It is not often that one gets to see a Kannada film that explores the dark comedy genre. Directors usually shy away from dealing with this genre as it requires loads of creative scriptwriting and most often, appeals only to a certain type of audience.
If you are one of those who can recognize humour, wrapped in the dark cloak of violence or nestled in the gentle arms of love, then Hero is for you.
The tagline loosely translates to ‘You can’t be a hero without being a coward, words by George Bernand Shaw.
Call Hero a dark romance, a love tale with twists, or a violence-filled film and you wouldn’t be wrong. But the dark humour shines through the circumstances that the characters (they don’t have names) face up against.
There is trouble in love paradise, and the protagonist, a hairdresser (Rishab Shetty) reenters his ex-girlfriend’s (Ganavi Laxman) life with the intention to take revenge on her for dumping him.
But he changes his mind looking at her situation, deciding to help her cover her wrong deeds. How he rescues himself and his love from all the clutches forms the crux of this action-comedy-adventure.
Once the plot is sprung, the movie devolves into a tale of emotions, guns, bloodshed, and battles, Result, they run into chaos, puzzling coincidences, and face off against mounting troubles.
The second half of the movie builds upon the cat and mouse chase that the protagonist and the heroine have to undergo. The movie, shot during the pandemic, has garnered a lot of attention.
It is a brave attempt by debutant director Bharath Raj M. Rishab Shetty is an artiste always open to experimenting and the film pans out as a humorous thriller. Chikamagaluru serves as the backdrop with a single house in this idyllic location forming a large part of the film.
The director forsook character building for wit and murders happen at random. The narration doesn’t really ask for much in the way of characters too, as the fast-paced story keeps you occupied.
Rishab delivers a one-of-a-kind performance and we see the desire in his eyes, to help his lost love. For the heroine, it is about much more than getting back to an old beau.
She uses Rishab to extricate herself from the emotional wreck she is in and Ganavi Laxman portrays the role to perfection.
Music director Ajaneesh Loknath’s perfect background score, and cinematographer Arvind Kashyap’s picturisation are good choices and gel well with the director’s vision. Hero, in essence, is a comedy filled with love, pain, anger, doubt, and hope. Enjoy it while it lasts.
HERO
Director: M Bharath Raj
Cast: Rishab Shetty, Ganavi Laxman, Pramod Shetty, Kiran and Uggram Manju
Production: Rishab Shetty Films