<p>It takes a lot of time and tricks for a Bollywood underdog to gain a paw-hold. In <span class="italic">Super 30</span>, it takes almost three hours of rehearsed torture for the said dog to stand up and be counted.</p>.<p>He is made to salivate at MNC food on an empty stomach, sport a sooty look and stare at the supplies of the rich, sing a Sholay-inspired ‘Basanti, no dance in front of these dogs’ before a crowd of privileged English-speakers... And since it’s Hrithik Roshan who is leading the pack, it requires a generous coating of brown to keep the man in a safe tone zone. </p>.<p>Hrithik makes a lot of efforts to do justice to Anand Kumar — the real-life wizard of Bihar who helps poor students crack the entrance exam to prestigious IITs, 30 at a time. But all that grease does nothing to hide what our hero is known for. However much muck you dump, you still get a Greek god shining beneath the layers with green eyes. And that’s the irony of this well-meaning, feel-good film.</p>.<p>The casting mistake doesn’t seem to bother Hrithik. He moves around with a good spring in his step, whether it’s to sell papads or woo Mrunal Thakur (in a pretty good rich-girl act). And math is the secret of his energy.</p>.<p>The first half has enough stuff to stir one up, but the proceedings turn increasingly childish as the tale progresses. The mentor-student arithmetic goes all wrong when the director decides to make superhumans out of the kids. Suddenly, they seem more comfortable fighting Naxals and hurling bottle bombs than solving problems.</p>.<p>Super 30 is an earnest movie with a message, but the figures don’t add up somehow.</p>
<p>It takes a lot of time and tricks for a Bollywood underdog to gain a paw-hold. In <span class="italic">Super 30</span>, it takes almost three hours of rehearsed torture for the said dog to stand up and be counted.</p>.<p>He is made to salivate at MNC food on an empty stomach, sport a sooty look and stare at the supplies of the rich, sing a Sholay-inspired ‘Basanti, no dance in front of these dogs’ before a crowd of privileged English-speakers... And since it’s Hrithik Roshan who is leading the pack, it requires a generous coating of brown to keep the man in a safe tone zone. </p>.<p>Hrithik makes a lot of efforts to do justice to Anand Kumar — the real-life wizard of Bihar who helps poor students crack the entrance exam to prestigious IITs, 30 at a time. But all that grease does nothing to hide what our hero is known for. However much muck you dump, you still get a Greek god shining beneath the layers with green eyes. And that’s the irony of this well-meaning, feel-good film.</p>.<p>The casting mistake doesn’t seem to bother Hrithik. He moves around with a good spring in his step, whether it’s to sell papads or woo Mrunal Thakur (in a pretty good rich-girl act). And math is the secret of his energy.</p>.<p>The first half has enough stuff to stir one up, but the proceedings turn increasingly childish as the tale progresses. The mentor-student arithmetic goes all wrong when the director decides to make superhumans out of the kids. Suddenly, they seem more comfortable fighting Naxals and hurling bottle bombs than solving problems.</p>.<p>Super 30 is an earnest movie with a message, but the figures don’t add up somehow.</p>