Project: Helmet
Lead Cast: Aparshakti Khurana (Lucky), Pranutan Bahl (Rupali), Abhishek Banerjee (Sultan), Ashish Verma (Minus)
Direction: Satram Ramani
Ratings: 3.5 stars
‘Sex’. Drop the word and it piques interest. However, it is still a taboo subject to discuss publicly. The only constructive approach towards bettering this is perhaps educating people about the different aspects of s*x and most importantly, talking about how a simple use of a ‘tool’ like ‘condom’ can solve many unnecessary and unwanted problems in life. ZEE5’s latest movie ‘Helmet’ starring Aparshakti Khurana, Pranutan Bahl, and Abhishek Banerjee in lead roles is an inspiring and courageous attempt in that direction.
The story is set in the small city of Kanpur where Lucky (Aparshakti Khurana), an enthusiastic and overexcited wedding performer dreams of opening up his own wedding band. He’s deeply and madly in love with a beautiful girl called Rupali (Pranutan Bahl), who’s also related to his field of work as a flower decorator. While everything seems hunky-dory, the reality, just like any ‘Bollywood commercial masala movie’ is a lot different. The difference in their financial status is seen as a major hindrance to their future. While Rupali comes from an affluent family who has never had to face any major hardship, Lucky struggles day in day out to simply make ends meet. In order to bridge the gap between their financial status and earn some quick and easy money to win his love forever, Lucky and his two friends, Sultan (Abhishek Banerjee) and Minus (Ashish Varma) connive to rob a fully-loaded truck of an e-commerce portal. While the initial intention was to loot electronic gadgets and make quick bucks, they are completely taken for a surprise when they realize what they have in front of them is innumerable boxes containing condoms instead of gadgets. So, does this mean that they got entangled in their own trap, or was it a blessing in disguise for the ‘three musketeers’ in the movie? No spoilers here.
What We Really Liked: Without any iota of doubt, the casting of the movie is on point. It felt like a breath of fresh air to finally see Aparshakti Khurana slay in a lead role. The manner in which he delivers his dialogues with a straight poker face will simply leave you in splits. Pranutan Bahl, who was pretty much the ‘girl next door’ character in Notebook, has managed to stun one and all in a positive way. She’s a lot more bold, fierce, and outspoken in Helmet and we loved it. Abhishek Banerjee and Ashish Varma are two buddies who will once again validate the line for you, “Harr Ek Friend Zaroori Hota Hai”. Director Sattram gets his act right and the way he chose to deliver an all-important message about s*x education certainly deserves all the praise and attention.
What Could Have Been Better: While a major chunk of the movie is all about entertainment and plenty of ‘LOL’ moments, what we feel could have been better was the way the story ended and the overall length of the project. While more than 90% of the sequences will tickle your funny bones, certain scenes gave the vibe as if the message around s*x education was being forced instead of being subtle.
Overall, it’s certainly an engaging binge-worthy movie that you must catch up on this weekend. Full marks to the team for attempting a brave subject involving condoms and sex. Important issues like Indians being uncomfortable in buying condoms from medicine stores and the social and psychological challenges that come along with it have been addressed with finesse. A quirky ‘laughter marathon’ like this with a relevant social message certainly calls for the whistles and the hoots. You will love it.
3.5/5 stars