Heroes

When someone mentions the phrase " anti war film " it sums up many images . Perhaps it may involve good Germans doing their duty for the nation state which has been hijacked by genocidal maniacs and both CROSS OF IRON and DAS BOOT spring instantly to mind . It may involve teenage GIs fighting and dying in the jungles of South East Asia . We all have our favourite anti war films . Indeed my own favourite film of all time is APOCALYPSE NOW while my all time favourite documentary is Morgan Matthews 2008 gut wrenching , heartbreaking tribute to the British war dead from the war on terror THE FALLEN . HEROES is another anti war film featuring the aftermath of the Kargil war between India and Pakistan . The problem is that it's a Bollywood movie which means we're subjected to shoehorning song and dance numbers between the poignant moments

Actually I'm lying slightly because there are no poignant moments . There are clichéd moments , stilted moments and just plain boring moments . In fact it's impossible to understand what the point of the film is: war is hell ? Thanks we all knew that already but the story is impossible to take seriously . We see a Sihk being interviewed on TV where he makes a rambling speech about the good old days when emperors and kings would face each other man to man ( Hmmm wouldn't that be a court martial offence ? ) A airforce pilot in a wheelchair ( No don't ask how he was crippled for life because it's never revealed ) and worst of all the story revolves around a couple of conchie pacifist students who after delivering death letters to the families of the bereaved become patriots of the motherland with the greatest of respect for the nation's fighting man . None of this is ever convincing in any shape or form

There is one thing that makes HEROES watchable and that is the music and choreography . Fair enough , like a great many of other Bollywood movies the singing and dancing can be very hit and miss and this film is no different Some of the musical numbers don't work but when they do such as the show stopping Makhana number they work very well . Such a pity the song and dance jar with the very serious subtext of young men dying in battle and of the grief this leaves behind

Comparisions to Motorcycle Diarries – lets not go there.

Sohail Khan:: His performance is good in parts. His attempt to be "cool" is annoying while the serious/ emotional side suits him. Should stop showing off his muscular side every time.

Vatsal Seth:: Good looks, but needs more time to mark a stamp about his performance.

Amrita Arora & Riya Sen:: Force fit for the intro song and the inane comedy. The role should have been simply purged.

Mohnish Behl:: Small role but does it well (and age is catching up!)

Chapter #1: The best, IMO. Salman is OK and his patriotic lines seems to be inspired from Sunny's movies. Preity excels (thanks to her stint with the parallel cinema and it shows!). The confession to the uniform is not warranted. The young Jassi leaves a mark.

Chapter #2: Bobby is OK but it is Sunny who messes up big time. He attempts to do a Hum Dono Dev Anand and ends up creating a caricature. And what was Hrishitaa Bhatt was doing there?

Chapter #3:: Dino Morea doesn't have a role at all. Prateeksha Lonkar delivers a good performance. And its is Mithun who gives a performance which belongs to "Bollywood 1980". Now we know why he was lost in oblivion.

The transformation a.k.a enlightenment should have been a natural progression rather than in spikes. And the end was definitely OTT (the grey hair, school, Jassi et all). Why can't it be a silent realisation?

Had more time/ effort spent on screenplay/ script we could have seen another Rang De! And yes the original title "Mera Bharat Mahaan" would have been apt.

It breaks my heart to give a 5 star rating to this film. Again like many other Bollywood movies, this one had great potential. The story was new and the movie boasted of such a terrific star cast in Salman Khan, Preity Zinta, Sunny Deol and Mithun da. I would like to request bollywood directors to please never cast Salman again as a Sardar because he did not suited the Surd image at all. He did not looked like a sikh for one moment. And I really fail to understand that why has Sunny Deol to be portrayed as Hulkesque in every movie. Breaking ground with his punches, fighting 15-20 guys despite being a handicap come on.... give us a break. Alright he is strong, he terrorized the entire Pakistan in Gadar, but guys get over it. Let him be a normal man again. Otherwise, the story was good, and I felt that this movie could have had a Rang de Basanti kind of impact. I wish that it would have been made better with some more emotional quotient. This could have been the movie of the year, but bollywood being bollywood, made it what it is. Its alright, we are getting there slowly but still getting there (Hollywood level).

Boy i went to the theatre s*** scared fearing that bollywood will let the hell of boredom loose on me. But wat i get is a completely different film. A new concept tried is being tried over here. The movie tells the story of a 2 young men who go on a roadtrip to India and find our home made real life heroes. Wat i like about the movie is the entire feel they have given to it. Fun with some melodrama(not the usual one!!)and fun. Good thing about this movie is that they have not tried to convey a heavy message to the youth by using heavy dialogues n all. I am telling you seeing the fun these guys do while on a road trip on their bike..i am going to get me a bike and hit the roads. Explore the country and meet people of all the places. Believe me this film is not the usual run of the mill type bollywood film. Every actor has played their part with uplomb charisma and expertise. Sohail khan is real fun. The crazy whacky guy image suits him. I think for the first time i have seen sohail khan doing a role that has carved out for him and he has done justice to it. There are some beautiful shots of the Indian countryside. I am impressed by the director's use of visuals. Big things are said in a passing that's the USP of the film. Youngsters like me are busy trying to enter the rat race and become a part of the flock. This movie has given me motivation to do what i like the most. Finally i would like to say that this guy has done a great job breaking the mould of current Indian trend of storytelling which is marred by pointless terrorist attack films and other page 3 films. So i am giving him a high rating of 9 out of 10.

Promos started of HEROES and i was sure this will be another bakwaas , juvenile film With a star cast like Sunny Deol, Sohail Khan.etc But luckily the film manages a few things well

The film starts well, with the introductions of Salman, Dino.etc but when the focus shifts to Sohail Khan and Vatsal Seth it becomes so bad, reaches to the standards of Sohail films

With bad FRIENDS inspired comedy, with under wears and a song with lyrics BADMAASH LAUNDE Luckily the film gets better with the Salman - Preity story which is the only redeeming story in the film

The scenes between Preity and Salman's parents are well handled, Preity telling sohail to read the letter is also very emotional and the scenes between the young kid Dwij Yadav and Sohail-Vatsal are nice

Then comes the second half We have Sunny- Bobby story which has it's moments but it's too filmy What with Sunny banging 10- 20 people despite being lame Hrishita's part too wasn't required Then comes Mithun- Dino story which lacks the power though the emotional scenes are well handled the story fails to convince even the transformation of Sohail- Vatsal is too sudden

Samir Karnik gives his better film so far, after duds like KYUN HO GAYAA NAA and NANHE JAISALMER But needs to go ahead still Music is alright

Performances are average to above average Salman Khan looks the part but his accent distracts, it doesn't sound Punjabi, but his performance is better then his recent films and he is in full restraint Preity steals the show with a wonderful performance, thank god she acts here rather then trying to look good only and just being a part of a successful film Sunny Deol is good, though too loud at times Bobby gets less scope Mithun is excellent, Dino is likable Sohail Khan overacts initially but is better later- on Vatsal Seth doesn't impress Hrishita, Riya Sen and Amrita Arora come and disappear, adding nothing Thankfully there is less of them frankly Dwij yadav is outstanding, the young actor proves he is a huge talent He overshadows Sohail and Vatsal