If this movie was an all-out actioner like ‘Raid’ or any of the Bruce Lee, kung-fu, Karate movies, it would have been a dream debut at least for Tiger. ‘Heropanti’ as is, where is, just doesn’t engage or entertain, sorry to say!

What’s interesting though is the impeccably portrayed milieu, the familiar sounding familial interactions, the ensemble assemblage of quality actors and by and large, a distinctive intention to stay away from the superficial and the formulaic.

At 97 minutes the film is powerful, engrossing and completely captivating. And it’s all because the central character is so completely assured of her ability to get women to become more proactive in their own defense. It’s inspiring and truthful and even manages to question Sampat Pal’s own beliefs on testy matters that involve her family members. Sampat pal of course, comes out smelling like roses and why not? She is after all the queen of the Pink Brigade!

Jimmy Shergill, who gets lumped with an ineffectual role, is the only one who stays on the credit side of things here. A back-story that bears close resemblance to the one in ‘The Conjuring,’ can do little to justify or elevate things. The ‘item number’ is shabby and the production design quite sub-standard. You just have to go with the flow I guess. Most horror aficionados would. I am not one of them. For me, this script is simply lacklustre. No scares, no jumpy moments just a lot of set-up and ketch-up!

Adhyayan’s third Bollywood film , this time directed by his father Shekar Suman, is a bad copy of the Hollywood supernatural/Thriller film ‘Awake’ starring Jessica Alba. There’s not much room for rapier wit or exciting, riveting drama. The treatment is severely lacking in smarts. Just goes to show that even a bad Hollywood flick can look good when compared to its re-envisioned Bollywood take!