Shehzada
- Director
- Rohit Dhawan
- Studio
- T-Series FilmsBrat FilmsHaarika & Hassine Creations
- Release Date
- 16 February 2023
- Running Time
- 145 min
- Language
- Hindi
- Country
- India
- Budget
- ₹65.00 Cr
- Box Office
- ₹47.43 Cr
Review
Kartik Aaryan's *Shehzada* attempts to resurrect a tired Bollywood staple—the switched-at-birth narrative—but struggles to inject genuine vitality into its predictable framework. Director Rohit Dhawan leans heavily on the fish-out-of-water comedy potential, with Aaryan playing dual roles that expose the fundamental limitation of the premise: Raj, the pampered heir, and Bantu, the street-smart wheeler-dealer, are written as such exaggerated opposites that their character arcs feel mechanical rather than earned. The supporting cast, particularly Samara (played with more conviction than the script deserves), can't compensate for a narrative that relies on coincidence and contrivance rather than genuine character development. Dhawan's direction is competent but uninspired—he checks boxes rather than exploring the psychological complexity lurking beneath a concept that *could* examine identity, privilege, and paternity in meaningful ways.
What saves *Shehzada* from complete mediocrity is its occasional self-awareness. The sequences where Randeep observes both versions of his sons—witnessing Raj's professional incompetence juxtaposed against Bantu's street smarts—contain genuine dramatic tension and hint at a film that might have been. Aaryan demonstrates adequate range between his two characters, and there are moments of chemistry with his co-leads that feel authentic. However, the film's 150-minute runtime becomes increasingly apparent as the plot meanders toward its inevitable
Storyline
So basically, this whole movie hinges on this crazy twist from way back—two babies get swapped at birth, and one guy decides to keep them mixed up because he thinks his kid will have a better shot at life with the rich family. Fast forward a quarter-century and you've got this massive secret sitting there, completely changing who everyone thinks they are. The setup is wild, honestly, and you can tell the whole story is just waiting to explode when the truth finally comes out.
The fun part is watching these two guys—Raj and Bantu—living completely different lives because of that one decision. One's been pampered in luxury but turned out kind of weak and indecisive, while the other grew up scrappy and confident on the streets. There's this lawyer woman, Samara, who works with Bantu and clearly sees something special in him, and it's obvious the movie's building toward something interesting there. Meanwhile, the guy who actually raised Raj treats him like garbage while favoring his real son, which is pretty messed up when you think about it.
What really grabbed me was this moment where the actual father, Randeep, accidentally sees both kids in action on the same day—Raj completely botches a business situation and can't stand up for himself, but then he witnesses Bantu being this total boss, handling a difficult client like it's nothing. You can see it on his face that something feels off, like he's noticing his kids aren't who he thought they were. That's when you realize this whole thing is about to unravel, and I'm genuinely curious where it all goes from there.
