Movie review: Hrithik Roshan's 'Super 30' is an oversimplified drag

The life story of mathematician Anand Kumar is an extraordinary one. It did not need the intervention of egregious evil to make him look good. Nor did it need Hrithik Roshan, an actor who had to mask his privilege and over-expressive self to portray a “Bihari babu”, a true-blue son of the soil. Set in arguably India’s most infamous state, a naturally cruel biopic that pits urban poverty, political corruption and violence against a bunch of underdogs and their genius tutor just needed some subtle packaging to deliver a guaranteed blockbuster. It’s a true story, after all. Director Vikas Bahl did have the challenge of reproducing an overtold story about Kumar and his coaching centre — it famously produced many IITians without charging fees for the tutoring. But his overly dramatic approach takes the heroism out of the biopic and renders a story that is unbelievable in parts and barely watchable in the main.

Roshan as Kumar is not poor and raggedy, he is bronze. It’s not a terrible make-up job but botched-up vision. If you have picked a six-foot-tall, fair-skinned, hazel-eyed Hrithik Roshan to play a five-feet-six, dark-skinned, curly-haired mathematician, there’s no point trying to be accurate. It takes the focus away from getting Kumar’s demeanour and mannerisms right, which Roshan reportedly worked hard on.

A screengrab from the film Super 30 featuring Hrithik Roshan

Roshan in Super 30 nails the despondency and jubilation, reminiscent of some of his sparkling moments in Kaabil and Agneepath. For the rest of it, he is the protagonist of a biopic that oddly reveals little about the lead character’s personality. It’s a lost opportunity for the actor who is betting big on his first release in two years.

The story in the first hour or so has signs of a well-packaged narrative. One of his students speaking at what looks like a United Nations conference in The Hague, is narrating the story of his teacher, the son of a postman and a gifted mathematician, who had aspired to study at Oxford or Cambridge. Kumar is granted admission to Cambridge but his family is unable to arrange the funds for a plane ticket to the UK. More crushing loss and tragedy follows, which has the audience deeply invested. But from the point Kumar decides to sacrifice money, prestige and a chance at true love to teach poor kids for free, the story becomes a drag. Kumar’s success is well-known — all 30 students from his first batch made it to one of the IITs. The film employs no genius to keep the audience engaged.

More acting talents are wasted in the process. Most noticeable is Pankaj Tripathi’s character, the education minister running a coaching centre mafia behind the scenes. The man is capable of captivating audiences with just his screen presence, but his character is written in limited capacity. Nandish Sandhu plays Kumar’s brother, Pranav, who the real-life Kumar credits with the success of the “Super 30” programme. He is an auxiliary character in the film with no inputs whatsoever.

The story does not deeply explore the life of a controversial genius nor does it reflect upon his unparalleled success as a messiah through the stories of his prodigies. Despite the miscalculations of its makers, Super 30 is a heart-warming tale that will induce a few tears and laughs here and there. 

In totality, however, Bahl and Roshan’s telling of a true story is a ready reckoner on how not to make a biopic: a story rife with tragedy, drama and shining success just needed a plain telling.