Dedh Minute Review: Hawaizaada

The plot involving an Indian who flew the world’s first plane seems like a fascinating concept, but director Vibhu Puri turns it into a dull 150 minute film, says Aniruddha Guha in his Dedh Minute Review.

Ayushmann Khurana plays Shivkar Talpade, a man-child who suffers from a Ranbir Kapoor complex, and breaks into a song at the drop of a hat. Staying true to Bollywood sterotypes, Puri decides to insert a love story between Ayushmann and a naachnewaali, played by Pallavi Sharda. Between the songs, the plethora of annoying characters and the pointless romance is an inspiring story, which gets lost.

Puri worked as an assistant to Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and while it’s natural for a mentor’s work to reflect in a student’s film, Hawaizaada looks like a poor Bhansali imitation, with cheaper production values and tacky VFX. The only thing that’s consistent with Bhansali films is the amount of melodrama, which reaches unbearable levels post-interval.

Hawaizaada should have been a straightforward 90 minute film about the world’s first aircraft creator but, instead, it’s a snoozefest.