Review: Shehzada, a remake of a Telugu film Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, starts on a promising note, as a nurse and an office clerk, Valmiki (Paresh Rawal), exchange the latter’s son with a business magnate Randeep Jindal’s (Ronit Bose Roy). For 25 years, Valmiki’s son Bantu is trapped in a middle-class household with his spiteful father. The film follows the young guy as he discovers who he really is and vows to protect his real family from a villainous drug mafia, Sarang (Sunny Hinduja).

With too many tracks — such as Bantu’s hotshot lawyer girlfriend Samara (Kriti Sanon) being set to marry a mollycoddled Raj Jindal (Ankur Rathee), family members embezzling money, Randeep and his wife Yashu’s (Manisha Koirala) strained marriage, and above all, dreaded criminals insistent on using Jindals’ business to peddle drugs, the central theme of what fate holds for the two exchanged boys gets sidelined. These are also incoherently stitched together, as are many other sequences, such as Bantu bravely taking on goons who harass his younger sister, rescuing Samara from a client who cannot take no for an answer, to smashing Sarang’s men.

Kartik is effortless as the incorrigible, brave and good-hearted Bantu and does well in the action sequences, but there’s nothing fresh about his performance here. Kriti Sanon looks stunning in every frame but has little to do. Paresh Rawal and Ronit perform exceedingly well, and one wishes the latter had a more extended screen-time. Rajpal Yadav makes a cameo and does his regular goofy act that elicits laughter, but the sequence does not take the story forward.

The fight choreography deserves a special mention, with its slow-motion and macro videography, and Sudeep Chatterjee’s cinematography is also good. Except he title track sung by Sonu Nigam, ‘Shehzada’ others are just average.

Shehzada is meant to be enjoyed for its absurdly exaggerated comedy, irreverent hero, and action sequences. If you like watching a mass entertainer with a gang of friends thisfilm is for you!