Helmet Movie Review: Social Problem Of Adults The Comedy Of Condom Leaves Its Impact In Pieces

Helmet Cast: Aparshakti Khurana, Pranutan Bahl, Abhishek Banerjee, Ashish Verma, Ashish Vidyarthi, Sharib Hashmi
Helmet Director: Satramm Ramani
Where to Watch: ZEE5

Ratings: 3/5 (two and half stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Years ago, John Abraham in Bollywood revolutionized a big social issue hidden behind a curtain in a comedy with Vicky Donor. While producing this film, John Abraham gave a unique diamond to Bollywood – Ayushmann Khurrana. Talking about sperm donation, Vicky Donor started a new chapter in the history of Hindi cinema. Now almost a decade later, actor Dino Morea, who is said to be John Abraham’s rival, has tried to present one such social issue in the exact same way, with Aparshakti Khurana, brother of Ayushmann Khurrana. Aparshakti, in the past has won hearts in several films with his superb comic timing in supporting roles. Helmet is his first major commercial film as a lead actor.

Helmet Movie Review: The Story

The story is of orphans Lucky (Aparshakti Khurana) and Rupali (Pranutan Bahl). Lucky is the star singer of a wedding band in a small town in Uttar Pradesh. Rupali is the daughter of a rich and influential person (Ashish Vidyarthi). Rupali also does decoration work in weddings. Lucky and Rupali are in love and want to get married. The barrier becomes the difference between the social and economic status of both. Lucky goes to Rupali’s house to ask for her hand, but Rupali’s father humiliates her and throws her out. Lucky works in Rupali’s maternal uncle’s band. Rupali is also thrown out of the band after learning about her love. Now to marry Rupali, there is only one way for Lucky to get money from somewhere and open his own band.

She has only 4 months for this, as her father has fixed Rupali’s marriage with a foreign boy. To raise money for his marriage with Rupali, Lucky along with his friends Sultan and Minus robs the truck of an online shopping company. The truck they robbed is expected to have a mobile phone in its boxes, but they find condom-filled boxes. What to do with so many condoms? They cannot be destroyed. So all three plan to sell condoms, but how to sell condoms in thousands in a city where it is too embarrassing to go to a shop and take the name of detention? All three find a solution.

Rupali also helps sell condoms. However, he does not know that it is stolen goods. After all the condoms are sold, Lucky opens his own band. But, the police reach them. All three reach the jail. The company conducting the survey on behalf of the government gets impressed by their selling such a large number of condoms. When he comes out after serving a six-month sentence, he is greeted like a hero. Rupali’s father says that this theft will be written in golden letters.

The Review and Analysis

Helmet is a light hearted social film but there is no comedy in this film. Some scenes with Sanand Verma have turned out to be good but maybe it is only because of him being on screen. From the music of the film to the dialogues, everything is faded. On the other hand, if the film was tightened with editing, then perhaps it would have been able to keep the audience tied to some extent. When comedy does not work in the film, then efforts are made to add other things to it. From drama to emotion. Not only this, but an attempt is also made to link the film with the statistics of the country’s national problem population explosion. Overall, such a khichdi is made in the film, so it is so tasteless that you will not even eat it under the compulsion of illness.

Helmet is a well-made film that could have been a good short film or a half hour web episode. But in 1.30 hours, this film is neither able to present its issue in an entertaining way nor is it able to create awareness about the important issues regarding condoms. Whereas the film tries to do all this. There should not be anything related to this issue that has been missed in the film – from sex problems to overpopulation.

Director and Other Departments

The film is directed by Satram Ramani and the original screenplay is also his. But the foundation of the film i.e. its script is completely flat. The monotonous screenplay on an explosive issue like condom does injustice to a heartbreaking level with a good and strong story. The story of the film is as strong as Satram Ramani makes it in the same dull way. There is no effect of any scene on you. Whenever there is talk of important issues in the film, by the time those scenes come, the film has become so cumbersome that you just want to end it.

The film’s director Ramani has also written the screenplay along with Gopal Mudhane and Rohan Shankar, which proves to be the weakest link in this entertaining and different looking film. Lucky makes a plan to rob a truck to marry Rupali, so he does not see any conflict or feeling that he is going to do immoral acts out of compulsion and he may have to bear the brunt of it later. But when caught and imprisoned, he is giving knowledge to the girlfriend who came to meet Lucky, that if we had stolen, then punishment had to be given.

Helmet Movie Review: The Performances

Let’s talk about the main cast of the film – Ayushmann Khurrana, Pranutan Behl, Ashish Verma and Abhishek Banerjee. Together, all four try to increase this film but nothing significant comes from anyone’s part. Perhaps it is better to blame the writer for this as all these four actors have previously demonstrated their acting prowess in each of their projects and have won the hearts of the audience. But in this film it seems that the four actors are running directionlessly in the film and try hard to win the hearts of the audience but fail.

The film is full of supporting actors. From Ashish Vidyarthi to Jameel Khan to Sharib Hashmi to Ranjan Raj. And all these actors try to tie this film with their experience but only two actors succeed in this. The first is Jameel Khan whom you must have seen in Sony’s series Gullak. In this film also Jameel Khan tries to win hearts in his small character and also succeeds.

The Verdict/ Final Words

Although the film is a total of about two and a half hours, although even after this some parts seem to be forced, where as a viewer you will feel that this scene was not needed. The songs of the film are also nothing special, in such a situation they do not even start in the middle of the film and they also seem boring. In the midst of all this, since this issue is very important and it has also been shown in the film properly, then the film can be seen once. Overall, Helmet is a very disappointing film on a good subject. The star cast of the film is good which will disappoint you through this film and it will make your heart sad to see these talented actors being wasted in this film. Movie 3 stars from our side.