Kajol starrer 'Helicopter Eela' which hooked a lot of audiences by its trailer as many sensed it to be an ode of a beautiful Mother and Son bond. Excitement raised even more as we knew it is being directed by Pradeep Sarkar who has helmed hits like 'Parineeta' and 'Mardaani'. 'Helicopter Eela' has no place to land in your heart. Wretched writing and a dull screenplay is majorly the reason for it and it would be foolish to blame the performers Kajol and Riddhi Sen. They did a splendid job and sparked their act but there is nothing the film offers, to be bold and honest. Even the well-acted emotional scenes didn't connect. Neha Dhupia's half-baked character is sidelined.
'Helicopter Eela' revolves around an aspiring wannabe playback singer who gets her stardom in quick time getting an opportunity as a dummy singer in the eyes of Anu Malik and Mahesh Bhatt. While attending the grand MTV music event in the midst of musical stars around. We don't even get it how Shaan was an established singer in 1994 when he got fame from 2000 especially for his hit 'Tanha Dil'. Tota Roy Chowdhury plays Eela's supportive husband who disappears one fine day and yes it is his decision to go away. Leaving Vivan and Eela just out of a fear of his family tree that no male ever lived beyond the 40's and yeah he wants to live his life leaving the responsibility as it is. He even returns after 10 years expecting everything to be normal and we don't understand what did the writers had in mind constructing such an unnecessarily shabby and shallow narrative to this film. Things could have been kept simple and straight and only then it could have hit the right chord.
Eela Ratulkar is characterized as the most irritating mother who doesn't leave his kid alone even during a picnic and now [Present Day] joins his college to complete her studies. Riddhi Sen plays the unfortunate son Vivan who feels suffocated of this decision but his mother with a lot of insecurities is served with justification. Joining college after so long could have executed with a lot of quirks but the film focuses on the growing bitterness between the duo. For Vivan, Privacy exists in dictionary only and all he wants is his mother to follow her own aspirations and incomplete dreams rather than following him. The plot is justified but the execution is lame.
Amitabh Bachchan and Mahesh Bhatt's cameo also fades away. They are super lame ! Following a few instances, the audiences would feel the directionless nature of the film and even being as short as 2 hours the 'loo break' are a huge sigh of relief.
The songs of the film save it for being the 'epitome of boredom'. Begining with 'Dooba Dooba' dwelling upon the romantic chemistry of Kajol and Tota Roy Chowdhury here is the time when some fine adorable memories from the past are woven with the narrative and it is Amit Trivedi's composition that makes this number catchy and deep, striking the right chord. Arijit Singh and Sunidhi Chauhan make this song extremely special while the visuals are mediocre. 'Yaadon Ki Almari' by Palomi is an energetic enthusiastic number and is picturised in the climax scene of the film. Revamped version 'Ruk Ruk Ruk' is a decent fare as well but the standout song of the film remains 'Mumma Ki Parchai' as the fresh voice of Ronit Sarkar suits the light-hearted narrative of their usual day-to-day life.
Screenplay by Mitesh Shah and Anand Gandhi is disappointing, We sense that they have clearly rushed while screenwriting it. Many scenes are lame and pointless and this Kajol starrer doesn't have a direction, to be honest. Riddhi Sen delivers a fine performance. Kajol was brilliant with her emotional scenes but it is the Pradeep Sarkar's fans who are left disappointed.
The film lacks entertaining elements and runs from here to there. Not much to offer! Can be skipped.
Director :Pradeep Sarkar
Cast :Neha Dhupia, Kajol, Tota Roy Chowdhury