Hawaizaada: A flight that never takes off

Biopics are in vogue in Bollywood and “Hawaizaada” is yet another biopic of the first man to fly in a 8 years before Wright Brothers did so, and he was an Indian.

“Hawaizaada” is the story of Shivkar Bapuji Talpade who built a flying machine and was the first man to fly in 1895.
Written by Vibhu Puri & Saurabh Bhave, the screenplay tells the story of Shivkar Bapuji Talpade (Ayushman Khurana) who with the help of his mentor Shastryji (Mithun Chakraborty) and through many struggle and tribulation is successful in making the first flying machine and also the first man to fly.

The plot is interesting but unfortunately the screenplay does not do justice to the plot. More than half of the first part is spent on establishing the love story between Shivkar and the nautch girl Sitara (Pallavi Sharda) but in vain. The love story fails miserably to connect and the nonexistent chemistry between the lead actors does not help either. Later part of the screenplay explores how Shivkar makes the flying machine but here again the lack of research for the subject makes it weak and too fairy tale. And too many songs do not help the pace either. The pace is extremely slow and the characters look too cardboard type with a lack of realism which is a must if we are dealing with a biopic or something from the history. The British characters look like caricatures. Some characters are unnecessary and does not make any sense to the overall plot.

The dialogues look too forced upon and does not gel with the time (1895). Even the dialect used is too inconsistent. The English dialogues sound amateurish and unintentionally funny.

Casting wise Ayushman Khurana as Shivkar Talpade is a miscast as he fails to bring that seriousness to the character and does not connect. In a nutshell Ayushman’s performance is quite ordinary. Pallavi Sharda as Sitara only increases the glamour quotient; otherwise she is the most misfit amongst all the characters. It is Mithun’s portrayal of Shastriji which is still up to the mark. But the real show stopper is the child artist Naman Jain as Narayan whose sincere performance is the highlight of the movie. Other actors like Jayant Kriplani, Lusheen Dubey are wasted.

The two major highlights of the movie are the Cinematography by Savita Singh and the production design by Subrata Chakraborty & Amit Ray. Savita Singh’s camera work creates the magic of the era with élan and every shot is like a portrait. Subrata Chakraboty and Amit Ray’s production design enhances the era. Every prop has been well researched and placed well.

Music by Rochak Kohli, Mangesh Dhakde, Ayushman Khurana & Guest Composer Vishal Bharadwaj is good and the instrumentation is as per the era shown. But too many songs reduce the impact and relevance in the plot.

Vibhu Puri’s direction is inconsistent; he neither has been successful in creating a good biopic neither a love story. The lack of research on the subject is quite blatantly visible.

Vibhu had everything going for him with a lavishly mounted movie and equally good set of actors but alas he fails to create the necessary impact. I would say an opportunity lost. I will go with 2 stars….

Movie Rating: (2 / 5)