Movie Review
Ayushmann Khurrana’s Action Hero is all about mindless punches and pointless guns. However, if you have the chance, watch for Jaideep Ahlawat.
Content And Uniqueness
When you go to watch Ayushmann Khurrana, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? The content and uniqueness of the script will be your first answer. So why did she choose to play a typical Bollywood role after films like Andhadhun and Dream Girl? we don’t know. Ayushmann plays the protagonist while Caideep Ahlawat plays the antagonist and the cherry on the cake. Well, we wouldn’t want you to expect too much.
Typical or not, every action movie has one thing in common – the hero’s mass(y) entrance. Just when we expected Ayushmann to jump from the sky or appear from behind the white mists, he had a rather mediocre entrance. For example, seeti maarne hi wale the ke moment chala kaya! It gets a second big entry, but none can replace the first. He feeds on anger to perfect his tricks, is rude and doesn’t value his fans. She suffers a setback after ignoring a high-profile fan’s request to take a picture with her and the worst fate befalls her.
Ayushmann Khurrana
Action Hero marks Ayushmann Khurrana’s acting debut. And it does a good job. But his character is superficial and has no advantage. As Ayushmann Maanav runs, fights and kills, as if trained to meet his destiny. But we can’t complain because he has experience in his profession – an action hero (literally).
Jaideep Ahlawat
Jaideep Ahlawat is one of the main reasons why you should watch the movie. His character, Bhoora, hails from Haryana and you can bet on him to make a spade a spade. Her character sports a makeover with a hairdo, but we can’t fault her acting chops and flawless Haryanvi accent.
Bhoora tries to avenge her brother and goes to London to kill Maanav. His expressions, one-liners and maneuvers take over the screen and we couldn’t ask for a better antagonist. For the most part, Jaideep stole the show with his screen presence and we heard the audience shouting, cheering and laughing at his one-liners.
Shot with nonsensical action, the film’s storyline sometimes makes you wonder what’s going on thanks to frequent jumps in location, context, and unhelpful introduction of characters. In the movie you will meet a character called Kaadir. Spoiler alert ahead, her character is short-lived and has very little relevance to the film, and we’re still left wondering what her purpose is. The film is fun in the first half, action-packed towards the beginning and middle of the second half, but drags unnecessarily towards the end with forced plot twists.
However, full marks to the dialogue writer for a quirky and fun one-liner that brings levity to often tense scenes. The action sequences were also pretty much cooked. Parag Chhabra and Tanishk Baghchi’s music included three remakes – Aap Jaisa Koi, Bachke Rehna Re Baba and Jehda Nasha and about two originals as featured in the film. Malaika Arora brought out her best in Aap Jaisa Koi and we are still in awe! There is another superstar cameo in the film which treats you to a sweet surprise and only when you watch it will you realize that Ayushmann has been dropping hints about it through the film’s promotions.
Cat & Mouse Chase
Ayushmann and Jaideep’s cat-and-mouse chase is quite interesting. Although we felt that Jaideep’s character was more fleshed out, we had better expectations from the Andhadhun actor. Having said that, we certainly enjoyed their screen space together. Certain digs, punches, kicks and fights seemed forced into the story for this, but that’s what most Bollywood actors rely on. The saddest part is that it is no different from other movies starring Ayushmann and Jaideep.
Overall
All in all, if you’re in the mood for some crazy action and want to see Ayushmann pull off car chases and action sequences (and a mutilated body) for the first time, you can still give the film a shot. And all you Jaideep lovers out there, this guy still pulls it off. However, if you are planning to book An Action Hero tickets thinking of it as another Hatke Ayushmann film, we would request you to pause and give it a second thought.
