‘Heroine’ fails to define Indian beauty

Director: Madhur Bhandarkar
Cinema: Rainbow town
Running time: 149 minutes
Type of film: Bollywood extravaganza
Age restriction: Adults only
Reviewed by Prof Joel White
It was long ago that we became disabused of our belief that we could learn something about life in America by viewing the films emanating from Hollywood.
Therefore I have wondered: What have I learned about life in Bombay, India, by spending two and a half hours of intense concentration on the film “Heroine”, a singular import from Hollywood?
With the characters naturally speaking in Hindi and the translation appearing on the screen below, one thing I learnt is that their censors permit a great deal of foul language.
On the other hand, judging solely from this one film, neither nudity nor sex play hinted at is displayed.
The makers of this film have, with no preamble thrown us into the life of Mahi, an aspiring Bollywood actress, a film star who aspires to become a goddess.
At every point of her moving toward or away from her savagely fought for goal, we are presented with a carefully crafted pause during which Mahi estimates to herself the degree to which she has gained, or lost, in the advance she has plotted for herself.
Since Mahi’s ambitions are truly the be-all and end-all of what the film displays to the public, a close examination of the actress playing the part should give us a degree of insight into India’s concept of what makes for a beautiful woman.
Oddly, examination and judgment of her found her wanting and lacking in this light. Several other female characters in the film, with varying large or small parts, were if only by my standards far more attractive to the male eye.
Of great interest to anyone who is a serious devotee of films and their production, we are presented to Pallavi, a woman perhaps even more beautiful than Mahi, who has been assigned the task of improving Mahi’s standing and relationship with the public.
We the audience learn of the many tricks involved in improving a star’s rating as a human being first; actress second. Two men one a film star and the other, interestingly, a cricket player, move in and out of Mahi’s life.