Dinesh Kamath's column 'Movie World: Bollywood actresses who romanced young actors on the big screen – Part 3 (Nargis Fakhri–Varun Dhawan)' that was published in Newsband

Movie World

Bollywood actresses who romanced young actors on the big screen – Part 3

Nargis Fakhri–Varun Dhawan

By Dinesh Kamath

There are many actresses who have romanced actors younger than them on the big screen. While Varun was actually paired opposite Ileana D’Cruz in Main Tera Hero, his pairing with Nargis Fakhri in the film was liked by the audiences more. But we are sure not many would know that Nargis is 8 years older than Varun, but in the film, the age gap was not at all visible. Here are some information about the film ‘Main Tera Hero’.

Main Tera Hero (transl. I am your hero) is a 2014 Indian Hindi-language romantic action comedy film, directed by David Dhawan and produced by Shobha Kapoor and Ekta Kapoor for Balaji Motion Pictures. The film stars Nargis Fakhri, Varun Dhawan and Ileana D'Cruz in the lead roles. Principal photography for the movie began on 30 May 2013, filming started on 5 July 2013 and was completed by 15 October. The film released on 4 April 2014 to mixed reviews from critics. It became a moderate commercial success. It is a remake of the 2011 Telugu film Kandireega.

The film received mixed to positive review. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 20% based on 5 reviews, and an average rating of 5/10.

Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the movie 3.5/5 stars and wrote, "On the whole, MAIN TERA HERO is a wild, wacky, madcap entertainer that has the unmistakable stamp of the master of entertainers – David Dhawan. An over the top plot, humor quotient and performances are three aces the film stands on. The film should work well with admirers of typical Bollywood masalathons, also because Varun Dhawan pulls off the act with flamboyance and bowls you over with an uproarious act in this zany entertainer. Go, have fun and laugh out loud!" Srijana Mitra Das of Times of India gave the movie 3.5/5 stars saying, Main Tera Hero is a pav bhaji picture, quick, spicy, hot. It has the depth of a comic strip but it also has its neon-shaded fun. For those who want a light laugh, here's your boy. Paloma Sharma of Rediff gave the movie 3.5/5 stars, and wrote, Main Tera Hero rests almost solely on the bases of strong performances extracted by a tough taskmaster, director David Dhawan—who makes a surprisingly clean film for the most part but doesn't seem to have been able to resist the temptation to indulge in a few less-than-tasteful jokes post-interval. The second half is primarily where the problem lies. The script dwindles slightly. Too many characters with too many subplots emerge, messing things up for a bit. Film Critic Subhash K. Jha gave the film 3 stars, saying ""Main Tera Hero" is a cleverly designed blues-chaser...While Varun Dhawan goes about the task of filling up the screen with his confident zest, David Dhawan ensures there is enough fuel to furnish the funnies with a furious tempo".

Mohar Basu of Koimoi praised the film, stating that, "Main Tero Hero transports you into a world of fun that we have been kept devoid of from weeks. Quick witted, jocular and pricelessly silly, this film is a sure shot must watch." She gave the film 3 out of 5 stars. Raedita Tandan of Filmfare rated the movie with 3 stars stating, "Main Tera Hero (MTH) is a textbook David Dhawan movie. This is the kind of low-brow humour you enjoy without pretensions. It's not great cinema but it is a paisa vasool comedy." Sarita Tanwar of DNA gave the movie 3/5 stars and said, "Main Tera Hero is a light-hearted entertainer, under two hours long which moves along at a brisk pace. Tushar Hiranandani has penned a mad script that will reel you in as soon as the credits end. If the industry was looking for a replacement for Govinda, then there isn't a better option than Varun." Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the movie 2.5/5 stars and said that "Main Tera Hero is an action-packed romantic comedy that is peppered with vivacious performances, peppy musical set pieces, and a breezy and an unusual love triangle that eventually acquires an additional angle. The story, which is clearly only a pretext to hang the film's many gags on, delivers frantic twists and turns that strain credulity." Zee News Aparna Mudi, rated the movie 2.5/5 stars, stating, "The cast of the movie have definitely been given leverage to play their characters with ease, and performances are good all around. They also seem to have had a lot of fun with the movie, especially Varun, as he looks adorable pulling faces and romancing the two lead heroines. Highly entertaining in the first half, 'Main Tera Hero' slumps in the second. The jokes are slightly in-your-face and fail to make you laugh at times."

Abhishek Gupta of India TV gave it 2.5 stars and wrote, "Twists and turns in the climax look forcibly inducted to give a feeling of suspense, though, it doesn't work at all. The cop and the Don turning into comic characters were expected from it but despite all these hiccups, Main Tera Hero reaches its destination." The Hindustan Times' Anupama Chopra gave the film 2 stars, saying, "There are a few moments in the film that took me back to the good old day. But mostly, Main Tera Hero is loud and tiring. The frenzied plot didn't deliver enough funny lines. The burden of making this enterprise work rests mostly with Varun, who is as hyper as a helium-filled energizer bunny. Meanwhile, the two svelte heroines – Ileana D'Cruz and Nargis Fakhri – simper about looking sexy. I just wish it had been more interesting". India Today gave the film 2 stars: "If this film was made to establish Varun Dhawan as a comedy actor who can do something different then they have achieved what they wanted. Because he does put a great show together but there is absolutely nothing else that deserves any compliments."

Main Tera Hero opened to an occupancy of around 40% in India. The film, which released alongside Captain America: The Winter Soldier, led in the morning shows in places like Rajasthan, Gujarat and CI while lost out to it in multiplexes of Kolkata, Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai and Mumbai. The film saw a major setback during evening shows in the first day of its release owing to the semi-final match between India and South-Africa collecting ₹200 million (US$2.9 million). The film collected another ₹279 million (US$4.0 million) on the second day of its theatrical release—taking its two-day total to ₹500 million (US$7.2 million)—showing a considerable growth of 80%, which was expected considering the loss on its first day to the cricket match. On the third day it collected ₹75 million (US$1.1 million)—₹77.5 million (US$1.1 million) to take its weekend total to ₹400 million (US$5.8 million)—₹403 million (US$5.8 million) which though "high" by normal standards were understandable because of the cricket matches affecting its growth. On its first Monday it had a collection of around ₹375 million (US$5.4 million)—₹436 million (US$6.3 million). On the fifth day of its theatrical release there was a growth of 15% courtesy a holiday, another ₹27.5 million (US$400,000) on the next day pushed the film's six-day total to ₹308 million (US$4.5 million). Overall the film had a decent first week collecting ₹335 million (US$4.8 million) domestically. The film with the fourth highest first week total of the year—after Jai Ho, Gunday and Ragini MMS 2—performed best in circuits like CP Berar, Nizam and Andhra Pradesh, where it collected an estimated ₹221 million (US$3.2 million) plus and above all in Gujarat with ₹400 million (US$5.8 million). Suffering a heavy drop of 75% the film collected ₹15 million (US$220,000) on its eighth day. The film in all collected ₹128 million (US$1.9 million) in its second week managing a two-week total of ₹463 million (US$6.7 million) with best collections from Mumbai, Rajasthan and CP Berar circuits. From the Mumbai circuit—comprising the Gujarat-Saurashtra belts—alone it collected ₹180 million (US$2.6 million). It was declared a "Semi Hit" by Box Office India.