SUPER 30 MOVIE REVIEW

Super 30 Movie Review 

This is a spoiler free review of Super 30. It includes five aspects: the cinematography, the story, the screenplay, the cast and performances and the Overall Experience. If you liked the review, please do visit the blog: www.thepopcornchannel.blogspot.com to see more reviews of various movies, TV series and more. 

1. The cinematography: This was one of the aspects of the movie, which inspite of many feeling otherwise, I did not appreciate a lot. There were a lot of long shots which were to give impact, but instead it just made the movie stretch out more. The aesthetic of the film was somewhat lost due to the cinematography and affected the movie going experience in a way that I personally did not enjoy. A few cuts and close ups would have been more suitable, especially in scenes where the protagonists is walking away. The cinematography of the songs also seemed a little odd in the sense that it seemed to be shoddy and shaky and did not hold its own ground. There were certain scenes in the second half especially ones involving the students, where the cinematography is truly exceptional. If it continued throughout the movie, the movie experience would have been remarkable. A little better cinematography could have made a huge impact, but it missed the mark. 

1. The Story: As the story is widely available in print as well as online media, so the story in and by itself is a huge spoiler. If you do not want to read this, kindly skip to screenplay. The film is created depicting the life of the founder of Super 30, Mr Anand Kumar who coaches 30 underprivileged kids each year for entrance into IITs. The challenges he faces and the eventual outcome forms the crux of the story.  

1. The screenplay: The screenplay could have been almost 20 minutes shorter, without the long shots and unnecessary songs. One thing I really liked about the screenplay was the establishing scenes of various students and their characters. It was short and impactful and truly made me sympathise with the characters. The songs quite often seemed out of place, but were one of the better songs I heard this year. Jugraafiya is possibly one of my favourite songs of the year and Basanti no Dance, though obviously romanticised highlighted the characters and their turmoil. But both seemed a little out of place, especially Jugraafiya, which brings me to the protagonists love interest. The love interest, played by Mrunal Thakur is well acted, but unnecessary. She does not contribute to the story and seems forced in the story. Her reduction would have saved the movie some runtime. In certain scenes, such as one where the two antagonists discuss the protagonist is well paced. The interactions between the students of Super 30 is incredibly well done. One thing the screenplay could have benefited from is reducing the time used to establish the protagonist played by Hrithik. Even though this was Anand Kumar’s biography the story portrayed his struggles as a whitewashed fairy tale of sorts and romanticised it to a degree where Super 30 seemed easy. The story has been romanticised a lot and as a result, Kumar’s story is whitewashed. To what extent, only a few know. 
2. This was one of the downsides for the movie. After recently watching Kota Factory, ventures around the JEE Coaching institutes in Kota and the students there, Super 30 provided a nice, albeit a bit romanticised foil to the towering Kota privilege and the underprivileged students of Super 30. 

       As someone who watched Kota Factory, I enjoyed Super 30 even more. The screenplay, though long is well directed. Crisper editing would have made the story more impactful, but I enjoyed it nonetheless as the screenplay provided me with some much needed laughs and tears. 

1. The Cast and Characters: 

• Hrithik Roshan: I first heard of Anand Kumar back in 2015 and his cause greatly impressed me. When I heard a movie was being made on his life, with Hrithik Roshan playing Anand Kumar I just had one doubt: Will a Bollywood actor as charming and chiseled such as Roshan be able to play the simpleton Kumar? It was a genuine concern for me, as I did not want Kumar’s story to be undermined by Roshan’s performance. My doubt have been answered after watching the movie. While Hrithik does not resemble Anand Kumar as we know him, his performance is incredible. While physical resemblance to a character played is important, if we had never seen Kumar before, Hrithik’s performance would be appreciated even more. As an actor, Roshan has proven time and again that he is a good one and with Super 30, his performance shines. His accent is not perfect, his hair is shoddy and the makeup makes him look like a caricature and yet, the way he acts is so much more than that. He is genuine in his performance, something that a lot of actors lack. He is happy when his students succeed, he is coy when his character requires him to be, he is angry when his students face trouble and all these emotions seem so genuine, that the above mishaps of physical appearance and accents fail to matter. Hrithik’s best performance for me was as Ethan Masqueranes in Guzaarish. Super 30 is nowhere close to that, but it is a close fourth of his performances for me (after Lakshya and KKKG, which I liked). His earnestness is shown and his performance is greatly hindered by the appearance of the character he is cast to play, but as a stand-alone performance, Hrithik is exceptional. His interactions with the antagonists are my favourites in the movie and the sass he represents is remarkable. His interaction with his father is a close second. His chemistry with his students is well paced and hilarious in some awkward moments. The best part about his performance though, comes through in Drama. In scenes which are truly heart wrenching, Hrithik shines best and in certain scenes reminds me of Ethan from Guzaarish. I don’t know whether it is good or not, but I liked seeing glimpses of Ethan again. A job well done, barring the aspects of physical appearance.
• Aditya Shrivastava: I cannot stop looking at him as Abhijeet of CID. I have been watching him in CID since I was 10 and cannot see him as anyone other than Abhijeet. The first time I saw him outside of CID was as a CBI officer in the Tamil movie Naalai, then in Ek Hasina Thi. In all his performances, the one I inevitably saw was Abhijeet, so I understand my bias. However, there is no denying the fact that he is fabulous and well cast in Super 30. The scheming, cunning, coy is almost a polar opposite to the straightlaced roles I have seen him play before, barring EHT. He has always been an actor I have admired and seeing him achieve success with such a meaty role, makes me proud. My favourite scene of his in the movie was firstly his introduction, which was very well done and then an interaction between him and Pankaj Tripathi. Well cast and well performed. Hope to see more of him. 
• Pankaj Tripathi: I thought I first saw Pankaj Tripathi in Stree, then Mirzapur, Bareilly ki Barfi and finally Sacred Games but after checking his filmography I realised just how many movies I had seen this talent in. His favourite performance for me was in Shaurya, followed by Stree. I liked each character he played, which although so different always managed to strike a chord within me. In Super 30, however I did not empathise with his performance. His character was not very well written and seemed one note to me. Also, he has an uncanny resemblance to Anand Kumar, so in certain scenes I could not help but imagine him playing the lead role. Overall, this was possibly one of my least favourite Pankaj Tripathi performance. I blame his character, not him. I’m conflicted by my affection for him as an actor and my utter disappointment in his character. Well cast, well acted but poorly written. 
• Mrunal Thakur: I first saw Mrunal in a show I used to watch, Kumkum Bhagya following which, I saw her in Love Sonia. Mrunal is definitely more suited to the cinema than television and her affinity for cinema shows in her performances. I enjoyed her character in Love Sonia way more than I did in Kumkum Bhagya, although I saw her for a longer time on Kumkum Bhagya. In Super 30, Mrunal acted well but her character was thoroughly unnecessary. While I liked her in the song Jugraafiya which is currently my favourite, the movie would not have been affected had her character not been there. Again, well acted but poorly written. 
• Virendra Saxena: I enjoyed his character so much. As the protagonist’s father, he brought a much needed balance to the film. I wished to see him more throughout the movie’s runtime. I think it was my first time seeing him since Jassi Jaisi Koi Nahin and seeing glimpses of his fatherly character reminded me of him in that show. Well cast, well acted and a thoroughly enjoyable character. 
• Nandish Singh: I first and last saw him as Veer Bundela in the television series Uttaran. His character in Super 30 was written well, but Nandish Singh was not the best choice for it. His character has so much potential but his performance lacked the emotions needed to sway the audience. Well written but poorly cast. 
• Johnny Lever: I won’t say much about his character, but seeing the actor back on screen after so long makes me so happy. I grew up on Lever’s comedy chops and today, seeing him on screen again made me almost shriek out in joy. His character was an enjoyable one for me, but more than that, as an actor his performance was incredible. I wish to see him in more movies and am glad to see him back on screen after so long. 
• The Students: The actors who played the students did a phenomenal job, however, I am unable to find all their names online. I remember seeing a few of them in some other shows and advertisements, but I do not think all will remember them. I will try to find their names as soon as possible. One of them is Ali Haji, the actor who played Rani Mukherjee and Saif Ali Khan’s son in TaRaRumPum as well as featured in the recently released Noblemen, another good movie to catch. Each and everyone of them was phenomenal and their characters were some of the most incredible I have seen in a while. As students who struggle, they were showcased fabulously. I recently watched Kota Factory, a web series revolving around JEE prep in Kota Coaching institutes and the students in that show as well as students in this movie have the same dream, but the way they approach are so different. Super 30’s students provided a perfect foil to Kota Factory’s students and it made me enjoy the movie all the more. 

Overall review: Super 30 is an inspirational movie above all and chronicles the journey of its characters well. The movie has a lengthy screenplay which at times may seem tedious, but the performances make it worth it. Watch it to see the struggle of the underprivileged, the eye catching performance by the younger cast, the underrated Aditya Srivastava, Jugraafiya and possibly for he first and the last time, to finally feel better looking than Hrithik Roshan. In all seriousness, Super 30 is a good movie made better by the cast and performances but weakened but the tedious screenplay and romanticised story. It becomes predictable after a while, but remains uncannily engaging due to the excellent cast performances and the cinematography in certain very important scenes. A well made movie indeed.