Phata Poster Nikla Hero Review

What is it all about?

A sad case of a potentially wholesome entertainer going obnoxiously stale.. what strikes the most is the fact that it comes from someone as prolific as Raj Kumar Santoshi (Ghayal, Andaz Apna Apna, Damini, Pukar, The Legend of Bhagat Singh, Khakee, his last Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani )..

It is difficult to understand why the brilliantly recognized talent like Santoshi appears so desperate in his swagger to churn a `hit' is found guilty of showcasing such striking display of lack of craft resulting in the movie being banal and boring after sometime though not terrible but definitely not quite funny either..

The Story

Rajkumar Santoshi the one man army finds himself in taking all the blames as the story, screenplay and dialogue writer in Phata Poster Nikla Hero' where he just couldn,t have it in terms of fresh narrative or developments minus those couple of individual gags.. Absent are the freshness and spontaneity that where the trademark of Santoshi's previous films..

No harm in being cliche' and opting for the tried tested and trusted themes but here Santoshi as a writer fails to convince us in this story of Vishwas Rao (Shahid Kapoor), an aspiring actor, who aims to make it big in Bollywood. His maa (Padmini Kolhapure) is against his cinema and wants him to be a police officer. Circumstances make Vishwas Rao land in Mumbai where he meets Kajal ((Ileana D'Cruz) who mistakes him as a cop what follows is a series of situations and sequences some funny while mostly failing to make the desired impact.

What to look out for

Starting with a funny note the first half is indeed fun creating a perfect mileage for a an wholesome entertainer which is sprinkled with some nostalgia which we have cherished and grown up during the bygone decades..

Shahid Kapoor gets a full meaty massy role to show his caliber and he does it brilliantly with excellent command.. it's a treat to watch him perform with such ease, spontaneity adding his own grace.. after   Kaminey this is Shahid Kapoor's most enjoyable performance.

Ileana is charming. Padmini Kolhapure is fantastic. Saurabh Shukla never gets it wrong. Sanjay Mishra is again excellent. Darshan Jariwala is amazing. Zakir Hussain is fantastic. Mukesh Tiwari leaves his mark. Salman Khan is fantabulous in a cameo.

Music is highlight thanks to Pritam's catchy foot tapping numbers. `agal bagal' is already topping the charts..

Nargis Fakhri is hot in that item song.

What not

Unlike his previous works or his last `Ajab Prem Ki Gazab Kahani' Santoshi's Phata Poster Nikla Hero lacks the consistency to its plot unwanted drama in the second half spoils the fun. The momentum created in the first half gets fizzed off very soon that defeats the film and brings it down. The movie starts as a Raj Kumar Santoshi's entertainer but ends up giving a feeling of being someone else film.

Conclusion: Despite Shahid Kapoor's all out meaty, massy and lovable entertainment as an actor `Phata Poster Nikla Hero' as a film finds very tough to save itself from the prolific Raj Kumar Santoshi's forgettable moments on screen who surprisingly appears `Ghayal' in his own forte.. Mr Santoshi we all expected some `Gazab' (wonderfull) Andaz' (style) and not entirely but at least some flash of your prolific `Daminis' (lighting) in this Poster (read film)..

Rating **and 1/2 (for Shahid Kapoors terrific performance and music)