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Heroine — news, coverage & facts — IJR

Plot

A journalist reports on the life of Mahi Arora, a renowned film actress, describing her as unstable and problematic, but damaged and lonely due to childhood trauma, and bipolar disorder. Through a flashback, we are shown Mahi's relationship with leading film actor, Aryan Khanna. Aryan is going through a divorce whilst dating Mahi. The couple make a sex tape of themselves. When Mahi learns of an intimate scene Aryan is shooting for a film, she causes a scene on the set, which upsets Aryan. The couple reconciles but Mahi is repeatedly insulted by Aryan's wife. While driving back from a party with Aryan, she raises the topic of his wife, which results in her being thrown out of the car.

Realising her place in Aryan's life, Mahi goes into depression, putting her career in decline. A friend convinces Mahi to leave the past behind her and re-enter the industry so Mahi decides to rejuvenate her career. She employs a public relations manager, Pallavi, who uses sensationalist tactics to reinvent Mahi's image. Mahi starts a relationship with the Vice Captain of the India national cricket team, Angad Paul. Soon, her personal and professional life are stable once again. On the advice of Pallavi, she uses Angad's connections to get a role in a big budget film. The lead actor of the film, Abbas Khan, a married playboy, attempts to initiate an affair with her. She rejects him, which causes him to seek revenge. He demands that the director re-edit the movie so that the story becomes about him and an item girl. Mahi is dissatisfied despite the film being a success, and in a desperate attempt to prove her acting skills, works in a low-budget art film for months. Angad proposes to her but she feels that they should concentrate on their careers. This causes their relationship to end. The art film never completes, and Mahi goes into depression again. She is also denied the opportunity to adopt a child, due to her history of alcoholism and psychiatric problems. Since she cannot get a role in big budget productions, she decides to work on a low-budget film with newcomers.

Mahi meets Aryan at a wedding, and he apologises. The two rekindle their relationship. Aryan says that he wants her to do a big budget film with him, but the director is reluctant to cast her as she has lost her appeal. Mahi becomes obsessed with the thought of losing the role to another heroine. At a poorly attended press conference for an upcoming film, Mahi is mocked by journalists who inform her that the director has cast another actress opposite Aryan. Distraught, Mahi and Pallavi decide to create controversy by leaking the sex tape of her and Aryan. The video becomes a viral sensation and as a result, the low-budget film becomes an instant hit.

After the success of her new film, she gets many new offers, and her career reaches new heights. But she is left distraught after her agent Rashid Bhai, a father figure to her, quits, and Shagufta Rizvi, a veteran actress she respected and admired, dies. At the funeral of Shagufta, she is mauled by the media due to her sex-tape scandal. This leaves her overwhelmed and makes her question her life choices. At the end, Mahi is shown walking alone in Europe, and on being asked if she is Mahi Arora, she replies she is not.

Development

Following the completion of Jail (2009), Bhandarkar began toying with the idea of making a project based on the Hindi film industry. Along with screenwriter Niranjan Iyengar, Bhandarkar began developing the story about the life of an actress and later approached UTV Motion Pictures with whom he had worked on several occasions. Bhandarkar, who was keen on using the title Heroine for his film, donated ₹100,000 (US$1,000) to Guddu Dhanoa's charity. He later explained that he had been subconsciously preparing for the film ever since he joined the industry.

The first look of Heroine was released as part of the 64th Cannes Film Festival. A promotional poster was released during a press conference in which Ronnie Screwvala of UTV Motion Pictures, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who was initially chosen as the film's lead, officially announced the film. The director said, "The film is a glamorous yet bold story of the internal journey of a superstar. I am certain it will appeal to audiences across the globe and Rai was a perfect choice for the role. In fact, no one could've played it better." Screwvala stated "With Heroine, we plan to take things to the next level. When you watch the film, you will feel that the role was written with someone as talented and stunning as Aishwarya in mind." The actress too admitted that she was "looking forward to this new journey in the film." It was also announced that Rai will have a wardrobe of more than 40 outfits designed by Manish Malhotra in the film.

Explaining why he was launching the project in Cannes, Screwvala alluded to Rai's star power saying, "She is the brand ambassador for India, and for Indian cinema, when it comes to the French Riviera." The actress was quick to deny any reference to her personal life being portrayed in the movie and said that the entire idea was a result of Bhandarkar's conceptualisation. The official press release distributed as a part of the announcement stated that "The film is based on the life and times of a superstar heroine, Mahi from the dream factory we call 'Bollywood'. The film is a daring, shocking, glamorous, scandalous behind-the-scenes account of the reality behind the world of glitz and glamour that our film stars inhabit. For a country obsessed with films and film stars, Heroine will take audiences on a voyeuristic journey to see what really goes on in the lives of India's sweethearts."

Pre-production was expected to commence during the summer of 2010 but was put on hold due to Kareena Kapoor, who had replaced Rai, having other commitments. During this period, Bhandarkar announced that he would be making another project while putting Heroine on hold. Though speculated to be based on the lives of yesteryear divas like Madhubala and Marilyn Monroe, Bhandarkar denied the reports saying that the film is a "contemporary take which reveals the underbelly of the movie industry and its well-kept secrets". In an attempt to prepare his protagonist for the film, the director prepared a three-hour documentary on Hollywood actresses Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Ava Gardner and Vivien Leigh. Manish Malhotra was signed as the costume designer. The choreography was handled by Remo D'Souza, Ganesh Acharya and Jasmin Oza.

Critical response

Heroine received mixed-to-positive reviews upon release, with most critics praising the story, music and the cast performances, while the screenplay garnered predominantly negative reviews.

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported an approval rating of 30% with an average score of 5.0/10, based on 6 reviews. The website's critical consensus reads, "A brief snapshot of a much bigger picture, this is an interesting film as far as it goes but, like its subject, not all that unusual."

Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the film a rating of 3.5 out of 5 while saying "Watch HEROINE for Bhandarkar's imposing direction, for Kapoor's superlative performance, watch it also for its fearless, inspiring and enlightening storyline divulging the scandalous realities of the movie industry. Try not to miss it!". Shomini Sen of Zee News gave it a score of 3 out of 5 and said "Does Heroine work? Yes, but only because of Kareena Kapoor. From doing the raunchy act in 'Halkat Jawani' to the scenes where she is battling depression and popping pills, Kapoor makes Mahi memorable and lovable. Heroine is absolutely Kapoor's film, not Bhandarkar's. 2 for the film and 1 extra for Bebo! 3 cheers for the film!". Aniruddha Guha of DNA gave Heroine 2 out 5 stars while commenting, "The characters are all caricatured and the screenplay meanders along aimlessly, it being nothing more than an assemblage of scenes – each disjointed from the other – strung together in a long, sleep-inducing and pointless narrative". Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV rated it 2 out of 5 stars, noting "The film that Bhandarkar has made is indeed disappointingly mechanical. Mercifully, Kapoor does demonstrate that she has a feel for the character. But, then, why wouldn't she? After all she plays herself in Heroine".

Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN rated the film 2 out of 5 and said "Despite an entertaining first-half, thanks to all the unintentional laughs, Heroine slips into a slush of melodrama post-interval. By this point, it feels interminably long and boring". Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com gave it 2 out of 5 stars, remarking "There's nothing innovative about Bhandarkar's Heroine. I am not sure if this is Bhandarkar's idea of comic relief but the hall roared with laughter. What's not funny is just how stunning Kapoor looks or gives to her role as Mahi Arora".

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