Heroine

Starring Kareena Kapoor

Star rating ***

There wasn't as much hype about a Bollywood film than there was for 'Heroine'. Kareena  Kapoor has been totally immersed in promotions for this film with her endorsing so many different brands looking as glamorous as possible. Her item number 'Halkat Jawani' has a lot to answer for with the actress looking sensational and it definitely helped create a buzz for the film. With the release coinciding with Kareena's birthday, this film has a lot riding on it for the 'Chameli' actress. Director Madhur Bhandharkar is well known for making female centric films like 'Fashion' and 'Chandni Bar' and they have been known to create hard hitting headlines for the lead actors so this film was marketed to be no different.

Mahi Arora (Kareena Kapoor) is a moody film actress in this film who is desperate to hang on to her fame and sacrifices her relationships as a result. She is kept afloat by her capable assistants, her cold mother and a wise shrink who encourages her to find her happiness in herself. Mahi goes through the film trying to keep her life and career going and her wily PR played by Divya Dutta who makes the actresses move a new story in the media.

This film sets out to be a gritty drama that exposes the underground world of the Bollywood film industry. However, it comes across a rather over dramatic soap opera with lots of industry in jokes. Though this film is no way near as emotionally hard hitting as Bhandarkar's previous films, it does still manage to hold the audience's interest. It is hard for Kareena Kapoor to explore the role Mahi Arora to her best as she is frankly tossed from one mini drama to another which we as an audience assume that this is the nature of the industry. One thing that is never explained in this film is why Mahi is so broken as she is and despite a line at the beginning about a broken childhood, we never find out why she is so damaged. The supporting actors in this film do help give some light moments and Ranvir Shorey is fantastic as the crazy art house director and Helen's appearance as a yesteryear actress is remarkable. 

The soundtrack for this film is great and some favourites for me are 'Saiyaan' and 'Kwahishein'. I don't think this film is rubbish but Mahi's character needed to be developed a lot more to make this brilliant. This is not a scratch on 'Fashion' but still worth a watch.