Phata Poster Nikhla Hero Review

As the protagonist Vishwas Rao (Shahid Kapur) tells a character at the end of the film: I have done everything by now – romanced with the heroine, danced with the item girl, fought with the villain, and helped the police. Santoshi certainly ticked all the boxes, and if he only knew where to stop, he might have ended up with more than an average film.

Shahid Kapur plays a small-town boy who harbours dreams of becoming a film hero. His mother Savitri (Padmini Kolhapure, hamming it up), however, has different plans. She wants him to become an honest police officer to atone for the sins of her husband, who was all the things a police officer shouldn’t be. She sends him to Mumbai to fulfil her dream, but Vishwas is hell-bent on making a career as a Hindi film hero.

A series of coincidences ensue, which leads to him donning a police officer’s uniform, his mother arriving in Mumbai, and a whole lot of hare-brained schemes that are impossible to explain on paper. Suffice to say that the climax involves something called “bio-chemical”, which, we are told is a liquid but will convert into gas and destroy thousands of lives.

This isn’t a film that aims for logic, but it works sporadically, thanks to some clever dialogue and self-deprecating humour. Particularly funny is an inspired cameo from Salman Khan, who plays himself with great nonchalance, and is sure to invite guffaws.

Shahid Kapur is the film’s biggest strength – he delivers even the weakest of lines with panache and dances like a dream. Saurabh Shukla as a don and Sanjai Mishra as Vishwas’ landlord are hilarious in their roles. But everyone else including Mukesh Tiwari and Kolhapure ham it up.

This film could have been a lot funnier, but Santoshi drags it on for too long and loses the viewer mid-way. Watch it if you are a Shahid Kapur fan.