Shehzada, a 2023 Hindi-language action film directed by Rohit Dhawan, faltered at the box office despite a star-studded cast. A remake of the successful Telugu film Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, it features Kartik Aaryan, Kriti Sanon, Paresh Rawal, Manisha Koirala, and Ronit Roy in prominent roles. Principal photography, spanning Mumbai, Mauritius, and Delhi, commenced in October 2021 and concluded in January 2023. The film's musical score was composed by Pritam. Released on February 17, 2023, Shehzada failed to resonate with audiences and critics alike, resulting in both critical and commercial disappointment. While the production boasted extensive filming locations and a well-known musical composer, the remake seemingly failed to capture the magic of its source material. The film's underperformance highlights the challenges of successfully adapting films across different linguistic contexts and the unpredictable nature of box office success. Despite a strong cast and seemingly ample resources, Shehzada's reception underscores the importance of narrative innovation and audience appeal beyond star power.

Shehzada movie cast: Kartik Aaryan, Kriti Sanon, Paresh Rawal, Manisha Koirala, Sunny Hinduja, Ronit Roy
Shehzada movie director: Rohit Dhawan
Shehzada movie rating: 0.5 stars

It should be a crime to make certain films in the 21st century. And a film where a boy (would you call Kartik Aaryan a man, think hard) turns out good simply because his genetics are originally of a rich family, even if he had been swapped at birth into a clerk’s abode, as opposed to his counterpart who never really rises above his poor clerk family genes despite living in privilege, should surely qualify.

Particularly when the clerk who is instrumental in this baby swap is called, only and only, Valmiki. He does this out of all kinds of wrong reasons, and has almost no redeeming feature. Do they not know how wrong this is on all levels, or they just don’t care?

The rich Jindals in contrast, who have lost their Shehzada unknowingly to Valmiki, are nice enough people — even if they do treat old retainer Valmiki pretty shittily. The filmmakers even splurge on acting talent when it comes to the Jindals, putting Sachin Khedekar (the patriarch), Manisha Koirala (his daughter) and Ronit Roy (his son-in-law), all in that corner which they clearly care more for.

And then there is Kriti Sanon, a hotshot lawyer for some reason who never sees the inside of a courtroom but does add some good-looking gloss to the tosh. . She flits in and out of the Jindal world as a potential match for their good-for-nothing son (the very same baby, originally Valmiki’s, now living the rich life). This poor brat, Raj, has so little to do after his foreign degree that he drives a toy car around the house.

There is a villain other than Valmiki (Paresh Rawal), and he is someone who wants to do some bad things using the Jindal cargo ships, which the Jindals absolutely won’t allow. It leaves this man, with a killer umbrella for a weapon and some good clothes and cars, very, very angry, and very, very snarly.

Even if the film was not called Shehzada, Kartik Aaryan would have made it all come out right. But since it is called that, he does this being both badass and Bawarchi (remember that Rajesh Khanna character who used more than food to make families come together). And Aaryan doesn’t even have to change a hair strand from his usual loud, silly, bedraggled look.

Only Koirala and Roy come out of this with some dignity intact. That’s more than can be said about the audience.