Hindi
Heroine: Bhandarkar has nothing new to offer
MUMBAI: Every time a heroine oriented film is due for release, which is not very often, I am asked to give my views on why heroine films don’t work. I used to give detailed explanations hoping that what I said was understood. I think Madhur Bhandarkar‘s latest film, Heroine, has made my job easier. Next time I am asked this question. I can just say, “Go watch Heroine and you will know why. Heroine is usually what our heroine films are all about, which is certainly not a Lara Croft movie; this is not even a The Dirty Picture or a Kahaani! Usually, those plotting a heroine oriented film end up making their heroine‘s character weak and exploited and this is not what people want to see.”
Bhandarkar has a mould ready in which he can cast his fashion model, a corporate woman or a heroine. The profession changes but the shape, size and sound remain the same. The events, the ups and downs, the drama are rewritten around his new protagonist but the essence remains the same. Bhandarkar is supposed to be one of the progressive filmmakers but what he has been making since Chandni Bar is like what Jacqueline Susanne and Jackie Collins wrote and was filmed as long ago as 1970s!
In Heroine, Kareena Kapoor is a whimsical girl with a troubled childhood. She has run away from her home in Delhi, come to Mumbai and has become a top film star; the film does not dwell on how. Her character in the film tells the story of what is supposed to be happening in our film industry, especially star relations, emotions, exploitations, betrayals, insecurities, media and PR stunts, almost all exaggerated.
Kapoor is celebrating the success of one of her films and expects super star Arjun Rampal, who she is passionate about, to attend which he does not. Their romance is kept back successfully from the media in a scenario where, otherwise, each star bitches about the other and leaks scandals to media. Kapoor has self destructive tendencies coupled with her insecurities about her top slot. And her lover, Rampal, makes her pop pills, drink continuously and smoke like a chimney. Her suffering is generally self-inflicted. Her pressure on Rampal to marry her finally leads to him dumping her. In search of love, she falls for the successful cricketer, played by Randeep Hooda. If she was in a hurry to tie the knot with Rampal, here Hooda is in hurry which, she feels, will be detrimental to her career. The romance breaks. Kapoor‘s career is all but over when she engages the services of a noted PR person, Divya Dutta, who knows all the tricks, usually dirty, of keeping her client in limelight.
Kapoor is back on covers and in the endorsement market but a big film offer eludes her. Always exploited, Kapoor decides to play dirty to get that one offer. But she dodges advances by Sanjay Suri and he in turn reduces her role to a cameo.
Desperate, Kapoor says yes to two offers, one to do a shoestring budget film and the other to attend a wedding in Delhi for a fee. Rampal is on same flight on his way to attend the same wedding. The lovers unite and decide to do a film together. But, again, Kapoor‘s insecurities get the better of her and as a result she loses both, the film as well as Rampal. But before that she has played her last card: releasing her sex video with Rampal on the net to promote the shoestring budget film she did. If such tricks worked in real life, every willing-to-strip newbie would be a star on debut. However, here it works for Kapoor and people flock to theatres to watch her small budget film as if the sex video was its trailer!
The basic plot of this film remains same as his earlier film. The problem in case of Heroine is that there is no story as such to hold a viewer‘s interest. The film tries to cram in all that is supposed to be evil about the film industry with all its stereotypes, including a bitching friend, a gay dress designer, a bisexual guy on hand when in need, a loyal secretary as well as a cunning one, party scenes, bought media loyalties, forgotten stars and so on. It is all used to deliver 147 minutes of tedium. So whose story is this, a heroine or the film industry?
The casting is poor in that those vying for or competing with Kapoor for the top spot look like side actors. Kapoor and Rampal are the best the film has to offer. Stars draw people to the cinema; making an economical film with small timers does not mean low admission rates. Heroine does not have much to offer and the viewer is saddled with faces he does not care to watch. Bhandarkar disappoints both in writing as well as direction. Except at three or four places, dialogue is routine. Musically, the film has one item number in Halkat jawani, which is well choreographed, along with two hummable numbers, Tujhpe fida and Khwahishein. Photography is good.
This was the film for Kapoor to show her acting skills but that does not happen because of her ill-defined character. The character lacks consistency due to which one fails to identify or empathise with her. Rampal is okay but looks spent in this film. Shahana Goswami impresses in a brief role. Others who do well are Ranvir Shorey, Datta, Helen, Govind Namdeo and Hooda.
A comparison with The Dirty Picture becomes inevitable after watching Heroine and one concludes that Heroine has nothing of what made The Dirty Picture a hit.
Heroine has had huge amount of promotion which has not helped it get a decent opening and the bad reports will only make it suffer further at the box office.
In a music industry that often rewards speed, spectacle, and instant recall, Navjot Ahuja’s journey feels refreshingly different. His story is not built on noise. It is built on patience, discipline, emotional honesty, and a quiet commitment to becoming better with every passing year. After 14 years of struggle, learning, performing, and writing, Navjot stands today as an artist whose success has not changed his centre. If anything, it has only made his purpose clearer.
For Navjot, music has never been about chasing fame alone. It has always been about expression. It is about writing more truthfully, singing more skillfully, understanding himself more deeply, and becoming a kinder human being in the process. That rare clarity is what gives his journey its beauty.
Where It All Began: A Writer Before a Singer
Indian singer and songwriter Navjot Ahuja’s musical journey began in the most familiar of places: school assemblies. But even then, what was growing inside him was not only the desire to sing. It was the need to write.
Long before he saw himself as a performer, he had already discovered the emotional release that writing offered him. For Navjot, words became the first true channel for feeling. Songwriting came before singing because writing was the only way he could let emotions flow through him fully. That inner pull shaped his artistic identity early on.
Like many young musicians, he sharpened his craft by creating renditions of popular songs.
Those experiments became his training ground. But the turning point came in 2012, when he wrote his first original song. That moment did not just mark the beginning of songwriting. It marked the beginning of self-definition.
A Calling He Did Not Chase, But Accepted
What makes the latest Indian singer-songwriter Navjot’s story especially compelling is the way he describes his relationship with music. He does not frame it as a career he aggressively pursued. In his own understanding, music was not something he chose. It was something that chose him.
There was a time when he imagined a very different future for himself. He wanted to become a successful engineer, like many young people shaped by ambition and conventional expectations. But life had a different script waiting for him. During his college years, around 2021, music entered his life professionally and began taking a firmer shape.
That shift was not driven by image-building or industry ambition. It came from acceptance. Navjot embraced the fact that music had claimed him in a way no other path could. That sense of surrender continues to define the artist he is today.
An Artist Guided by Instinct, Not Influence
Unlike many singers who speak openly about idols, icons, and musical role models, Navjot’s creative world is built differently. He does not believe his music comes from imitation or inherited influence. He listens inward.
He has never considered himself shaped by ideals in the traditional sense. In fact, he admits that he does not particularly enjoy listening to songs, especially his own. His decisions as a songwriter and singer come from instinct. He writes what feels right. He trusts what his inner voice tells him. He positions his music according to what he honestly believes in, not what trends demand.
That creative independence gives his work a distinct emotional sincerity. His songs do not feel calculated. They feel alive.
The Long Years of Invisible Struggle
Every artist carries a chapter of struggle, and Navjot’s was long, demanding, and deeply formative. One of the biggest challenges he faced was building continuity as the best new indian singer songwriter in an era where musical collaboration is increasingly fluid.
For emerging singers, especially those trying to build with a band, consistency can be difficult. Instrumentalists today have more opportunities than ever to freelance and perform with multiple artists. While that growth is positive and well deserved, it can make things harder for singers who are still trying to establish a steady team and sound around their work.
For Navjot, one of the most difficult phases came during 2021 and 2022, when he was doing club shows almost every day. It was a period of relentless performance, but not always personal fulfillment. He was largely singing covers because clubs were not open to original songs that audiences did not yet know.
For a new Indian singer and songwriter, that can be a painful compromise. To perform constantly and still not have the freedom to share your own voice requires not just resilience, but restraint.
“Khat” and the Grace of Staying Unchanged
After 14 years of effort, Navjot’s new love song Khat became a defining milestone. Professionally, he acknowledges that the song changed how society viewed him as a musician. It strengthened his place in the public eye and altered his standing in meaningful ways.
Yet personally, he remains unchanged.
That is perhaps the most striking part of his story. Navjot says his routine is still the same. His calm is still the same. His writing process is still the same. He does not want success or failure to interfere with the purity of his art. For him, emotional detachment from public outcomes is essential because the moment an artist becomes too attached to validation, the writing begins to shift.
His joy comes not from numbers, but from the attempt. If he has tried to improve his skill today, if he has written his heart out more honestly than before, then he is at peace.
Growth, Not Glory, Remains the Real Goal
Even now, Navjot is not consumed by labels such as singles artist, performer, or digital success story. His focus remains deeply personal. He wants to sing better. He wants to play instruments better. He wants to understand himself more. And he wants to become a kinder person.
That is what makes Navjot Ahuja’s journey so moving. It is not simply the story of a musician finding recognition. It is the story of an artist who continues to grow inward, even as the world begins to look outward at him. In an age obsessed with applause, Navjot reminds us that the most meaningful success often begins in silence, honesty, and the courage to remain true to oneself.
