Anirudh Iyer's directorial debut delves into celebrity culture and the fickle side of fame. Most famous personalities are vulnerable to public backlash and media trials, and this works as the central theme of this 132-minute action-packed drama. On the face of it, 'An Action Hero' is a simple revenge story, but the screenplay transforms it into a twisted tale of a superstar, who finds himself in an extraordinary situation. It is a juicy plot, and Iyer, who has co-written the film with Neeraj Yadav, maintains a steady grip on the narrative for the most part. The film features Ayushmann Khurrana in a never-before-seen avatar. In contrast to his previous socially-relevant dramas, here, he plays Maanav, a buffed-up Bollywood action hero who wears his stardom on his sleeve. Soon, Maanav loses track of reality, especially when the antagonist, Bhoora Solanki (Jaideep Ahlawat), the Municipal Councillor of Mandothi village (Haryana), blames the star for his brother's mysterious death. As a result, they indulge in a cat-and-mouse game. Will the on-screen action hero be able to hold his own when hardcore action unfolds in his real life? Iyer takes a bit long in setting up the plot, most of the first half is spent on that. However, the second half picks pace and becomes an all-out action film with several elements to keep you hooked. The problem is, the random characters introduced throughout the film who don't add up much to the drama but to the length of the film. It's Ayushmann Khurrana and Jaideep Ahlawat show all the way, as they hold the film's narrative together. Ayushmann gets ample scope to live his Maanav's multi-layered character, who is a strong, arrogant and flamboyant personality as an actor, yet, vulnerable when fate makes him live like an ordinary man running to save his life. He gives it his all to make Maanav's persona appealing. The actor's physical transformation for the film is evident and lends credibility to his action-hero avatar. Jaideep's performance and his Haryanvi accent are bang-on. His character lacks depth, but he throws in some of the funniest seeti-maar punches in the film. There's a degree of uncertainty in his actions that comes from the goodness in his character, which adds to the hilarity of the scenes. There is a decent blend of comedy and action and some laugh-out-loud dialogues that stand out. Nora Fatehi and Malaika Arora's dance numbers to reprised versions of 'Jehda Nasha' and 'Aap Jaisa Koi,' respectively, bring in the dose of oomph factor. The background score complements the ongoing drama and establishes the tone of the film. Not everything in the plot adds up and you wish the film was tighter, but it does have a fair dose of action and comedy backed with good performances. The interesting thing about ‘An Action Hero’ is not so much the story itself, but seeing Ayushmann Khurrana get into the skin of an action hero and flex his muscles (literally) on screen. For that, maybe, you can make a trip to the theatres.Read more

While reviewing In Bruges, late film critic Roger Ebert wrote, 'a film that seems to happen as it goes along.' It's what Anirudh Iyer's directorial debut fancies itself to be as the action shifts from a small village in Haryana to south of England. Except in place of gangsters caught in an existential crisis, An Action Hero swings back and forth between a black crime comedy and a spoofy satire on the media's self-appointed moral police as well as the business of manufacturing and marketing news. An Action Hero's oil and water combination of genres doesn't always gel, gets overly far-fetched in places but still holds up on the strength of whimsy and surprise. It has something pertinent to say about celebrity media trials and the ongoing boycott culture afflicting Bollywood even if it's a few drafts underwritten. There are some cheeky ideas in there, some cunning humour too. But it's all too choppily put together to render its circle of crime that jubilant feeling when the moment of vindication finally arrives. Ayushmann Khurrana takes a break from social service duties to slip under the skin of a Bollywood daredevil. Although his Maanav holds his designer sunglasses dear and flaunts his chiseled torso at the drop of hat, he likes to think before he fights. Clearly, the man does his own stunts given how well he fares later on in the absence of choreographed action sequences. Over the course of the movie, he emerges more of a behind-the-scenes guy in charge of his own dialogue and destiny. When we first see Maanav, he's detained and doing planks while handcuffed in a British secret service facility. How tables turn from a responsible youth icon rejecting a mobster biopic to internationally sought criminal is the movie. Back in Haryana, a scuffle between Maanav and a local Jatt politician's sibling sporting a Wrogn T-shirt spirals out of control. Money being no issue, Maanav takes a leaf out of (Vijay) Mallya and Nirav (Modi)'s book and flees to UK even as the latter's temperamental big brother Bhoora (Jaideep Ahlawat) bays for his blood. Before their game of hide-and-seek kickstarts, An Action Hero comically glimpses at the jumbled law and order and snoopy local journalism of the region. Witch hunt for Maanav by TRP-hungry anchors remains its steady focus even as the man of the hour negotiates his way out of a spate of misadventures in foreign land. These tonal shifts between crime and comedy are as jumpy as the movie’s propensity to dive into a lengthy car chase or forced face-offs. An Action Hero has a rhythm about it, but no song. Too many of its jokes, amusing as they are -- like the difference between DoP and DCP -- appear out of context. Caricatures of shrill news anchors from Hindi and English media, accurate as they may be, are long past novelty. But it sure is droll to watch a Bollywood action hero consulting the industry’s original Khiladi in one of the more inspired moments in the movie. How insanely meta would the joke be if only the plane was flying to Canada. Iyer's taunting wit alludes to a lot of gossip churned out by the fourth estate but takes little notice of the obvious parallels between Maanav's professional and personal reality. Where the media circus goes overboard demonising him, An Action Hero's need to emphasise on his virtues -- refusing to pass the buck to his subordinates, helping strangers with their broken down cars -- borders on heavy-handedness. His newfound grit based on overnight epiphanies has little to back it up. Despite these irregularities, Ayushmann Khurrana conveys an acumen for the role. He keeps the momentum going even as the story takes a lot of convoluted turns interspersed in industry myths, hearsay and in-jokes. It's a bonkers third act, but the actor sets forth its touché potential to the hilt. Always a good choice for prickly characters, Jaideep Ahlawat's mastery in dour face and dry wit is well known. Too bad its terribly confused characterisation dumbs him down into a programmed hitman. An Action Man simply cannot decide whether his objective is vendetta or voicing fan-star obligations. Any time an opportunity for some exciting existential conversation between these two men, as two sides of the same coin, presents itself, Iyer opts for a less complicated chase-and-combat routine. Read more