Nikhil Advani's "Hero" is all things dream launches are made of. Athiya Shetty and Sooraj Pancholi are sure star kids, but the story changes with Salman Khan backing them up.
The trailer appears to be a heady mix of action, drama, and romance but mentioned below are a few additional factors which could work in the film's favour.
The Salman Khan Stamp
It's like the Midas touch. Salman going out of his way to promote his home production venture means a lot of things. To add to that, he has gone on to say how incredibly talented the newcomers are and that he sees himself in Sooraj.
"People are saying 'I have launched them because they are my friend's kids', but there is nothing like that. I have so many friends whose kids are waiting to be launched, but these kids have talent which made me launch them. They are brilliant," The Press Trust of India quoted Salman as saying.
Also, the superstar has a guest appearance in the film, which is a big deal.
The Sooraj Pancholi – Athiya Shetty Game
Newcomers always bring with them an element of freshness, and these two look amazingly comfortable in each other's company, both on and off-screen. Also, they already have considerable fan following on all of the social networking platforms and Sooraj has sort of become a teen sensation.
Risky Remake
Subhash Ghai's "Hero" (1983), starring Jackie Shroff (Jaikishan) and Meenakshi Seshadri (Radha Mathur), was a massive hit. And the story had every element a blockbuster needs to have. But the senior filmmaker believes it's a huge risk to take up a film from 30 years ago and make it into a pot-boiler.
On master's request, Jaikishan kidnaps cop's daughter Radha. He falls in love with her, and later turns himself in to become a better man. What follows next makes for an interesting second half. Hopefully, the remake team has taken cues from the older version and have incorporated them into the script.
Music Mania
The Salman Khan version of "Main Hoon Hero Tera" song has gone viral beyond belief, and it's surely a plus for the makers. Also, "Dance Ke Legend" and "Yaadaan Teriyaan" are topping charts.
Promotions Galore
A balanced yet fierce promotional strategy seems to be working for "Hero" as the buzz around it is good and vibe is positive. From talking about it on reality shows to conducting a concert, the team is pulling out all the stops to make it eligible for Bollywood's box-office.
"I hardly participated in the promotions. Our team is pushing them. They are not listening to me, they want to promote. But they should be fresh and not look tired," Salman told PTI.
