Film review: Heartless
By: Rahul Desai
Shekhar Suman's directorial debut Heartless, starring his son Adhyayan Suman, would have been the butt of his own jokes in the immensely popular 'Movers and Shakers' back in the day.
Suman himself, as Dr. Sameer in this film, plays his own son's friend - a meta tribute to the agelessness of medical jargon ('pass the new heart please') used in Hindi films over the years. The pals even have their own friendship song, sung by themselves, called 'Thanks brother for being there'.
This film revolves around an unbearable medical phenomenon called 'Anesthesia awareness'- where the patient, like the audience, is paralyzed but can hear and sense everything around. If this compelling concept wasn't already an official remake of the Hollywood drama 'Awake' (starring Jessica Alba), I'd have been fair enough to admit that I did not expect the double jeopardy twist in the tale. Sadly, the treatment is about as original as gossiping surgeons, a conveniently empty hospital and an IPL-obsessed anesthesiologist who insists on being called 'Gupts' instead of 'Gupta' during a crucial heart-transplant operation.
What makes matters worse is the alarming absence of a basic audio mix that balances the dubbed voices with ambience tracks, a detail many smaller films refuse to get right. Never mind the unnecessary voiceovers, a lead pair with zero chemistry, or the fake heart that is being passed around in the ICU like a ticking bomb.
The presence of Om Puri and Deepti Naval distracts from an almost-sincere mother-son bond, the highlight of which is a discussion of a controversial ethical conundrum at the Pearly White Gates for a good 10 minutes.
Eventually, 'Heartless' lacks any sort of pulse and does much harm to Suman's television legacy, something that he must conserve wholeheartedly. For our sake.
Shekhar Suman's directorial debut Heartless, starring his son Adhyayan Suman, would have been the butt of his own jokes in the immensely popular 'Movers and Shakers' back in the day.
Suman himself, as Dr. Sameer in this film, plays his own son's friend - a meta tribute to the agelessness of medical jargon ('pass the new heart please') used in Hindi films over the years. The pals even have their own friendship song, sung by themselves, called 'Thanks brother for being there'.
This film revolves around an unbearable medical phenomenon called 'Anesthesia awareness'- where the patient, like the audience, is paralyzed but can hear and sense everything around. If this compelling concept wasn't already an official remake of the Hollywood drama 'Awake' (starring Jessica Alba), I'd have been fair enough to admit that I did not expect the double jeopardy twist in the tale. Sadly, the treatment is about as original as gossiping surgeons, a conveniently empty hospital and an IPL-obsessed anesthesiologist who insists on being called 'Gupts' instead of 'Gupta' during a crucial heart-transplant operation.
What makes matters worse is the alarming absence of a basic audio mix that balances the dubbed voices with ambience tracks, a detail many smaller films refuse to get right. Never mind the unnecessary voiceovers, a lead pair with zero chemistry, or the fake heart that is being passed around in the ICU like a ticking bomb.
The presence of Om Puri and Deepti Naval distracts from an almost-sincere mother-son bond, the highlight of which is a discussion of a controversial ethical conundrum at the Pearly White Gates for a good 10 minutes.
Eventually, 'Heartless' lacks any sort of pulse and does much harm to Suman's television legacy, something that he must conserve wholeheartedly. For our sake.
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