Helicopter Eela Review

Cast:  Kajol, Riddhi Sen & Neha Dhupia

Rating: ***

Director: Pradeep Sarkar

What’s it about?

Helicopter Eela is based on a Gujarati play. It’s about a single mother who is so paranoid about her son’s well-being that she doesn’t know where to draw the line. But will this get her closer to him or drive him away?

Review

There are only three reasons if you want to watch Helicopter Eela. Kajol, Kajol and Kajol. This is truly a comeback film with her dominating practically every frame as Eela Raiturkar. From a struggling playback singer and a part time model in the 90s to an overbearing mother of a 20-year-old in 2018 – Kajol lives her character with amazing finesse. She lights up the screen with her presence and brings the character alive with her charm and disarming beauty.

Director Pradeep Sarkar and writers Mitesh Shah and Anand Gandhi create the simple world of Eela with regular problems, easy solutions and one life changing twist. For the large part they keep the story free flowing with light moments between characters and a very efficient use of music composed mostly by Amit Trivedi. There are quirkily penned songs that depict the naughty 90s, a young couple’s creative jugalbandiand a mother’s overbearing presence in her son’s life. But all of this is part of the first half histrionics. Come second half and the film falls into the trap of melodrama and repetitive conflicts that often slow down the pace.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LLiUiJz5TZc

While the action shifts to a college campus, there are many missed opportunities of fun and humour.  Surely, the mother-daughter equation between Kajol and her son Vivaan (Riddhi Sen) hold the film together, but in the second half their confrontation itself often becomes overbearing. Thankfully, the film never becomes a preachy lesson on parenting. There is also Neha Dhupia who seems to have become the go-to girl for such supporting roles, who end up motivating the female protagonists. With a few characters after many conflicts the film finally manages to reach a grand finale.

All in all, Helicopter Eela is a simple yet endearing tale of motherly love that has its share of moments – engaging and dull. But if you love Kajol just as much as you love your mom, then you can watch it for the former and with the latter.

I am going with 3 stars out of 5.