Plot

Shehzada is an official remake of Allu Arjun and Pooja Hegde-starrer Ala Vainkunthapurramuloo. Bantu, played by Kartik Aaryan, the Shehzada of the Jindal family, gets swapped at birth with Raj, played by Ankur Rathee, the son of their employee Valmiki. Bantu grows up with his spiteful father until he discovers the truth about his birth and moves into their mansion to protect them from a criminal drug lord's attack, as well as help the family sort their issues.

Acting

Kartik Aaryan is effortless as the incorrigible, brave, and good-hearted Bantu and does well in the action sequences, but there's nothing fresh about his performance here. Kriti Sanon looks stunning in every frame but has little to do. Paresh Rawal and Ronit perform exceedingly well, and one wishes the latter had a more extended screen-time. Rajpal Yadav makes a cameo and does his regular goofy act that elicits laughter, but the sequence does not take the story forward.

Cinematography

The fight choreography deserves a special mention, with its slow-motion and macro videography. Sudeep Chatterjee's cinematography is also good.

Direction

While the title track sung by Sonu Nigam, 'Shehzada,' stands out, the others are just average. The film, directed by Rohit Dhawan, becomes a strange mix of Bawarchi(1972) and Mary Poppins(1964), borrowing elements where an outsider comes to fix a family's problems and eventually reunite them all. However, the screenplay and direction by Rohit needed more weight.

Verdict

Overall, Shehzada is meant to be enjoyed for its campy humour, irreverent hero, and action sequences and is a complete star vehicle for Kartik Aaryan. The film ignores logic for the sake of the slo-mo action scenes where the hero saves the day. If watching a mass entertainer with a gang of friends is your jam, you could make a trip to the theatre for this one. However, it lacks the selfhood that is often demanded of a movie and seems to be a copy-paste affair.

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