DVD Review: Superstar 
By Joginder Tuteja, March 27, 2008 - 17:33 IST
MOVIE DETAILS
Cast: Kunal Khemu, Tulip Joshi, Aushima Sawhney, Reema Lagoo, Sharat Saxena, Vrajesh Hirjee, Darshan Jariwala
Director: Rohit Jugraj
Producer: Shree Ashtavinayak Cinevision Ltd
Music: Shamir Tandon
Lyrics: Shabbir Ahmed
THE FILM
To state a fact right at the beginning, the film completely belongs to Kunal Khemu. In a double role of a struggler and a soon-to-be-launched producer-son, Kunal enacts the varied parts with aplomb. What director Rohit Jugraj does right is by not showing two contrasting sides of the two roles which Kunal plays. He doesn't try making it a 'black' and 'white' exercise or conveniently choose a path where the dissimilarities between rich and poor is shown.
Instead, what turns out to be common between the two is their innocence, almost carefree approach towards their career (the struggler laughs at his lack of success but still continues to move on, the boy with a silver spoon laughs at the hardcore Bollywood lines he is required to mouth) and the relationship each of them shares with their fathers. While struggler's dad (enacted quite well by Sharad Saxena), wants him to get a 9 to 6 job, the producer dad (Darshan Jariwala, hamming away to glory) wants his son to become a 'super star' at all costs. Result is that both are dissatisfied with the career path their fathers have chosen for them!
However, the film isn't without its share of lows. MMS and sting operation looks gimmicky while at a couple of places (in both the haves), the narrative stagnates a little. The production values are just about decent while both the girls (Tulip and Aushima) have hardly any part to play.
Superstar just doesn't rely on fun elements. Though romance is more or less missing in this tale which is completely centered on Kunal, there are a couple of emotional and dramatic moments which get your concentration spot on the screen. The scene where duplicate is brought on to stand up for the original (Kunal's dance is excellent here) or when Kunal visits his parents in the second half, stand out for their execution. Sequences in the hospital and the premiere, in the climax, are well executed. Also notable is the track 'Man Tu Telebet' which plays twice in the background.
There is something about Superstar which doesn't make one give up completely on it. Though the film didn't work at the box office when released just a week before Jodhaa Akbar, one always felt that this film would have it's moments of high . Also, the Kunal Khemu’s presence makes one almost sure that Superstar' would boast of good performances. After all, the young boy has been having a good record, performance wise, be it Kalyug, Traffic Signal or Dhol. And it won't be wrong to say that in Superstar, Kunal comes trump with his most mature performance in a complex role till date!
PACKAGING
The film comes in a standard local plastic case with a decent cover layout. Since the DVD comes on Moser Baer, don't expect any fancy packaging.
DURATION
The film comes in a single DVD pack with the film's duration being 140 minutes.
SPECIAL FEATURES
The DVD doesn't come with any special features.
TECHNICAL DETAILS
- 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen format
- Subtitles In English
- Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 Stereo
PRICE
Rs. 49/=
CONCLUSION
No, unlike popular misconception, Superstar is not Tere Mere Sapne [Arshad Warsi, Chandrachur Singh] revisited. Though many felt before the release of the film that Superstar is a story about the two Kunals swapping their places, this hardly is the case as the twist in the tale is far stronger. In fact, it is this twist which brings a complete turnaround in the proceedings. Of course there are cinematic liberties taken here but it doesn't pinch badly either. A one time watch for a lazy Sunday afternoon!
Rating: **1/2
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