A limp Awake retread let down by weak writing and a hollow lead turn.
Verdict tier Unfavorable, most critics didn't like it, on a scale of Unfavorable, Mixed, Recommended, Exceptional.
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Critic consensus
Critical reception for Heartless is largely negative, with most reviewers finding the screenplay weak, the execution poor, and the film a pale imitation of the Hollywood film Awake. A handful of critics acknowledged that the second-half thriller elements and the mother-son emotional thread offered some engagement. However, the majority pointed to Adhyayan Suman's underwhelming performance, a lack of narrative conviction, and Shekhar Suman's inability to sustain tension as central failings. The film's nepotistic undertones were also flagged by multiple critics.
1 not-rated review isn't plotted
Positive = 6.5/10 and up · negative = below 5/10
AI-generated summary of 14 critic reviews · may contain errors
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Top critic
Film review ·
It is ostensibly made to alert viewers to an anesthesia glitch which propels patients into a state of awareness where they can feel pain and can hear everything, but are unable to say it. The only reason to watch this one was to see what Shekhar Suman would do in his directorial debut.
Film review ·
Though lavishly mounted, the first half is routine with emphasis on the rich-boy-meets-poor-girl angle. Post intermission, the real plot is unravelled. Though the twists in the tale rest largely on a dry medical fact, the film becomes a thrilling roller-coaster ride with terrific punches. The mother-son relationship is emotionally gratifying.
Film review ·
...all said and done Heartless works within its ambitious realm of love, betrayal and mortality. It makes an endearing departure from routine romances about broken hearts and mended morale. Director Shekhar Suman doesn't quite manage to hold the audience's attention in that spellbinding grip which the plot suggests. But the drama never sags.
Film review ·
...made with a lot of heart, but appears partly engaging. Shekhar Suman, the director, knows his job, but the writing lets him down. However, what you carry home is the wonderful performance by Adhyayan.
Film review ·
With a perfect concoction of romance, suspense and thriller, Shekhar Suman's Heartless is an absolute winner. When most Bollywood movies are going gaga about rowdy police officers, super-toned heroes and item numbers, Heartless gives the audience a heart-touching story of a mother-son relationship.
Film review ·
The movie has an interesting premise but a better execution would have been welcome. Also, a little more logic in the storyline would have helped the film.
Film review ·
A wasted opportunity to make something different than the usual, Heartless doesn't have its heart in the right place!
Film review ·
Truth be told. Shekhar Suman, the actor in Heartless, is more impressive than the director of the film. Better luck next time.
Film review ·
Shekhar Suman's Heartless is a disappointingly flat film. With the story lacking novelty and the filmmaker failing to fill in anything new or intelligent in it, the film loses mostly because of Adhyayan Suman and his on screen lady love Ariana Ayam. Awake had me haunted for days, Heartless too does the same with equal intensity just in an entirely different sense. It will take me very long to pass through the troubling persistent boredom the film filled me with. It was an unmatchable fiasco.
Film review ·
Shekhar Suman's directorial debut Heartless, starring his son Adhyayan Suman, would have been the butt of his own jokes in the immensely popular 'Movers and Shakers' back in the day.
Film review ·
The screenplay is in slow motion! Heartless is almost like anesthetic awareness. I felt the pain throughout but could not do much about it.
Film review ·
There is precious little going in favor of the film, the story doesn't have any conviction and barring a few minutes of the operation theatre episode, the absurdity of the rest is beyond measure.
Film review ·
This is no romance film. It's a vanity project. The camera spends more time on Adhyayan Suman in Heartless than it did on Hrithik Roshan in Kaho Na... Pyaar Hai -- with both films being directed by the actors' respective fathers. However, the trouble is that even though Adhyayan's character is made to dominate the film, Addy could just as easily have been a Subtracty and it wouldn't have made much of a difference. Heartless is, in fact, without a soul.
Film review ·
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!
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