Movie Review
The Telugu original had problematic parts – the entire song was devoted to the female lead’s slender legs, the male lead staring at her in a disturbing way, or befriending the guy who used to stalk her sister. Perhaps for simplicity, these parts were completely removed and a few characters were cut. But in order not to be different, the film only manages to stay somewhere between them. It’s neither a different or refreshing film, nor can it match the fun that the original provided. All the parts that set up the ferocity that Bantu possesses and get the audience rooting for him while screaming and cheering have gone to the chops!
But that’s a lot of comparisons I’ve already brought up, right? Let’s approach Shehzada from a new film perspective. It is about Bantu (Karthik Aaryan), the Princess of the rich and powerful Jindal family, who is switched at birth with Raj (Ankur Rathee), the son of his employee Valmiki (Paresh Rawal). It was not balani but Valmiki’s selfishness to see his son grow up in a life of luxury. But can you really take the shine out of a diamond? But will Bantu be able to reunite with his real family and prove that he is the Real Prince?
The film is directed by Rohit Dhawan, who is also behind the adapted screenplay. He has done entertaining films like Dishoom in the past. But here he just can’t control the subject. Perhaps he wanted to make his film livelier and in trying to do so, he lost focus on entertainment. The first part drags on and the film picks up speed in the second part. However, the narrative lacks the elements to give the film coherence or draw the audience into it. The audience will always feel apart from what is happening on screen.
Part of this has to do with the choppy editing, which is, in my opinion, the film’s biggest flaw. Scenes jump from one to another and spoil the entire viewing experience, especially in the first half. Not only that, but the characters in the movie even use references that aren’t shown! (SPOILER AHEAD) For example, a doctor wants Bantu to be there and Valmiki wonders why he wants him so much when he didn’t even want to see him the other day! The whole part where the Doctor doesn’t like Bantu and doesn’t want to see him is gone!
Alas added a very bad background score and such forgettable songs. Not always original, but there were gems like Butta Bomma, Ramullo Ramulla and of course, Sitarala Sirapadu. These are replaced by seemingly unnecessary songs.
Another problem with the film is that it focuses too much on Kartik Aaryan and as a result makes all the characters around him forgettable. It is probably only Paresh Rawal who manages to add flesh to his character with his brilliant performance. From Manisha Koirala to Ronit Roy and even Kriti Sanon, everyone was completely wasted. Sunny Hinduja had all the potential to be the formidable villain the film required, but he was not even given enough space to explore his character.
When it comes to Kartik Aaryan, the challange of matching a character portrayed by Allu Arjun is huge. The actor is serious and does a decent job, but if you expect the flavor that the Chic star exudes, it’s not possible. He’s good, but the film proves that he has a lot to develop, especially if he wants to break into the action genre. Again, thanks to the less screen space given to Kriti Sanon, even the actor’s romantic side is compromised. His comic timing was as good as expected.
Kriti Sanon is adorable and looks beautiful on screen. She is an actress with great potential and we can only wish that she is given more space in the film.
The dialogues are from Hussain Dalal and no, not like Brahmastra. In fact, everything is going in his favor here.
However, the negatives outweigh the positives, and if you ask me, I’d rather watch Ala Vaikunthapurramullo (and probably skip the extremely problematic parts, check out the rest), enjoy the songs, the acts and the flavor of Allu Arjun. .