‘Behind the darkness lies the truth.’

That's the opening salvo in the recently released Raaz 3 but in a way this tag-line explains Madhur Bhandarkar's film-making philosophy. Films like Chandani Bar, Satta, Page 3, Traffic Signal, Jail, Corporate and Fashion have already shown his penchant for delving into the themes exploring (Some would say exploiting!) the unseen dark side of different fields in life.

But over the years, his films have increasingly become formulaic and clichéd. His world of the rich and the famous (Read actors, models, politicians, industrialists, cops and cricketers!) typically revolves around glamour, gossip, booze, drugs, sex, parties, funerals, bickering, backstabbing, reporters, stylists and PR-gurus. A wannabe’s quest to reach higher up in the social circle, the inevitable compromises along the way, the eventual downfall and the depressing loneliness are the recurring themes in his story-lines. So is Heroine going to be any different?

From the time Aishwarya Rai opted out of it and Kareena Kapoor stepped into her shoes, this film has never been short on hype and hoopla. Whether it is worth all that attention is the question.

What’s the plot?

Heroine tells the story of a young leading actress and her topsy-turvy travails in the film-industry. Happy in her own success, tolerant of her competitors and in love with a fellow actor, she seemingly has the whole world at her feet. But the affair turns sour as her superstar lover (Arjun Rampal) leaves her midway, tired of her constant rants about his impending divorce and his reluctance to acknowledge the love in public eye. The breakup even shakes up her professional career. Hiring a PR-agent (Divya Dutta), she successfully rebuilds her image. She even finds new love in a top cricketer (Randeep Hooda). But once again, some wrong turns in life leave her in need of another miracle to resurrect her plummeting career. Torn between professional ambitions and personal emotions, what difficult decision will she take now?

What’s hot and what’s not?

As expected, Bhadarkar has filled up the film with his stereotype real life-inspired characters and scenes. But now his story-telling devices have lost their novelty and there is a tired look and feel to the proceedings. As a director, he sure needs to reinvent himself, otherwise the day is not too far when he joins his mentor Ram Gopal Verma as one more talent gone astray.

Kareena Kapoor is superb in essaying the central role. It is quite clear that she has given this film her all and her moody, sensitive and impulsive Mahi is a fine performance. Even the supporting actors (particularly Shahana Goswami, Helen and Govind Namdev) have done a fair job. But none of these performances manages to make us overlook the failings of a clichéd story-line and mediocre direction.

Verdict

Heroine is not a bad film but turns out to be just another average predictable soulless glossy fare. From such a hyped film with such big names, a lot more was expected. The comparison with Dirty Picture is quite obvious, given that both the films are inside looks at the film-industry and deal with the rise and fall of top actresses. But whereas Dirty Picture felt real and raw, Heroine feels shallow and superficial.