My LONG review (for short version just read last sentence)
So let me just get the negatives out of the way.
It could have been shorter (note to anyone watching at an AMC - they do not give you an interval so might want to skip the big soda ). There are a few scenarios which are unrealistic but unlike most BW films they are there for a clear purpose: without spoiling I can only say IMO the unrealistic things were needed to realistically show the tough moral choices Anand Kumar had to make, the obstacles not just external but internal the students faced, and the degree to which mathematics and logical thinking can be used in daily life. There are definitely some melodramatic moments but not anything out of the ordinary for a BW film. The background score was good but loud.
The intermediate: I thought about Rohit Mehra a few times. I know many many people (including me in the past) consider it a bad thing that shades of Rohit from KMG pop up in a lot of Hrithik’s films. It took me a while to really understand what Hrithik has always said - his method of acting is less about pretending to be the character and more about being the character. What Hrithik brought to the screen as Rohit Mehra was a stylized (it was directed by Rakesh Roshan) youthful, awkward, naive, innocence - that came from inside Hrithik. I thought at the time the character was so endearing because I’d never ever seen a BW hero allow himself to be portrayed in that manner but now I think it was because I subconsciously recognized an underlying honesty despite the Rakesh Roshan/commercial BW trappings relentlessly piled on top. We sense that “Rohit” in Hrithik’s characters because those are facets of Hrithik and they come out (and probably always will) when his character feels naive, feels awkward and out of his depth.
The good to amazing:
As a fan just to sit in the theater and have a new film is amazing 😆. The first credits with the big HRX - not Filmkraft - HRX like a Declaration of Independence.
Hrithik is consistently good to amazing. His performance especially in the emotional scenes was virtually perfect. If there was any overacting (and I think there was a little 😳) it ironically came in the more mundane moments. Time and again he showed a complete lack of vanity abandoning any “star” persona. His hair is messy - even a bit frizzy sometimes - glorious 😆 . Costars are consistently good and Pankaj Tripathi is beyond.
The story is inspirational and topical. So many current issues. Inequality - the ridiculously privileged who can’t seem to even see the crushing poverty right in front of them, the “superiority” complex associated with English, and nepotism are relevant for everyone. Hrithik fans might also find a few more specific topics especially relevant. There were moments I laughed, moments I cried, moments I (quietly it was an American theater) cheered.
I never thought I could enjoy a song watching Hrithik watching other people dance so much . I didn’t think much of the music on its own but it was a whole different thing in the context of the film. The music has surprisingly stuck with me. Even today I am humming. I am still thinking about a lot of things in the film - and I do mean the film, not Hrithik or (just) Hrithik in the film.
I thought for quite a while before writing this how I could tell the difference between liking this film for this film and liking this film for Hrithik and I can’t say for sure. But I can say this: The last few Hrithik films (even 2 I genuinely “liked”) I have watched once in the theater and not looked for again - if they were on TV or streaming I might watch but never searched.
I am going to watch Super 30 in the theater again today.
Fan Fictions
Cricket
Anupamaa
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