The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Hero takes the cake

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Saturday, Jun 30, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Hero takes the cake

Film:AAP KAA SURROOR

Cast: Himesh Reshamiyya, Hansika

The master of evoking extremes, Himesh Reshamiyya has to be the biggest public addiction of our times. His first film, ‘Aap Kaa Surroor’ is proof that the man can afford to scoff at critics, ignore all those nasal whispers. He needs no help from any quarter. For all his limited, very limited acting ability, he can carry a film on his shoulders.

His popularity as a singer precedes him. The masses clap when the Censor certificate is displayed. They whistle when he is shown picking his cap; the camera focuses on the hand and the cap, not the face. They roar when he enters the film, singing and dancing to ‘Assalam-o-alaikum’.

Some might hate him and with reason too. Others might love him, again with a reason. Yet nobody can ignore Himesh Reshamiyya in the big, bad world of Hindi cinema. Nothing succeeds like success and Himesh is nothing but a success story. Here, in his debut film, he comes up with a shrewd combination of real and reel life, using the silver screen to answer his detractors. Never quite self-righteous, he takes little digs at himself, but importantly answers all the questions many ask: is he actually just a nasal singer? Why does he not take his cap off? And is he arrogant? Why does he not smile at all? So, is ‘Aap Ka Surroor’ Himesh’s real life story? No. But it is a clever combination of real life instances with complete fantasy. So, Himesh gets to play Himesh though often in the film he is called HR, the rock star from India is . He is on a world concert tour. And even as the masses swoon over his music – again a clever interpolation – he is faced with a murder charge. . Put behind the bars in Germany, his challenge lies in winning over his girlfriend before she can be married off to somebody, and coming clean of the charge.

The masses know he is clean, he would come clean. Yet, they wait till the end, drunk on his music, swaying to his beats, laughing at his one-liners. While Hansika in her debut film looks older than a teenager, it is Mallika Sherawat, in a smallish role, who does wonders. She oozes oomph. Go, watch it at a packed single-screen theatre near you. The joy is in drinking off the cup offered by Reshammiya with his very own brand of art. Now, add a pint of Mallika doing a Helen. Life is on a high.

ZIYA US SALAM

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