Aparshakti Khurana-Pranutan Bahl starrer puts the ‘comedy’ into condoms but also reminds us they’re no funny business
Movie: Helmet
Helmet Cast: Aparshakti Khurana, Pranutan Bahl, Abhishek Banerjee, Ashish Verma, Ashish Vidyarthi, Sharib Hashmi
Helmet Director: Satramm Ramani
Where to Watch: ZEE5
Of late, Bollywood has developed a penchant of dishing out comedies with a message – call it killing two birds with one stone – you get to laugh and also go home enlightened. And, mind you, such films have become increasingly frequent since the turn of the millennium, owing to the high critical and commercial success ratio they exhibit, not to mention that they’re usually made by good filmmakers with good intentions. Movies like 3 Idiots, Jolly LLB, PK, OMG, Badhaai Ho, Bala, Lage Raho Munna Bhai, Shubh Mangal Saavdhan, Padman and Toilet: Ek Prem Katha reiterate this point. Heck, Rajkumar Hirani and Ayushmann Khurrana have built an entire career with these films. The latter’s brother, Aparshakti Khurana, now comes along, with Prautan Bahl and Abhishek Banerjee for company, to try their hand at the social satire sub-genre. So, is their Helmet, which has premiered on ZEE5, funny and also relevant? The answer to that is ‘yes’ and ‘yes’.
So, are you excited about what to watch this weekend or what to watch this week and wondering whether Helmet is worth your time? Scroll down for my full Helmet review…
What’s it about
After Rupali (Pranutan Bahl)’s father (Ashish Vidyarthi) rejects Lucky (Aparshakti Khurana) as a prospective groom for his daughter due to his status, the latter enlists Sultan (Abhishek Banerjee) and Minus (Ashish Verma) to help him steal boxes of supplies from a truck they believe contains electronic items as get-rich-quick plan. What they don’t expect is the boxes to be filled with condoms. Lucky now has to think smart and quick or risk losing Rupali forever.
Watch the Helmet trailer below:
What’s hot
Helmet is all about the performances and dialogues, with everyone from lead stars Pranutan Bahl and Aparshakti Khurana to their supporting cast, Abhishek Banerjee, Ashish Verma, Sharib Hashmi and Ashish Vidyarthi all being on the money with pitch-perfect comic timing, no doubt aided by Gopal Mudhane, Satramm Ramani, Rohan Shankar, Amit Tyagi and Ajay Singh’s crackling dialogues and the hilarious situations they’ve peppered the story with. What’s even more important is how they never lose sight of the message amidst the hilarity. Milin Jog’s camerawork gets the small-town feel just right and after a long time, the editing (Manish Pradhan) of a Hindi film also looks crisp.
What’s not
As much as Satramm Ramani shines as a co-writer, he falters a bit individualistically when it comes to directing his subject, with some of Helmet’s middle portions lacking the vitality exhibited in the rest of the movie. Additionally, the music as well as the background score are a letdown (another case of too many cooks spoiling the broth, with a mini-army of music directors having been roped in).
BL Verdict
A few hiccups notwithstanding, Helmet makes condoms look funny, but also uses that hilarity to never lose sight of how they’re no funny business. Without being preachy, this acts as an important socially relevant comedy, especially for smaller towns and rural areas, aided no doubt by Pranutan Bahl, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee and Ashihs Verma’s spirited performances. I’m going with 3.5 out of 5 stars.
3.5 out of 5
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