Heropanti ~ Movie Review

Weeks passed as I read tweets promoting 'Heropanti' and somebody called 'Tiger Shroff'. The last name Shroff got me doubting as my Bollywood senses awakened and started overacting; Could this 'tiger' be related to the old actor Jackie Shroff? And to my horror my senses had worked fine! Another new person was entering Bollywood's recent flood of super young and talented actors. This could mean two things; 1) He was going to be absolutely pathetic and only launching because he was the son of a famous actor, or 2) He was going to be a fabulous actor, at least much better than his father! I developed a dislike for the kind of language that was being used for the movie's promotions on Twitter; even the title upset me.

I had decided not to watch the movie because something called hero'PANTI' would surely be cheap and tapori-like. But when Abbie told me she liked the dude I just had to give him a chance. I am glad I did, because overall I liked the movie!

The movie's story is typical Bollywood (which is obviously why I liked it, being such a Bollywood fan!); guy falls for the girl and fights for her against her super strict family! Let me mention things I loved, other than the story and the filmy Bollywood plot first:

• I absolutely loved the girl's earrings and the way she carried her clothes.
• OH MY GOD I loved the decor in her bedroom, especially that 'D' shaped softboard she had on the wall! I am totally going to keep an eye out for a DIY version of it for my own bedroom!
• I loved the humor they added to an otherwise romantic movie. Romantic comedies that are well balanced between serious and funny are so awesome!
• I loved that even though both Tiger Shroff and Kriti Sanon were debut actors it did not seem like it. They both did a great job!

Tiger Shroff looked funny when I first watched the trailer but he is actually a fine actor. He looks fine, he does action sequences excellently, and he impresses through performing his own stunts. Oooh.

BUT there were a couple things that made me sit and stare blankly, wondering WHY. Like the fact that whoever styled him for the movie decided to make him look like a girl by applying extremely dark lipstick. When I saw the girly pink lipstick I kept wondering why on earth is a man wearing THAT obvious lipstick?! And then I was just completely distressed when they applied bright peach lipstick on him!! Secondly, I think he has to detach his gymnastics from his dances. It made him look like a ballerina which pissed me off at times! I thought he was reallllllllly young to be delivering those heavy impressive dialogues, but overall his acting was great! I believe if the right director picks him up (fingers crossed for Karan Johar) and trains him, he would emerge as a brilliant new actor!

As for Kriti Sanon, I thought she was really pretty and a fabulous actress! Considering this was her first movie, I thought she was confident and professional; it seemed effortless and perfect. Abbie didn't like her (which could be a personal bias because she liked Tiger *laughs*, even though she insisted that was not the reason) but I saw in her a combination of Priyanka Chopra and Aliya Bhatt. She resembled both in different scenes, at least I thought she did! She has a fresh and pretty look about her and she can pull off both modern and desi-girl looks excellently. That obviously means she can pull off various kinds of characters in future! Personally, I would reallllly like to see her paired against Aliya Bhatt in a movie; Bhatt playing a an evil brat, Sanon playing the beautiful simple girl who eventually wins! (I know, directors should totally be calling me up for such awesome ideas!)

Overall I liked Heropanti! I thought the ending of the movie was REALLY weak and abrupt. It felt like the writer just got tired and decided to put a period after writing just one more line. I have no clue why they did that but it ruined the nice vibe I had throughout watching Heropanti!

Regardless, the movie is still worth watching; just try not to be disappointed by the ending!

Saraallie's Rating: 4 Stars out of 5!

- S. Ali