TheReviewMonk
Hero backdrop
11 September 2015Hindi102 min

Hero

4.041 reviews
CriticsUnfavorable

Bayesian avg · 41 critic reviews

7.5+ Exceptional · 6.5 Recommended · 5.0 Mixed

4.84 ratings
Users

User Score · avg of 4 ratings

8.0+ Exceptional · 7.0 Recommended · 5.5 Mixed

Umesh Bist WriterNikhil Advani DirectorNikhil Advani ScreenplayTushar Kanti Ray CinematographySandeep Shirodkar MusicSubhash Ghai WriterUmesh Bist Screenplay

Hero is a Indian action film and is a remake of Subhash Ghai's directed 1983 film of the same name, which starred Jackie Shroff. Radha is the 21 year-old daughter of the formidable Chief of Police. Sooraj is a child of the streets of Mumbai. The two fall in love.

Critic Consensus

Critical reception for Hero is overwhelmingly negative, with the majority of reviewers dismissing it as a poorly scripted, lazily directed remake that adds nothing to the 1983 original. The most consistent praise across reviews is reserved for the lead pair, Sooraj Pancholi and Athiya Shetty, whose earnest performances and screen presence are acknowledged even by otherwise hostile critics, along with Salman Khan's title track at the end credits. Common criticisms include a weak and unimaginative script, below-par direction from Nikhil Advani, and a failure to justify the remake's existence beyond serving as a launch vehicle for star kids. A handful of more lenient critics found it passable as a breezy masala entertainer within its limited runtime.

41 reviews · 4 positive · 11 mixed · 11 negative

Praised: lead pair's earnest performancesCriticised: weak script and poor direction

AI-generated summary of 41 critic reviews · may contain errors

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Critic Reviews (41)

Raja SenTop Critic· Rediff
4.0
"The new Hero is a mess; the new kids are too dull ...Nikhil Advani's Hero remake follows the template of the original, which may not have been the wisest course of action..."
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Rajeev MasandTop Critic· IBNLive
4.0
"This is lazy, indifferent filmmaking, and a colossal bore for most of its running time. A video featuring Salman Khan singing the terrific title track at the end is too little too late."
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Shubhra GuptaTop Critic· Indian Express
0.0
"The end of Sooraj Pancholi, Athiya Shetty film brings relief, with Sallu Bhai working the end credits, exuding more star power in two minutes than we've seen in two hours. This 'Hero' is a zero."
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Mohar Basu· Times Of India
7.0
"Sculpted as a full throttle masala entertainer, Hero is plot-heavy. And while you are well acquainted with the story, Nikhil and Salman's sensibility works as midas touch, giving the film a different texture. It is slick and never allows its viewers to feel restless. For its 132 minutes' crisp runtime, Hero offers bucketful of entertainment and victoriously conveys that commercial movies needn't be puerile to show people a good time."
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Tushar Joshi· Bollywood Life
6.0
"Sooraj and Athiya show immense promise. Unfortunately, Hero doesn't do justice to their potential."
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Ritika Handoo· Zee News
6.0
"...the camera work has used certain innovative techniques, and it was a good decision to use slow motion for fight chase, as it doubles the effect on viewers. 'Main Hun Hero Tera' by Salman Khan will definitely rush you to the cinema halls, we are sure. So, grab a ticket a watch this one to see the new-age 'hero' and 'heroine'."
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Nayandeep Rakshit· DNA India
6.0
"Despite a shoddy story line and a weak script, Hero will be worth your money. And it's majorly Sooraj and Athiya's earnest efforts that will set the ball rolling for the film. Here's to Bollywood's two new discoveries!"
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5.0
"Hero is not Kal Ho Na Ho or D-Day, it is a rather faulty film made by the same director. Only half-entertaining, the film is more like a promotional video for Sooraj Pancholi and Athiya Shetty that doesn't require a solid plot. Nonetheless, for Bollywood buffs this is a decent watch with great music and the typical 'Hindi cinema' storyline."
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5.0
"The best thing comes at the end. When you see Salman Khan crooning 'Main Hoon Hero Tera'. You wish some of that easy charm had rubbed off on the film."
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5.0
"Overall, this Hero is below mediocre fare except for the lead pair's straightforward performances."
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Sachin Chatte· The Navhind Times
4.0
"apart from launching new 'stars' these remakes actually serve no purpose. To begin with, the filmmakers don't have enough grounds to believe that they will better or even come close matching the original. So if that is the case, why bother in the first place?"
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4.0
"There are action scenes in the start and towards the end of the film which are unreal and highly dramatic. Sooraj Pancholi and Athiya Shetty's Hero is strictly meant for all those who have grown up on a diet of Bollywood movies and are fond of those typical romantic love stories."
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FridayMoviez Reviewer· FridayMoviez
4.0
"Unfortunately even as the anticipations and expectations from Nikhil Advani's 'Hero' were very high, it fails to deliver what was expected from it. Frankly, Advani's 'Hero' comes nowhere even close to original 'Hero' directed by veteran Subhash Ghai in any department. We are going for two stars for 'Hero'. Watch it only if you have nothing better to do this weekend and if indeed you have something very special to do, you can easily skip this one."
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Kunal Guha· Mumbai Mirror
4.0
"The Hero that catapulted Jackie Shroff and Meenakshi Sheshadri to instant stardom had songs like Lambi Judai and Tu Mera Hero which can be partly credited, as they'd factor in the success of films then. But the predictable plot featuring a union of partners from disparate conditions: rich and poor, cop and robber, coolie and client, was passable even though over-utilised then. Today, this photocopy with no plot tweaks seems little more than a tired effort."
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Bollywood Hungama News Network· Bollywood Hungama
4.0
"HERO fails the litmus test of rehashing a classic for the Generation Next. It appeals in very small measures and is not an ideal weekend entertainer. If you a die-hard Salman Khan fan, you may want to patronise, else avoid."
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Sukanya Verma· Rediff
4.0
"Unsurprisingly, this struggle to fit a modern-day romance in a dated template prompts a patchy, wobbly, bizarre, humourless drama proving an uphill task for two rank newcomers to tackle."
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Suparna Sharma· Deccan Chronicle
4.0
"Hero rhymes with zero and it's tempting, for the sake of the headline and because in the first five minutes of the film my hand went lurking about in search of an eject button, to just write off this film as a big, fat zero."
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Shishir Gautam· NowRunning
3.0
"Nikhil Advani is no Subhash Ghai when it comes to handling potboilers. Hero is a botched up film in effort to provide two reasonably good star kids a launch pad."
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Suhani Singh· India Today
3.0
"Producer Salman Khan, who is also the singer of the only tolerable track in the film, continues his rather poor innings as a supporter and encourager of new talent in Bollywood. Pancholi and Shetty will hope that they get a second shot at glory. Hero is a debut film that makes Saawariya and Student of the Year seem good movies. That says a lot about the film itself."
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Rakesh Jha· IndiaTvNews
3.0
"Nikhil Advani has mostly stuck to the original story with some unimaginative changes that only misfire. Expecting a strong plot and powerful performances in a masala film was asking for too much but Hero fails to deliver even on basic levels. It challenges the viewer's intelligence with its incoherent script, poor direction and below par performances."
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Rohit Vats· Hindustan Times
3.0
"Aditya Pancholi has a dialogue in the film which goes like, "Khota hai par apna hai." This sums up the idea behind presenting Sooraj Pancholi as 'the' hero. Yes, I know, I said that in the beginning as well. Then who's the real hero of this 131-minute film? Salman Khan. Why? Haven't you heard his soulful number 'main hoon hero' yet?"
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3.0
"Bad writing, poor direction and average performances make Hero forgettable."
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3.0
"After watching three hours of this torturous film, a thought came to mind. It's a plea actually. To Salman Khan and all other producers who actually have the power to shape the cinema that reaches us. If you have the resources, filmmaking expertise, and an obvious passion for cinema, why not back good films that take us forward and not a hundred steps behind? Would someone be so kind as to answer this question, please?"
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Stutee Ghosh· TheQuint
3.0
"Hero has a terribly weak script and ridiculously written dialogues. Except for the cinematography and the unwittingly funny end there is precious little we can cheer for. We want the lovers to unite and we want them to make it fast because it is after all an excruciating watch. No wonder inspite of having worked so hard in the gym Sooraj and Athiya fail to charm us. So I'm going to try my best and not be mean to the newcomers. Let's judge them on their next outing. Till then let us make a pact and forget about Hero. That would be the smart thing to do."
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Meeta Kabra· Wogma
3.0
"The same movie still gets made. New faces, but no value addition to the film, no new stories. So used to expecting the same thing over and over again have we gotten, that we have even stopped getting bored watching them. You shrug, "what else did you expect" and move on."
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2.0
"Watch 'Hero' if you are a huge Salman Khan fan and want to catch his rendition of the title track with the end credits."
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Mihir Fadnavis· Hindustan Times
2.0
"The only reasonably enjoyable moment is in the end credits, when co-producer Salman Khan shows up to sing a song. Don't get carried away, though. Even that's not worth sitting through the rest of it."
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Martin D'Souza· Glamsham
0.0
"If you are planning to watch this movie, I suggest you press CTRL+ALT+DELETE on your desire to do so."
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Nandini Ramnath· Scroll.in
"An ineffective remake of a 1983 box office hit mislabelled as a classic, Hero is yet another instance of the resilience of the ancient Indian tradition of nepotism."
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"Hero is a vacuous and self-indulgent exercise, akin to taking star kids on a field trip in order to show them the ropes. Do it, by all means, but why must you subject an audience to it?"
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Anuj Kumar· The Hindu
"Could have been a frothy entertainer for teenagers but the bubble bursts mid-way."
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Deepanjana Pal· Firstpost
"It's difficult to say what debutants Pancholi and Shetty are capable of because Advani's remake of Subhash Ghai's Hero starts off as awful and ends as boring. There are about two genuinely emotional moments in the film's 131 minutes."
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Sneha May Francis· Emirates247
"Advani's 'Hero' ends up a lengthy, unimaginative remake. Stay away, if you prefer movies that are easy on our senses."
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Rachit Gupta· Filmfare
"While there's nothing new on offer in terms of story, the fresh new faces and a brisk runtime of 131 minutes make Hero a breezy entertainer."
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Vishal Menon· The Hindu
"It's rather surprising that Salman Khan, given his present form, has chosen to produce such an insincere film. What do you call a film even Salman Khan can't save? Hero."
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Priyanka Prasad· FilmiBeat
"Its' a known aspect that Hero is an old wine in new bottle but is it worth drinking this new wine? A one time sip only! Hero is a one time watch movie with nothing worth getting a special mention, apart from Salman Khan's song!"
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Subhash K Jha· SKJBollywoodNews
"Oldfashioned? Yes. But this Hero conveys all the charm of the original, plus the newly-acquired swagger of the modern times."
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Gayatri Gauri· Firstpost
"With an equally lacklustre soundtrack, Hero is old wine in older bottles. One is better off, sipping the original one with the unforgettable Lata Mangeshakar's, "Pyaar karne waale kabhi darte nahin"."
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Uday Bhatia· LiveMint
"Ghai may no longer be relevant to today's film-making scene, but there was one thing he was undeniably good at—spotting talent in young actors and taking a chance on them. It's what made the original Hero and so many of his other films exciting for audiences at the time. Modern-day Bollywood, packed to the gills with star sons and daughters, may have to adopt some of his pioneer spirit if it wants a fresh set of idols to replace the Khans."
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Tania Rana· BookMyShow
"If you've always loved masala Bollywood films, this is for you. Go and see the newcomers, especially Sooraj, who has a lot of potential. Also, go watch Salman Khan sing on the big screen- it is obviously worth it!"
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"That comic relief, though unintentional, is welcome in a film that otherwise provides no entertainment. It is only in the closing credits of "Hero", when co-producer Salman Khan appears on screen, do you get the feeling that there is a star in the film."
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Cast & Crew

Cast

Details

Release Date
11 September 2015
Runtime
102 min
Language
Hindi
Genre
Action

User Ratings & Reviews

Users4.84 ratings

4 ratings from the community

Community Reviews (2)

MDSept 2015

Best of this year n sallu brought another blockbuster m

TESept 2015

Newcomers have a tough time staying afloat in the volatile entertainment industry. In 2020, when there will be no trace of either of the lead actors of this film, we can finally corroborate that the previous statement is, in fact, true. After he's done with his theatrics, heroics, and groovy dance moves, Sooraj (Pancholi Jr.) is assigned the task of kidnapping the daughter (Shetty) of the city's Inspector General (Dhulia) by his gangster-turned-politician father (Pancholi Sr.) on grounds of political vendetta. Soon idiotic dialogs encapsulate the drama that has the power to put off its viewers, because in here arguments turn into long-winded sessions of romance, and kidnappers fool around with their captive. Just because the original villain is the real life father of the so-called hero of the film, he's not sent to the gallows at the end. But worry not, because we have some random villains kicking the bucket. It is basically a love story where the characters use words like "calculate" & "alt+shift+delete" to describe the situations. You now know what you're looking at. Pancholi Jr. has a long way to go if he wants to stick to acting that is not solely driven by his toned body, and Shetty may want to check her options. Taking a French bath and screaming your lungs out is not considered acting. Dhulia is the only good man in the film which eventually drags the hell out to reach a point of stagnancy. BOTTOM LINE: Hero has a tried and tested story, but the actors playing the characters are like a bunch of toddlers who are yet to grow milk teeth. GRADE: F Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES

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