Director: Vibhu Puri
Producer: Vishal Gurnani
Rajesh Banga
Reliance Entertainment
Starring: Ayushmann Khurana
Pallavi Sharda
Mithun Chakraborty
Cinematography: Savita Singh
Ayushmann Khurana’s ‘Hawaizaada’ is a classic example of an attempt to create an ‘epic’ movie. In the process, it becomes a huge missed opportunity. The film is disappointing in more ways than one.
The story of Shivkar Talpade, who is believed to have flown an aircraft before the Wright Brothers in 1895, is difficult to corroborate. Layers of jingoism have fudged fact and fiction. Having said that, it does present a beautiful cinematic opportunity to tell a nostalgic tale of a maverick freethinker who clashed with convention & socio-political realities. Sadly, none of that happens in ‘Hawaizaada’.
Shivkar Talpade, played by Ayushmann Khurana is a singing, dancing and academically inept boy from a privileged background whose idea of an unusual life choice is to marry his ladylove. Does he need a job or income to make that happen? Evidently not. No wonder his father throws his out of the house! He doesn’t come across as a dreamer who plays a trumpet in a band winningly. He just comes across as aimless. The girl he falls for is a ‘Lavani’ dancer who performs to entertain lascivious men (Pallavi Sharda). She doesn’t commit to him due to differences in their social stature. And then a lot of old school romancing ensues, stretching your patience like a rubber band. All this while you wonder where is the flying man/ machine connection!
Then comes a maverick scientist who is dodging a Bengali cop in the Bombay Presidency of 1895 with a caricatured British superior officer. This scientist, Shashtri, holds dear a precious notebook where he sketches out his plans to build a flying machine. And he also has a distracting mop of hair and copious amounts of facial hair. Life happens to Shivkar when his lady love leaves him (social status at play again), and he ends up with Shashtri, the scientist, as his assistant. They work on a secret flying machine. Together, they are a team. Their first project takes off but hits a snag. And then a moment of betrayal ensures that Shivkar, alone, has to build the plane.
In the background are the ominous and interfering British who conspire to sabotage an Indian’s plan to achieve the dream of flying. And then there are dollops of patriotism and walk in parts of freedom fighters.
Outlining it’s plot took serious effort for me, as it is very disjointed. The entire set up smacks of artifice. And research has gaping holes. For instance, references of a grenade attack inside a British Indian court and to Tilak’s radicalizing impact are set up in the wrong era. The film opens in 1895. During this phase, Moderates ran the Indian National Congress, which means they petitioned politely for freedom. There were no grenade attacks and no guerilla freedom fighters. It is only post 1905, and the Partition of Bengal that extreme nationalism emerged. Tilak took the lead in the Swadeshi movement then.
Such gross incongruities around the Indian Freedom Struggle glare in an attempted ‘epic’ film. One might still laugh it off in an Anil Mehta jingoism ride. Add to that, Shivkar Talpade’s oscillating and unconvincing character add to it’s unconvincing feel. At not point for a long time, does the central character come across as committed to the flying machine dream.
There are way too many songs riddling the narrative. In terms of treatment, elements of Chaplinisque humour & Emir Kusturica’s style of over enacted comedy simply does not fit in the context. The CG work done here is obvious to the naked eye. There’s too much happening at any given point in the film- all set to build gasping drama.
Ayushmann Khurana is earnest, but over acts in quite a few scenes.. Pallavi Sharda- the lesser said the better. Despite some over the top scenes, Mithun Chakraborty delivers the only worthwhile performance in this film.
The only redeeming feature of this film is a melodious soundtrack. ‘Daak Ticket’ is especially nice. Pity the film does no justice to it. If at all, the songs prolong it’s numbing 157 minutes run time unnecessarily.
Watch this film only if you are a fan of Ayushmann Khurana. The filmmaker Vibhu Puri might have had the right intentions, but this story would have been told a lot better from the angle of a genius like underdog rather than a soppy, love sick assistant to the real aviator.
Ticket Price Value approx 50 Per cent.
