Shahzada Film

[Nhyiraba Valentin]

Principalphotography began in October 2021 and ended in January 2023 with filming held in Mumbai, Mauritius and Delhi. The music is scored by Pritam. Released on 17 February 2023, it was a critical and commercial failure.[5][6]

Valmiki and Randeep start their careers as clerks in the company of Aditya Jindal. Randeep, who marries Jindal's daughter Yashoda "Yashu," becomes wealthy while Valmiki remains poor. On the day of the birth of both their children, Randeep's son appears to be dead. When nurse Sulochana informs Valmiki about this, he pities Randeep and offers to exchange his baby with the dead one since the Jindals have done so much for him.

After switching them, however, Randeep's child begins to cry, having not died after all. Valmiki, sensing that his son would have a better life growing up in a rich family, prevents Sulochana from switching the babies back and accidentally pushes her off a ledge. Sulochana goes into a coma, keeping Valmiki's secret from coming out.

25 years later, Raj, raised at Jindal's house, is timid and innocent, while Bantu, raised by Valmiki, is street-smart and outspoken. Valmiki, who favours his own son, Raj, treats Bantu badly. Bantu gets a job at a law firm headed by Samara, who is impressed by his knowledge and quick-wittedness. Meanwhile, Raj returns from his studies abroad. Jindal sends Raj to reject Sarang, a powerful man who offers to buy their company's shares but deals with drugs. Randeep watches the deal from a restaurant where Samara has a meeting. When the client misbehaves with Samara, Bantu interferes. Randeep is disappointed by Raj's inability to say no to Sarang but beams at Bantu and Samara when they defend themselves against the rowdy client. Following this, Raj becomes engaged to Samara but she and Bantu have fallen in love.

Sarang attempts to kill Randeep for getting in his way. Bantu saves Randeep; at the hospital, he meets Sulochana, who has come out of her coma. She reveals Bantu's true parentage before dying. Bantu denounces Valmiki as his father. Aditya Jindal, Bantu's true grandfather, is fond of Bantu for saving Randeep and hires him.

Bantu begins to address the issues plaguing the house by patching up Randeep relationship with Yashu, which has been strained since Randeep's affair seven years ago. He also settles the dispute with Sarang and reforms the corrupt family members, Kailash and Arun. He and Samara tell Raj about their relationship; Raj calls off his marriage with Samara and confronts his parents, telling them he should be allowed to make his own decisions rather than have everything handed to him. Sarang kidnaps Yashu and threatens to kill her unless Randeep gives him money.

Bantu saves Yashu. Jindal reveals that he knew all along who Bantu was, which is why he brought him home; he had overheard the conversation between Sulochana and Bantu right before her death. Bantu unites with Randeep but asks him not to reveal the truth to Yashu, fearing she might be disheartened to know that Raj, who she dotes on so much, is not her real child. Yashu remarks that Bantu is like her son, as he saved her and the family. Yashu asks Valmiki to train Raj to be as competent as Bantu and become the CEO of their company. Bantu forgives Valmiki and mends his relationship with him.

The film was announced on 12 October 2021.[7][8] Principal photography began on the next day i.e. 13 October 2021 in Mumbai.[9] The next schedule took place in Delhi.[10] After many sequences were shot in Mauritius, filming wrapped up on 10 January 2023.[11][12]

All the songs are composed by Pritam while the song "Character Dheela 2.0" from 2011 film Ready has been recreated by Abhijit Vaghani and Pritam. The lyrics are written by Kumaar, Mayur Puri, Shloke Lal and IP Singh. The background score was composed by Julius Packiam.

The first single titled "Munda Sona Hoon Main" was released on 16 January 2023.[14] The second single titled "Chedkhaniyan" was released on 24 January 2023.[15] The third single titled "Mere Sawaal Ka" was released on 2 February 2023.[16] The fourth single titled "Character Dheela 2.0" was released on 9 February 2023. The song, Character Dheela 2.0, is a remix of the same song, Character Dheela, from Salman Khan's Ready (2011).[17]

Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com wrote: "Kartik's No Allu Arjun" and went ahead to add on that: "It's nearly not enough to make an already brainless movie a better one."[28] Rahul Desai in this review for Film Companion wrote: "A Kartik Aaryan Entertainer that forgets to entertain"[29] whereas another critic labelled Aaryan as a "Royal Bore" synonymous to the film title. Nandini Ramnath of Scroll.in stated: "Rehash of Telugu hit is catnip for Kartik Aaryan fans"[30] Dhaval Roy of The Times of India gave the film 3.5 stars out of 5, stating "With campy humour and action, this is just a mass entertainer".[31] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV Movies stated: "Take Kartik Aaryan Out, There Might Not Be Much Left. The obsolescence of the film's essence is difficult to shrug off."[32]

A crucial scene in the lead-up to the intermission of Shehzada comes pretty close to summing up what Rohit Dhawan's new film is like. A woman who has been comatose for a quarter century suddenly springs to life, blurts out a long-suppressed truth, and, having set the cat among pigeons, promptly breathes her last.

The film, too, is somewhat of a fits-and-starts affair. After a quick prelude that plays out 25 years ago, it slips into a moribund state, acquires some degree of vitality on either side of its halfway point and then goes right back to being what it predominantly was in the first hour and a bit - limp, lackluster and lacking in genuine humour.

But no matter how Shehzada pans out over its two-and-a-half-hour runtime, lead actor Kartik Aaryan, also credited as a producer, is in fine fettle. He uses the film as an extended demo reel to showcase his range as an actor. Blending slow-motion swag, some cultivated effervescence and flashes of emotion, he frequently hits the sweet spot.

Be it melodrama, comedy, action or romance, Aaryan gives the film all he's got. If parts of this swapped-baby dramedy are fairly watchable, it is solely because of what Aaryan brings to the table - a likeable persona whose masculinity is tempered with a clear sense of the line that separates the acceptable from what is not.

A boy switched at birth by a factotum of a wealthy tycoon, the hero, Bantu (Aaryan), ends up in the home of the naukar when he rightfully should have been raised in the palace of the wealthy maalik. Armed with a degree from the Government College of Law, Amritsar, he is hired by a pretty lawyer (Kriti Sanon) as an assistant.

As Shehzada makes its way through all the predictable spiel about the rich being exploitative and manipulative and the poor bearing the brunt, it takes him an entire half of the film to figure out who he is.

When he does stumble upon the reality of his birth, he does not leap at the door that opens up. He takes upon himself the onus of righting the grievous wrong done unto him. He employs methods and ploys that are known to those that have seen the original. Those that haven't might be enthused by Bantu's antics targeted at ensuring that the unctuous Valmiki (Paresh Rawal), the man responsible for the young man's misfortunes, receives his just desserts.

Aaryan goes on in one fell swoop to be a lover, an action hero, a mamma's boy, an angry crusader against those that have wronged him and a firm protector of the family he has an embryonic bond with. The focus of Shehzada is squarely on the actor. He does not let the chance slip through his fingers.

The other cast members, including Paresh Rawal, are at hand primarily to help the male lead display his wares. Kriti Sanon is a lawyer who is never in a courtroom, is the romantic interest and the focal point of a couple of musical set pieces. Yes, she does pop up here and there but never for anything other than to play second fiddle to her 'assistant'.

Manisha Koirala is hard done by in the role of a mother figure and Ronit Roy plays the patriarch who is barely allowed to make a mark. The youth who benefits from the crib switch at the start of the film is Raj (Ankur Rathee, an actor who clearly deserves to reap the fruits of his talent to a far greater extent than the Mumbai movie industry has permitted thus far).

If not an obnoxious brat, Raj is a man-child incapable of facing challenges, taking decisions and even feeling anger when the girl he thinks he will marry pulls the rug from under his feet. He is the exact opposite of Bantu, an unlucky boy who has had to make do with hand-me-downs all his life.

Bantu's his strength - and weakness - is his steadfast refusal to lie. When it is time for the deprived prince to return to his kingdom and stake his claim to the silver spoon that his rightfully his, he does not lose his bearings. He chips away steadily and with the pure intent of being of help, he charms his way into the heart of the owner of the mansion - Aditya Jindal (Sachin Khedekar). Hackneyed but harmless.

A remake of the 2020 Telugu superhit Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, Shehzada has an unmistakable retro ring to it, but the adaptation by Rohit Dhawan, while employing all the tropes that come with the plot's looney devices, throws a modern, millennial cloak around the concoction. However, the obsolescence of the film's essence is difficult to shrug off.

The Telugu film was headlined by Allu Arjun, producer Allu Aravind's son, and the star invested the role with a level of energy that Kartik Aaryan has to stretch every limb to match. He pulls it off with panache and, along the way, even takes a swipe at the culture of nepotism that drives the new-gen Bollywood star system.

Shehzada is fusty but fun. Take Kartik Aaryan out of it, there might not be much left in the film. If nothing else, Shehzada goes to show that the star now has the ability to power an entire film without having to fall back on an exceptionally brilliant Tabu as he had to in his previous hit, Bhool Bhulaiya 2.

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