How ‘An Action Hero’ Challenges the Action and Ayushmann Khurrana Templates

Bollywood has had a history of similar action flicks back to back. 'An Action Hero' is an anomaly.

One near invincible action hero, a villain who wants to take over the world (often with no other motivation), and a damsel in distress – these tried and tested elements are often put together to create an action movie.

That is not true for some action flicks though, take Die Hard, Indiana Jones, or The Matrix for instance, all three franchises are unique in their storytelling. And that is part of what makes them successful. 

For Bollywood, An Action Hero might be such a film. The Ayushmann Khurrana-starrer is the story of a movie star, Maanav, known for his action films who accidentally kills someone and is then on the run.

Over the course of the film, he uses all the skills he acquired as an action star and his knowledge of the ‘general public’ to get out of the mess he is in.

Maanav Makes a Bad And Good Action Hero

An Action Hero takes a protagonist rooted far away from a common man’s reality and places him in a situation that still makes one root for him. His only motivation is to save himself and his fame – as conceited as that sounds, it’s also realistic. There is no big, looming threat to the world or even anybody else except our protagonist.

And yet, by introducing multiple forces out to get him, director Anirudh Iyer maintains a sense of urgency, even though the film is not racing against time. 

An Action Hero also brings its lens outside of Maanav’s fight for survival. While Maanav falls from grace, the film explores how media narratives can be formed and how susceptible viewers can be.

Even so, the scenes portraying the media isn’t a one-off gimmick – the anchors (both reasonable and not) are placed in the story so carefully that sometimes they come off as being part of the soundtrack. 

Jaideep Ahlawat as the Hilarious Antagonist 

The ‘hilarious protagonist’ is one that the Marvel Cinematic Studios has perfected and the idea’s success can be judged by Loki’s popularity. Not that Bollywood hasn’t had its share of funny villains but most of its (most iconic) villains have one thing in common – they’re pure evil. 

Case in point, Agneepath’s Kancha Cheena, Shakal from Shaan, and Gabbar from the cult classic Sholay. Jaideep Ahlawat’s Bhoora, on the other hand, is as confused by the events as Maanav is.

While he is menacing and kills people at the drop of a hat but his own motivations seem more convoluted than what meets the eye and that dissonance makes him an interesting villain. 

His body language and deadpan expression, mixed with every frustrating quip, and his equation with Maanav all contribute to the film’s humour. 

Even though Maanav is the one you’re supposed to be rooting for, you can’t help but empathise with Bhoora every time he’s left stranded and confused (a little like how one starts to feel bad for both Tom and Jerry as the years pass by).

Another running gag the film uses is the way both Maanav and Bhoora keep asking adversaries who they are – a call-out to the action genre wherein the hero just fights whoever is in front of him, often for no rhyme or reason.

Through Bhoora and Maanav’s interactions, the film explores the relationship between stars and their fans, satirising how fan culture can often be intrusive leading to a false sense of entitlement into a celebrity’s life and space. 

A Different Ayushmann Khurrana in ‘An Action Hero’ 

In his career, Ayushmann Khurrana has played a variety of roles and most of the films boasted of strong social messaging. However, his film’s gradually started to have something in common – a monologue. 

Some of his characters often acted as a saviour in these films, using these monologues to inspire change.

In An Action Hero, the messaging is in the film clear as day and is barely even acknowledged by the hero.

Even as the media and public continue to turn against him, Maanav doesn’t go into a monologue about media trials. Instead, he stands silently and watches it happen, leaving the audience to come to their own conclusion.

Even as Bhoora yells something along the lines of, “We, the fans, made you and you must listen to us and do what we tell you to do,” perhaps picked verbatim off social media trolls, Maanav doesn’t preach. 

The action set pieces, credited to Ian Van Temperley and Stunt Silva, are also well-crafted. Maanav might be able to execute the action scenes but without a director telling him where to go, he often takes much longer in execution than would be normally required.

In one particular action sequence, he flies from one pole to another bar and back again and again till he finally stumbles to freedom. 

His action scenes are also methodical and well-placed in contrast to Bhoora, who uses his wrestling training in the way he fights. Even though he has a gun, most of his kills are by hand and his movements are more fluid. 

This attention to detail when it comes to characterisation helps An Action Hero a lot.

The film took Ayushmann Khurrana’s own genre and the action genre and mixed it to create a film that is above all, self-aware. 

If that’s your beat, An Action Hero hit theatres on 2 December.