Just a couple of months more before we herald in 2013 & if there is one thing that stands out this year other than the blockbusters then it has to be the plethora of films with strong female characters. Starting from Vidya Balan's "Kahaani" to Priyanka's "Barfi", the list promises to get longer with an interesting array of films lined up for the coming months. The latest that promises to join the list is Kareena Kapoor courtesy Madhur Bhandarkar's "Heroine", which had been in the news right from the onset with Aishwarya Rai who was slated to play the protagonist having to make way for Kareena owing to her impending pregnancy. So can she live upto the hype???

The world of glitz & glamour has always made the public look at it with awe & bewilderment, but everything isn't as rosy as it appears is what Madhur Bhandarkar tries to convey through his latest venture.Mahi (Kareena) was the numero uno of the industry & she had it all, be it beauty, wealth or success. But just as the saying goes, 'it's lonely at the top" & that was exactly what Mahi felt. She always felt insecure due to the non-commital nature of her lover & superstar, Aryan (Arjun Rampal), which finally leads her to the brink of self destruction. Her mood swings & unpredictable nature made her market value come down with hardly anyone willing to cast her in their projects. Sensing the need to get back to the front of the pack, she hires a ruthless PR (Divya Dutta) who carefully plans & manipulates her career moves. But will it be wrecked yet again by her impulsive nature???

Madhur Bhandarkar has always been synonymous with hard hitting reality films touching upon various aspects of society be it the dance bars, corporates or the fashion world. In his latest venture, he has chosen his own field, Bollywood; which he is bound to know better than any other sector. However, his celluloid version comes across as being quite lame as it treads a pretty predictable path with stereotypes like gays, bitching actresses, kitty parties etc & ingredients thrown in from real life situations which though failed to evoke the wow factor. It's true that I dont know much about the inside of the industry but still what we get to understand is that all actresses are sluts who have to compromise to stay on top. I feel that aspect should have had more clarity rather than generalising it for the sake of sensationalization. As for other technical aspects, it seemed fine with the styling by Manish Malhotra deserving praise.

What actually makes this film work is undoubtedly the brilliant performance by Kareena Kapoor. She has put her heart & soul into the character & makes Mahi believable be it her mood swings, unpredictable nature or violent rage. Arjun Rampal seemed fine while Randeep Hooda has done an impressive job along with Divya Dutta. The rest of the cast seemed apt with Shahana Goswami, Ranveer Shorey & Helen standing out from the pack.

Verdict: The film will definitely have a good opening but it wont be able to make much inroads especially with "Barfi" running strong which is ironically also UTV production. However, it should be able to hold its own in the coming days & should be a viable venture. In short, though the film lacks the sizzle of "Fashion", Kareena absolutes rocks. So, it wont hurt giving it a try!!!

Rating: 2.5/5

Regards...Ben

Kareena Kapoor plays the role engagingly enough to keep you mildly interested in this story of the perks and perils of stardom. However, the plot and characters are too similar to Madhur Bhandarkar's earlier satires like 'Page 3' and 'Fashion' to appear anything close to fresh. In the end you indeed come out feeling like you just read a whole lot of page 3 columns for the last 3 hours. I'm giving it 5 stars only because the main cast made it tolerable. Ranvir's role as the Bengali art film maker was particularly well played.