Ayushmann Khurrana is no DiCaprio or Pankaj Kapur though.
By The American Bazaar Staff
WASHINGTON, DC: Director Vibhu Virender Puri’s ‘Hawaizaada’, which almost got canned during its development, and was reported earlier as being titled ‘Bambai Fairytale’, will finally release in theaters worldwide on January 30.
The film has that rare quality which film-goers can appreciate and sympathize with: the true story of a Indian scientist and aviation pioneer who was a world-beater, but never got recognized for his work and remains an unsung hero.
Actor Ayushmann Khurrana essays the role of Shivkar Bapuji Talpade, a native of Bombay who did the mind boggling thing which every human being on Earth had craved for till he accomplished it: flying.
Talpade constructed and flew India’s first unmanned plane, in 1895, eight years before the Wright Brothers flew the first controlled plane and carved their names in history for an eternity.
Culled from historical sources, but fictionalized for the screen, Hawaizaada is also about Talpade’s struggle against all odds in the era of India under Colonial rule – his singular mission and dream of becoming the first man to fly a plane, and set an example to his countrymen.
In the film, Talpade has the love of a girl (played by Pallavi Sharda) but not the approval of his affluent family. He is guided by his mentor Pandit Subbaraya Shastri (played by Mithun Chakraborty) but doesn’t have the money to experiment with scientific methods to reach his goals. The British do not want him to get the credit for flying the first plane and become a hero to his people.
A period film with similar script as far as the story of an aviation pioneering hero goes, was the celebrated ‘The Aviator’, directed by Martin Scorsese, starring Leonardo DiCaprio in one of his most memorable roles, in 2004.
The biographical drama depicted the true story of aviation pioneer Howard Hughes, who later became the world’s wealthiest man. It centered on his life from the late 1920s to 1947, during which time he became a successful film producer and an aviation magnate, but succumbed to severe obsessive-compulsive disorder exacerbated by airplane crashes. The film was nominated for 11 Academy Awards, and went on to win five.
However, for Bollywood film buffs, Hawaizaada, if enacted well, may have the same effect as what Tapan Sinha’s ‘Ek Doctor Ki Maut’ had. That film, released in 1990, was loosely based on the life of Dr. Subhash Mukhopadhyay – an Indian physician who pioneered the IVF treatment but went unrecognized because of bureaucratic negligence and committed suicide at the age of 50 – and had the versatile Pankaj Kapur playing the lead role. It remains one of the finest acting performances in the history of Bollywood.
Khurrana is a fine singer, but nowhere in the class of a DiCaprio or Kapur when it comes to the acting compartment. The film’s biggest challenge at the box office would be how well Khurrana essays the role of Talpade, how much of passion he brings to the role, an hallmark of both ‘The Aviator’ and ‘Ek Doctor Ki Maut.’
Of course, Khurrana will have the easy task of roping audience interest in, as people would be more interested in how the life of Talpade played out and his dream accomplished than his mere histrionics. The anti-Colonial factor also has worked well over the years at the Indian box office, with ‘Lagaan’ being a prime example.