Jackie Shroff, notes Mayur Sanap, is winsome in a role that leans on his faded charm as veteran star, and there is effortless warmth he brings to Jagdish that makes even the simplest moments land.
Key Points
- Jackie Shroff stars in the fantasy drama The Great Grand Superhero.
- Writer-Director Manish Saini slips in some lively bits in his effort to re-energise the super trite superhero template.
- A stellar ensemble of child actors, possibly the best since Chillar Party, steer hilarious gags with some sharply-written funny lines.
The Comic-Book Aesthetic Of The Great Grand Superhero
There’s a great zeal to The Great Grand Superhero the way it stages and frames its fantasy story.
Right off the bat, the film shows sincere affection for comic-book storytelling that comes through the colourful aesthetic of its title card and then in the way it establishes its plot.
A young boy begins to tell a kahaani, and from the very first moment, you feel that innocent excitement of a child recounting something magical.
Set in the small town of Hoshiyarpur, the story follows Deepu (a natural Mihir Godbole), a bookish but aloof boy who struggles to fit in at his new school, Adarsh Vidya Mandir.
In an attempt to befriend his classmates, Deepu goofily tells Laadu (a hilarious Shivanssh Chorge) that his family is no ordinary one, and that his grandfather is actually a superhero in disguise.
He explains that his grandfather’s secret mission is to save planet Earth from hostile aliens trying to take over.
Soon, this spicy little piece of news spreads through the classroom like wildfire, and suddenly everyone begins looking at Deepu with renewed sense of curiosity.
Back home, reality paints a very different picture. Deepu’s grandfather Jagdish (Jackie Shroff) is actually a frail, senile old man, who constantly cribs over a harmless little lizard.
It is a cute setup that immediately hooks you into the playful tone of the film, and much of the first half unfolds like a nostalgic ode to childhood fantasies.
Things become even more entertaining when Deepu’s classmates begin to spy on his family to verify his claims. ‘Gangadhar is Shaktimaan hain,’ an extra-smart kid sheepishly concludes.
Aware of these little shenanigans, Deepu asks his grandfather to play along.
This is where the lines begin to blur, and you begin to wonder: Is the old man really a superhero? Or has he simply started believing that he is one?
The Delightful Cheekiness Of The Great Grand Superhero
There are two ways The Great Grand Superhero begins to unfold and overlap. It initially plays out like a simple slice-of-life drama revolving around a bunch of mischievous kids, and comfortably stays in that in that zone for some time before it sheds its satirical take on a superhero origin story.
Writer-Director Manish Saini slips in some lively bits in his effort to re-energise the super trite superhero template. But thankfully, never at the cost of reducing it to outright parody.
A stellar ensemble of child actors, possibly the best since Chillar Party, steer hilarious gags with some sharply-written funny lines.
When Jackie Shroff’s old man paints a more romantic backstory to his make-believe character, a kid dismisses him saying it’s a phase of ‘violence and action’. In another one, an extra-curious boy named Chanakya (Jihan Jeetendra Hodar) turns up like his investigative journalist father (Panchayat‘s Durgesh Kumar) and sets off a chain of events as he tries to decode the mystery.
This light-hearted banter keeps the film light on its feet, even though the overarching idea of humanity-in-peril exists in hindsight and plays around in the background.
When the film finally arrives at its save-the-environment message, along with broader ideas of familial bonds and friendship, it doesn’t clash with the light tone. Instead, it blends in quite naturally, much like the slice-of-life warmth in Chintu Ka Birthday.
Jackie Shroff’s Meta Touch
Jackie Shroff is winsome in a role that leans on his faded charm as veteran star, and there is effortless warmth he brings to Jagdish that makes even the simplest moments land.
And when the film touches upon themes of greenery and environmental awareness, you wonder who better ambassador for the cause than Shroff himself — A man whose public appearances feel incomplete without a potted plant in his hand. You smile at this meta touch.
The film takes an uneven swing when it turns to a more whimsical tone (Prateik Smita Patil and Bhagyashree in stunted cameos), and the story oscillates between playful and outright puerile. But for all its harmless entertainment, you still go along with it because what comes before has enough charm to carry you through a slightly silly conclusion.
