Film Review 'HERO': Siva shines in a superhero avatar

Directed by PS Mithran, who made a notable debut with Vishal’s Irumbu Thirai, the film was widely promoted as a Superhero film — a genre which hasn’t been explored much in Tamil cinema.

Hero begins with the introduction of an 8-year-old Shakthi, who tries to end his life inside the school campus, believing that his favourite superhero Shakthimaan would save him. He ends up in the hospital bed where his father advises him on how superhero’s aren’t real and what would actually save him in life is the degree he gets.

In the very first scene the director makes it clear that the next couple of hours is all about dreams, education, life and hope. Within a few minutes, we get to see Shakthi (Sivakarthikeyan), who grows up to become a scamster of sorts. He sells college seats, fake degree certificates and documents to make his living.

What begins as a standard entertainer moves on to become a dangerous murder mystery. The untoward death of a 16-year-old girl (Ivana), brings Shakthi in contact with Moorthy (Arjun), a failed scientist whose only desire is to bring a change in the educational system. He runs a school, where children don’t read but innovate.

As the film progresses, we are shown that Mahadev (Abhay Deol), an educationist, who is the foremost reason for the death of many innovative minds in the state. According to Mahadev, innovation and creation can destroy many leading corporates controlling the nation. This forces Shakthi to take up the avatar of a Superhero, with Moorthy’s help. What happens then form the crux of the story.

Sivakarthikeyan’s impressive understated performance helps the viewer relate comfortably to the character. Though the film gets into message-heavy mode in the second half, it works due to the relatable subject and how it chooses to address a serious issue in a commercial way. Mithran’s verbal attack against education system and capitalism only calls to mind the similar speeches in Gentleman, which starred Arjun in the lead role. Even in one of the scenes, Arjun says ‘One Gentleman can’t save the world but a Hero can’. The earnestness in the performance of Sivakarthikeyan, Arjun and Abhay Deol are an added advantage. However, the screenplay gets a bit streched in the second half, making the audience restless. A couple of cliched dialogues and scenes, which is done to death in Tamil cinema, could have been avoided. Kalyani Priyadarshan’s role as a motivational speaker is largely a supporting role. But the actress makes up for it with her screen presence and doesn’t come across like a debutante. Yuvan Shankar Raja’s BGM helps to connect with the audience and brings that adrenaline rush. Overall,the film is definitely a one-time watch for Mithran’s writing and the casts power-packed performances.