabh Bachchan was endearing in his guest role. One of the best movies I have ever seen! Highly Recommended!!

Hero Hiralal review :

Ketan Mehta's foray to mainstream cinema; Hero Hiralal was a time pass entertainer revolving around an autowallah who falls for a wealthy film heroine. Naseeruddin Shah played Hiralal while Shashi Kapoor's Sanjana debuted as the heroine who is a mere pawn in hands of her conniving mom Rohini Hattangadi.

The best part of Hero Hiralal was his style of swirling a hanky and using it as a weapon. It became a school rage and we used to imitate the action unabashedly. "Phata poster niklaa hero" was the punchline which became Rajkumar Santoshi's film title later.

On the flipside, Sanjana Kapoor looked too westernized to play a Bollywood heroine and her chemistry with Naseer was zilch. In fact, it was Deepa Sahi who looked sizzling hot in a small role and made you wish she was the heroine here instead of Sanjana.

Anyway, Hero Hiralal was all about the titular character and Naseer had fun with it. It is one of his memorable performances in mainstream cinema. Three cheers!!

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.