Kartik Aaryan Shines In Shehzada

Shehzada

Directed by Rohit Dhawan

Rating: ****

From the first frame to last  , Kartik Aaryan has  himself a  blast. He makes sure we  forget the original  as he  launches into  a celebration of  pure  tomfoolery.

The  original  Telugu  film  Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo was  very 1980s in theme. Writer-director  Rohit Dhawan retains the flavour  and energy  of the original  allowing  Kartik Aaryan plenty of room to improvise.  Kartik elbows  out nearly all the characters. Except for Paresh Rawal who plays the scummiest father  on  this  earth, and not the least embarrassed  about it,  the rest of the characters are a  blur in Kartik’s  showmanship.

He is  required to be a  one-man  show and still hold the  show together.  The  orchestra conductor’s  avatar  suits him well.He  is  effective  in both the comic and melodramatic  moments.

Rohit Dhawan’s direction is  fuelled by bombast. He creates a world that his father  the irrepressible David Dhawan repeatedly created  in the past where characters lurk in the bushes and show themselves  for  a  few languorous laughs  in a palatial setting with a  staircase in the middle that  seems to move upwards  to nowhere.Talented comics  Rajpal Yadav and Ali Asgar do their  sketchy  skits  and vamoose.

It is an  oldworld scenario, and Rohit and Kartik  whip up a frenzy  of delightful froth. Harmless  fun meant to  chase away  our blues with  a whoosh of silliness.

The  supporting cast in this  outlandish saga  of  swapped babies  and  genealogical  contingency is  interesting.  But they needed to be  better integrated into the spirit of celebratory familial ties.Ronit Roy and Manisha Koirala could have been given a front-row  deal rather than being  relegated  to the  back bench.

From the vast supporting cast , Paresh Rawal and Ankur Rathee stand out for their emphatically  inimical characters  which are played with great affection. Raathee , playing  the flip side of Kartik’s karma, is an actor to watch.

As for Kartik he spreads his  natural unaffected charm all across the frames. Playing the son or the  brother   the bashful lover-boy or the holy dost, the film serves  as an efficient showcase  for  his  screen presence.

Oh yes, there  is  Kriti Sanon too. And the best comment on her  presence in this pickled plot comes from Kartik: “Kabhi  neeche bhi toh kapde pehan liya  karo.”

Ms Sanon’s long legs do all the acting for her.And that’s  not a  bad thing.