Cast: Adhyayan Suman, Ariana Ayam, Om Puri
Director: Shekhar Suman
Actor Shekhar Suman has earned huge attention with his comedic skills, well-crafted acts, and a powerful connect with the audience in his TV shows. This is precisely why when he started promoting 'Heartless' we all felt he'd earn the same adulation for his aspirations behind the camera. Had Shekhar's directorial film been a comedy and people still loathed what the self-deprecating comedian did, he could have made a joke out of it and escaped the criticism. But things get worse as he takes up a serious subject only to give the audience a hodgepodge of romance and betrayal which they have probably seen a thousand times.
To the uninitiated, 'Heartless' is a psychological thriller which is based on a horrifying medical condition called 'anesthetic awareness' wherein the failed anesthesia of a patient leaves him physically paralyzed but conscious during surgery. Adhyayan Suman, who plays a rich young man, agrees to undergo a risky heart transplant after he falls for Ria (Adriana Ayam). He goes against his mother's wish, and permits his friend Shekhar to perform the risky procedure only to become the victim of a vicious plot against him devised by his pal and wife. The goal was to replace his weak heart for a heart which had been injected with a substance that would lead to his death within an hour from the surgery's completion and bilk him out of his fortune.
Shekhar directs and stars as a corrupt cardiologist, making the viewer wish the focus should have been only on him rather than his son. But, the actor-turned director Shekhar's efforts are hampered by the film's thin premise, flawed plot and inferior writing. Yes, the film gets sad, uninteresting and painfully slow before it reaches the point where you are a bit keen on knowing what happens next. As medical proceedings reach its extremes, the film takes a creepy turn. This is when Adhyayan, who is being treated, gets to view his own chest being ripped open. So those who feel terrible on seeing surgical instruments cutting through the body parts, should not think of watching the film. And the fact that as a viewer one doesn't sympathize with Adhyayan's predicament, speaks volumes of the actor's inability to do justice to his role.
Since the film also explored the mother-son relationship, Deepti Naval is impressive as a doting mom, and a bit funny as an unpleasant mother-in-law. For a moment you feel, it isn't a movie, but a typical Ekta Kapoor's saas bahu show. While Om Puri seems wasted as a popular surgeon, Adriana isn't a bit menacing. The outcome is a highly boring film which offers only flaws and below-average performances making it a serious no no for the movie buffs.
Rating: 2 out of 5.
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