A pointless stretch

Heartless 
Hindi (UA) *

Cast: Adhyayan Suman, Ariana Ayam, Om Puri, Deepti Naval, Shekhar Suman Director: Shekhar Suman 

Actor and TV personality Shekhar Suman makes his first directorial venture with ‘Heartless’, a film that explores the medical phenomenon known as ‘anaesthesia awareness’ (when a patient who has been given general anaesthesia is in a state of consciousnesses, can experience pain but cannot express it).

The first half of the film proves to be like any other run-off-the-mill love saga, with the rich, bratty businessman Aditya Singh, played by Adhyayan Suman falling in love with Ria – debutant actress Ariana Ayam essays the role. Singh is on a business trip in Dubai with his fiercely protective mother (played by Deepti Naval), where Ria is employed, the two meet and two song sequences later become inseparable lovers.

Meanwhile, Aditya Singh happens to be a heart patient in need of a transplant. He goes against his beloved mother and chooses his doctor-friend to perform his surgery. From there, the plot takes a twist and what unfolds is a roller-coaster ride that will make you scream your lungs out.

The film also beautifully touches upon the relationship shared between a mother and son, exploring certain grey shades of human behaviour. As a single mother, who has lost her husband, Deepti Naval, an authoritative, independent businesswoman is emotionally attached to her son to such an extent that she sometimes becomes overtly possessive.  Inspired by the Hollywood film, Awake, though the director tries to bring something new to the table with this so-called ‘medical thriller’, he quite fails. It is rather a mindless copy of Awake, in which Suman tries too hard to tune the film to suit Indian sensibilities.

Deepti Naval’s powerful performance is commendable. Om Puri and Shekhar Suman have also done a good job as supporting actors but the script, sadly is not strong enough to do any good to these actors. The music fails to make a mark. The protagonists are rather sloppy in their acting abilities. Heartless is a rather pointless stretch that gets frustrating, especially when song sequences break out when a surgery is in progress.