Shehzada Review: Even the ‘famous Kartik Aaryan monologue’ can't save this dull non-comedy remake

1.5/5

The day Kartik Aaryan, aka Bantu, takes birth, his destiny was upended. Despite the fact that he was born a Shehzada, he was raised in a modest home and had his Shehzada status taken away from him. All of this was a ruse by Valmiki (Paresh Rawal), the pretend father of Bantu. What does Bantu do after discovering that the Jindals are his real family? This is the central conflict of the Hindi remake of Allu Arjun's Telugu superhit Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo film Shehzada.

The protagonist of Shehzada (Kartik Aaryan) is a man who is protecting his family. Bantu and Raj were born in the same hospital on the same day 25 years ago. Valmiki (Paresh Rawal) gives birth to Raj, while Randeep Nanda (Ronit Roy) and Yashu (Manisha Koirala) have a child named Bantu. The fact that Randeep and Valmiki began their professions together but  Randeep ultimately wed Yashu, the affluent Aditya Jindal's (Sachin Khedekar) daughter. Randeep suddenly became obscenely wealthy, which infuriated Valmiki. On the day of their birth, Valmiki switches Bantu and Raj under certain circumstances.

Bantu accepts a position at a law office managed by Samara (Kriti Sanon). Both ultimately fall in love. However, Samara's father, Rakesh Bedi, arranges her marriage with Raj. Samara is urged by Bantu to meet Randeep and tell him the truth. Randeep gets attacked by Vikrant (Vinay Rana), a rival, just before their meeting. Bantu then saves Randeep's life by rushing him to the hospital. By chance, he also learns at the hospital that Randeep is the man who is his biological father. The remainder of the movie is based on what occurs next.

Rohit Dhawan's additional screenplay credit is unearned as Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo's highlights are almost all retained in Dhawan's adaptation, which just minor changes are made to the original. Shehzada faithfully recycles a tried-and-true pattern, right from the hero's name, the slow-motion action sequences, the character arcs, and the comedy moments.

The amount of extraneous and unnecessary action and drama in the movie shows how far the makers took it. While the dialogue is delivered naturally, the humour frequently (believe me, more frequently) comes out as forced. The first half of the film is slow-paced, but by the second half, the comedy and drama start to drag.

Speaking of performances, Kartik Aaryan looks dapper and with Shehzada, he has the entire stage to himself to show us his acting skills, his capacity to make us laugh, his ability to kick some asses, and to dazzle us with all the slow-mos. Let's just say that he tried his best to persuade us, but it wasn't enough. Although Kriti Sanon's Samara, who is Bantu's boss and eventually his girlfriend, offers little in this movie, she nevertheless manages to look lovely. She does her role honestly. Their banter is, however, too cheesy to digest.

Paresh Rawal would probably make you feel disgusted with him for the first time since his character demands it and well, he does his part pretty well. Watching Manisha Koirala is fascinating. Sunny, Sachin, and Ronit are persuasive and probably one of the reasons to sit for this dull film throughout. Ankur Rathee makes a great debut on the big screen with Shehzada. He did a fantastic job improvising the part from the original character. He maintains his arc honesty. Comedy veterans Rajpal Yadav and Rakesh Bedi dominate the screen even with just a few jokes.

I never imagined Pritam Chakraborty's music would be one the weakest link in the movie. The original's music was a strength, but this one detracts from the overall mood of the narrative.

Who doesn't love a Bollywood masala film with all the drama, comedy, and action that comes along with it? Well, Kartik Aaryan's Shehzada doesn't deliver that, so we'll have to wait for one!