Hawaizaada
- Director
- Vibhu Puri
- Studio
- Trilogic Media, Film Farmers
- Release Date
- 29 January 2015
- Running Time
- 157 min
- Language
- Hindi
- Country
- India
- Budget
- ₹34.00 Cr
- Box Office
- ₹5.59 Cr
Review
Hawaizaada arrives as an ambitious period drama that attempts to weave together romance, scientific invention, and historical fiction—a combination that sounds compelling on paper but falters significantly in execution. Director Vibhu Puri shows genuine visual flair in depicting 1890s India, and the film's core premise about an ancient flying machine has genuine intrigue. However, the narrative structure becomes increasingly muddled as it tries to balance three separate storylines: Shivi's romantic entanglement with Sitara, the scientific endeavor with Shastri, and the eventual moral conflict. The performances, while earnest, never quite achieve the depth needed to carry such thematic weight. Ayushmann Khurrana brings sincerity to Shivi's character arc, but the writing doesn't provide enough dimensionality to make his choices—particularly the third-act betrayal—feel organic rather than contrived.
The film's technical ambitions exceed its narrative sophistication. The flying machine sequences have a steampunk charm and the production design captures period authenticity reasonably well, yet these elements can't compensate for a story that increasingly relies on convenience and melodrama rather than genuine character motivation. The love story between Shivi and Sitara feels obligatory rather than integral, and Shastri's character, though interesting conceptually, remains more archetype than fully realized person. The script struggles with pacing in its second half, dwelling on
Storyline
So there's this carefree guy named Shivi who drops out of school and falls head over heels for a beautiful dancer called Sitara. When his father finds out, he kicks Shivi out of the house. That's when Shivi meets this eccentric scientist named Shastri who's constantly running from the British authorities because he's working on something revolutionary—a flying machine based on ancient Indian knowledge. Shastri recognizes Shivi's deep understanding of the Vedas and wants him as a partner in this ambitious project, but Shivi initially turns him down.
Things get complicated when Shivi proposes to Sitara, but she refuses because she knows society won't accept their relationship. Heartbroken when she leaves town, Shivi finally decides to join forces with Shastri. The two of them dedicate themselves to constructing this incredible flying device, facing failure after failure. They manage to convince a local king to fund their experiments, and eventually they build a small aircraft that actually takes flight in front of witnesses, though it crashes moments later.
Life throws another curveball when Shivi discovers that Sitara has returned to the city in desperate financial straits. Desperate to help her, Shivi makes a terrible decision that betrays Shastri's trust and puts the entire mission at risk. This betrayal deeply wounds Shastri, and the consequences of Shivi's choice become far more serious than he ever anticipated.
