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Star Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Pallavi Sharda, Mithun Chakraborty, Naman Jain
Director: Vibhu Puri
What’s Good: Thanks to this film, there will be ample of people spamming Google to learn about the unsung hero Shivkar Bapuji Talpade and his aviation discovery. Also the design team of the film will have to be credited for their work since re-creating the 1800s had to be a task.
What’s Bad: Well, for starters the entire plot which clearly seemed to have lost its focus from being Hawaizaada to becoming ‘Ishaqzaada’. Having said that, out of the 153 minute long movie, it will be difficult to subtract the amount of time wasted on songs which keep popping up every now and then.
Loo break: Take a long one!
Watch or Not?: Well, I certainly do not wish to recommend this film and especially keep the children away since we do not wish to parch their judgement and feed those impressionable minds with historic stories that are not clear. I cannot narrow down the category of people who will like this film, but they definitely do not come in the history or vintage lovers category.
User Rating:
Shivkar Govind Talpade (Ayushmann Khurrana) is a eight-times fourth standard failure who is often belittled by his elder brother and looked down upon by his father. In the pre-independence era of 1895, while the nation is buckled, Shivkar is a dreamer and of a free mind who thinks India’s biggest battle is first with its social stigmas and then the British.
Already fed up by his failures, when Shivkar better known as Shivi falls in love with a dance performer Sitara (Pallavi Sharda), angered by his choice to settle with a woman who comes from the lower cast, Shivi is disowned by his parents.
Although his life is about to take a flying start as he meets the eccentric scientist Shastri (Mithoon Chakraborty) who is on the journey to build India’s first plane. As Shivi becomes an assistant to Shastri, he too starts dreaming about the same and eventually becomes the first Indian to have made an unmanned plane.
Hawaizaada Review: Script Analysis
Bollywood time and again proves that it is still not capable of handling biopics other than the exception that Bhaag Milkha Bhaag was. This time dealing with a historical figure like Talpade who genuinely needed a good chunk of limelight, the writers mess up the entire plot as they weave a love story as the main frame while the key elements take a backseat. It is a shame that while Hawaizaada was being promoted as the ‘unsung hero story’, it actually is a love story and not a good one at that.
After being highly disappointed by the plot itself, what comes further are mini jerks that you keep getting as untimely pushed songs come up. This makes you hit the snooze button every now and then. If this was any less, factually too the film falters. In a story that is based in the era of late 1800s, we see the actress flaunting gowns and sitting at Cafes with the male lead (Not quite clear where that happened in British India).
Indeed, if this was a Hollywood film, it would have been based on quantum physics which lead to the plane discovery and not ‘how to propose a girl’ guide like Hawaizaada. It is a weak plot which missed all the key ingredients which it desperately needed.
Hawaizaada Review: Star Performances
Ayushmann Khurrana ventures the unknown territory with this film as he is no more the North Indian guy and he does a decent job. There are scenes where he overdoes and goes a tad bit too dramatic especially in an entire sequence where he tries to pull off a Charlie Chaplin feat. Overall he puts up an average show and this film is certainly not his big ticket.
Pallavi Sharda is the female lead and while she may win points for her pretty face, she still clearly has a lot to learn on the acting front. Sadly, in her Marathi item number too she is disappointing with awkward dance moves which are neither hot or sexy.
Mithoon Chakraborty who plays the mentor Shastri, fits into his role quite perfectly. As the tired-old-man with a mission on his mind, his funny yet caring and positive character is the only one which is actually worth a watch.
Hawaizaada Review: Direction, Editing and Screenplay
Unlike its plane, Hawaizaada never takes off. The film drags in its first half itself as the film maker stretches the scenes quite lavishly and the course of the story has already taken a wrong turn as the male lead who is supposed to be an Indian scientist is busy wooing his lady love and proposing her. Director Vibhu Puri at no point tries to build any kind of pace in the film and it seems as though frame after frame, you are being served with either a song or a dialogue that is not related to the bigger picture or the motif of the story.
One of the worst scenes in the second half is when the male lead is disturbed with the sudden death of his mentor and while on one hand he is greiving, there are scenes of Ganesh festival being celebrated and Bal Gangadhar Tilak is being shown. Well, both these things have little connection and it was as if he wanted to force other historical developments in this story.
Certain scenes send abruptly and it is truly disturbing to see that. There are some serious editing mishaps in the film and thus long shots of Talpade’s house or even the ship that he later moves into are shown unnecessarily.
Hawaizaada Review: The Last Word
Hawaizaada turned out to be a sheer disappointing watch. It has a yawn-inducing storyline which makes it difficult to watch even as it drags for over two hours. It is low on historical knowledge and even the execution is not top notch. Considering that I actually waited for the film to end soon, I am going with a 1.5/5 for this film.
Hawaizaada Trailer
Hawaizaada releases on 30th January, 2015.
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