By: Shaheen Raaj
“Super 30 Is Inspirational But Too Preachy To Be True”
Banner: Phantom Films, Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment, Reliance Entertainment & HRX Films
Producers: Phantom Films, Nadiadwala Grandson Entertainment & Reliance Entertainment
Director: Vikas Bahl
Star Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Mrunal Thakur, Ali Haji, Amit Sadh, Rahul Raj, Nandish Singh, Manav Gohil, Virendra Saxsena, Pankaj Tripathi, Aditya Shrivastava, Rajesh Sharma, Ghanhyam Kumar, Vijay Varma, Deepali Gautam & Karishma Sharma
Music: Ajay – Atul
Overpopulation is one of the biggest ills plaguing the country. The number of people in this country vis à vis the education institutes available are fairly disproportionate. As a result, lakhs of students every year have to struggle & study hard in order to get a few 1000 seats in elite educational institutes. The problem gets compounded when students belong to low income groups & hence, their access to fine tutoring at affordable prices is even lesser. Anand Kumar from Bihar came as a Godsend for many such aspirants. He gave free coaching to students & guaranteed them a seat in IIT. This feat made him a household name & now Hrithik Roshan reprises this role in Super 30. The film has faced lots of obstacles & also few delays.
The scripted scenario of Super 30 reveals that it is the story of a selfless man fighting for the cause of education for all. The year is 1996. Anand Kumar (Hrithik Roshan) has completed his graduation & is passionate about mathematics. He’s so good in the subject that he is felicitated at the hands of the education minister (Pankaj Tripathi). Anand manages to solve a complex mathematical problem, which has baffled scholars all around the world. His feat lands him a seat in the prestigious Cambridge University. His father Eshwar Kumar (Virendra Saxena) is a postman who takes out his Provident Fund to fund Anand’s foreign education. When the money falls short, he & Anand knock at the doors of the education minister, who had promised him help. But the minister refuses to help. Meanwhile, Eshwar passes away one day suddenly. He was the only earning member of the family & hence, Anand sheds his ambition & begins selling papad to survive. One day, he bumps into Lallan Singh (Aditya Srivastava) who runs Excellence Coaching Centre, an institute for those giving the IIT – JEE exams. He is aware of Anand’s brilliance in mathematics since he was in the college when Anand was felicitated. He gets Anand enrolled in his coaching institute as a premium teacher. Since Anand’s teaching methods guarantee success, he becomes quite sought after. Excellence Coaching Centre management even promote themselves by using Anand’s picture on their banners. Anand’s financial condition also improves as he’s even made one of the signatories. However, he soon realizes that some brilliant students aren’t getting a fair chance to excel in life because of their underprivileged background. Overnight, Anand quits Excellence Coaching Centre. He starts his own centre, where he decides to teach 30 students for IIT entrance exams for free. Not just that, he even arranges for their accommodation & food. Lallan Singh obviously is livid & he tries his best to persuade Anand. When nothing works, he tries to demotivate Anand, saying that all his students who fail will go back to their impoverished lives. It’s important that each & every student of Anand manages to crack the IIT exam.
Sanjeev Dutta’s story is decent & has the potential. However, the incidents shown in the film seem too unreal at places. The makers claim it’s based on a true story but some of the episodes of the 2nd half seem fictional. Sanjeev Dutta’s screenplay is watertight in the 1stever half. There’s too much happening but it’s all written down well. The writing in the 2ndhalf is a bit shaky. Also, the writing seems quite out dated. The good vs bad battle is something one has witnessed in countless number of films before. Many of the scenes of the baddies are typical of the 90’s films especially the manner in which they are plotting to strike against the hero. Sanjeev Dutta’s dialogues are acidic & make the right impact.
Vikas Bahl’s direction is average & could have been better. In the 1st ever half, he manages to handle everything well but cracks begin to develop in the 2nd half & it shows. There are several loose ends; for instance, what angered Lallan Singh & the minister so much about the Super 30 programme that they even get ready to eliminate Anand? The funny part is that Vikas Bahl hints a bit on the entire education scam. But for a better impact, he should have delved a little bit more on the topic. In the absence of the detailing, it looks quite superficial. 2ndly, some characters appear all of a sudden. There’s a way of introducing important characters. In Super 30, Raghunath (Amit Sadh) & Purshottam (Manav Gohil) suddenly spring out of nowhere & it takes a while to understand who they are & what their relevance to the plot is. Similarly, some major characters vanish without a trace as well, towards the climax. The biggest goof up by director Vikas Bahl however is in the Holi sequence. It falls completely flat. It also gives one a déjà vu of Vikas Bahl’s earlier film, Shaandaar in the year 2015. Even the hospital scene in the end seems too out stretched.
Super 30 has an interesting start, depicting Fugga (Vijay Varma) as a kind of narrator who tells the story of Anand to an audience in London. The focus soon shifts to Patna & the beginning portions are not very well directed. But they keep one glued to the screen. A lot happens in the 1st ever half, from Anand getting selected for Cambridge to the struggle faced to get funds to his father’s demise to becoming rich & famous after being employed at the coaching institute to starting his own centre. Hence, there’s never a dull moment in the 75 minute long 1st ever half. The 2nd half begins well & the sequence of the competition between Excellence students & Anand’s students is impressive. But then things go downhill, in the Holi sequence. It’s bizarre to say the least & the intended message just doesn’t come across. The climax too might seem filmy for a section of the audiences. But it is thrilling & also moving due to which the overall impact is not affected much. The final scene is quite uplifting & is an apt way to end the film.
Ajay – Atul’s music is not of the chartbuster variety & one wishes the film had one chartbuster, theme like song. “Jugraafiya” is the best of the lot. “Paisa”is situational. “Question Mark”seems like a good idea on paper but execution is weak. “Niyam Ho”is played at a crucial juncture. “Basanti No Dance”is horrible. Ajay – Atul’s background score is a bit loud but correctly makes the right impact.
Anay Goswamy’s cinematography is appropriate. Allan Amin’s action is realistic & is not over the top. Amit Ray & Subrata Chakraborty’s production design is quite real. Subodh Srivastava & Niharika Bhasin Khan’s costumes are straight out of life. None of the characters look glamorous by any angle. Vikram Gaikwad’s make – up is praiseworthy, especially in the case of Hrithik. Mukesh Chhabra’s casting deserves applause, in the case of the casting of the students particularly. Sreekar Prasad’s editing is disjointed & from an editor of such a caliber, a better job was expected.
Performance wise Super 30 belongs to Hrithik Roshan, no 2 doubts on that! He’s the soul of the film & the reason why one looks forward to the proceedings despite issues in the 2ndhalf. He’s completely convincing as a Bihari & his accent, clothes, make-up, body language et al are spot on. He proves yet again why he’s one of the most accomplished superstars at present! Mrunal Thakur as Rashmi suits the part & delivers a decent performance. It’s a very small role but has a relevance to the story. Aditya Srivastava is quite good in the villainous role. Pankaj Tripathi is gimmicky. In some scenes, it works but in a few places, it doesn’t come across as intended. Virendra Saxena is adorable & his character is sure to win the audiences hearts. Nandish Singh as Pranav Kumar is fine as Anand’s brother. Amit Sadh as Raghunath is too good & has a badass look which suits him. Sadly, he’s hardly there & this is one character you wish had more screen time. Vijay Varma is entertaining in the intro scene but later on his character’s significance will be questioned by the viewers. Rajesh Sharma is wasted & one wonders why his character is even there in the film. Manav Gohil is natural. Karishma Sharma is sizzling in the item song. As for the students, all have done a superb job but the ones who leave an impact are Ghanshyam Kumar as the little Fugga, Deepali Gautam as Kusum & Rahul Raj as Kishore. Ali Haji is quit entertaining.
Tail Piece: On the whole, Super 30 has a fine 1st ever half but goes totally downhill in the 2nd hour. Yet, the impact is made due to the high emotional quotient & also thanks to Hrithik Roshan’s superlative performance.
At the box office, it will require a good word of mouth publicity to rein in the right & adequate footfalls.
