It is rare to come across a multi-genre film that nails all of them. Well, almost all of them, especially in the Hindi film industry. After a year packed with mediocre films, there are a handful of films that worked on the big screen for people to finally go out and enjoy. A good metafilm, which is also a black comedy, is one of the best films the industry has produced this year. “Content is king” is the right statement for this one. Directed by debutant Anirudh Iyer, the film stars Ayushmann Khurrana, Jaideep Ahlawat, Harsh Chhaya, and Neeraj Madhav. “An Action Hero” is the story of a popular actor who is on the verge of losing everything he has worked for because of a small accident. Will he get out of the mess?

Spoilers Ahead

‘An Action Hero’ Plot Synopsis: What Happens In The Film?

Maanav Khurrana is a popular actor in the Hindi film industry who is known for making stupendous action films for the masses to enjoy. The film begins with Maanav being interrogated by the RAW while in the custody of British Intelligence. There is no reason at this point to explain why he is in custody on foreign soil. RAW agents start questioning him about Masood Abraham Katkar, but Maanav chooses to tell his version of the story, starting from his interaction with Vicky Solanki. Maanav begins with a tiny news bit of his that goes viral when he is asked about acting in a biopic of a gangster. Maanav makes it clear that as a celebrity, he has a social responsibility not to glorify gangsters and mafia kingpins and that they have become irrelevant anyway. He headed to a small town in Haryana, where his film was being shot. Maanav is concerned about his mood because he is not able to get into an angry state of mind for the long action sequence he is about to shoot. Meanwhile, a local politician’s brother, Vicky Solanki, is at the set waiting with his friends for Maanav to come by to speak to him and take a picture with him. His brother Bhoora Solanki had given all the approvals for the shooting to be held in this town. But Maanav is too distracted by his work to be concerned about any politicians who are using nothing but their privilege to get closer to him. Maanav is also waiting for his Mustang to be delivered, which has been delayed for a while. Maanav uses this as an anger trigger, which helps him give the director a perfect shot. Maanav, as an actor, strictly means business when he is working. He intends to dedicate himself to this line of work because it pays him a million bucks to spend hours on set to make the film as good as possible. His being busy cannot be seen as arrogance but rather as a work ethic that he adheres to. Vicky Solanki and his friends do not understand that and are visibly agitated by the fact that Maanav is intentionally ignoring them. Maanav was about to meet them when he was again distracted by the new car that had been delivered to him. Maanav is elated and takes his vehicle for a spin. Unbeknownst to him, Vicky Solanki starts chasing him in his SUV to teach him a lesson. Both finally stop the chase and face each other when Maanav apologizes for making him wait and offers to have breakfast with Vicky and his brother the next day at the hotel. Offended by his words and actions, Vicky breaks the side mirror of Maanav’s new car and starts manhandling him. Maanav aggressively pushes him away, and Vicky’s head hits the sharp edge of a stone, and he dies on the spot. Maanav freaks out and drives away from the spot, forgetting the mirror that Vicky broke in the middle of the road. Maanav is freaked out because he did not expect to kill anyone, but his pushing Vicky away was an act of self-defense after Vicky held Maanav by the collar. Maanav knows Vicky Solanki’s death would mean the wrath of Vicky’s brother, the media and the police would befall him within no time, and matters would escalate rather quickly. As expected, matters escalate, and Maanav meanwhile heads to Mumbai on a private jet. On reaching Mumbai, he is sure he won’t be able to get through the crowd and the forces. Maanav, using his British passport, heads to the UK, where he has a home for himself, and decides to fight the case from abroad. Fighting a case in India would mean it wouldn’t stand still in court, but he is sure the police and Vicky Solanki’s brother would turn the case around against Maanav, and he will end up paying for the crime he did not intend to commit. Maanav is thinking clearly at this point, and he is not panicking; he takes intelligent steps, hoping it will save him humiliation in his home country.

Meanwhile, Bhoora, Vicky’s brother, is livid over his brother’s untimely death. The local police and the media conclude that the murder was done by Maanav, and he is hell-bent on killing him as an act of revenge. Bhoora intends to catch Maanav way before the police can get to him. Bhoora is a typical power-hungry egoistic politician who will not accept any explanation or justification from anyone, including Maanav, on how his brother died. Bhoora only knows how to avenge his family, which will make him a hero in the upcoming state elections. Police inform Bhoora that Maanav has fled to the UK, and it will be difficult to arrest him on foreign soil. Bhoora takes it upon himself and heads to London to deal with Maanav on his own. As Maanav is on a flight to London, he interacts with his fellow actor Akshay Kumar about his situation. Akshay becomes worried that he will become complicit in the murder now that Maanav has shared this incident with him. Akshay tells him to do the right thing in a rather sarcastic way. Akshay, being a popular actor, makes sure he stays away from controversies such as this one, and if his association or this interaction with Maanav is leaked, it would mean his career would take a nosedive. Maanav, on landing in the UK, is nervous, but his assistant hires a lawyer to help him through the situation. One morning, Maanav discreetly heads home after a grocery store run, and outside his home, he sees cops who have come by for a routine check regarding the FIR filed in India. As Maanav is headed towards the main door, someone else opens the door and kills the cops on the spot. Even though he is living in his home in the UK, he is still terrified of the fact that the local authorities might catch up with him and extradite him for a crime he did not commit knowingly. Maanav wants to clear his name as quickly as he can so that he can start working on his projects, but this accidental killing leaves him all shaken up.

‘An Action Hero’ Ending Explained – Is Maanav Successful In Proving Himself Innocent? Is Bhoora Dead Or Alive?

Maanav is horrified by the turn of events and runs away as fast as he can while being chased by the local police, who think it was him who killed the cops. Bhoora simultaneously chases him, hoping to get his hands on him. Maanav escapes by stealing a car and leaves the town as soon and fast as possible. Maanav is asked by his lawyer to head to a local restaurant or bar where help is awaiting him. On the way to that place, Maanav is finally confronted by Bhoora, and a fight begins between them. Maanav neutralizes him quickly and puts him in the trunk of his car. Maanav repeatedly states that he is innocent and that Vicky’s death was an accident. Bhoora is in no mood to hear the justification because he only wants to murder Maanav. Maanav heads for the bar, where he is told he will be helped to get out of the cop-killing situation. Maanav meets Sai, who helps him gather intel regarding the footage of the cops being killed on his lawn. The footage will help prove his innocence, and he can concentrate on the Vicky Solanki case. Sai takes him back to his home and gives Maanav the contact information for the person who will give him the actual footage of the incident. As they are headed home, Bhoora climbs onto Sai’s truck rather quietly and follows Maanav and Sai to his house. Maanav is happy to know he will soon be off the hook from the case that is piling up. Sai, on the other hand, is dealing with another group and informs them that Maanav is in his custody. Bhoora kills Sai to enter his home and confronts Maanav. As another fight ensues between them, a bunch of armed men at gunpoint ask Maanav to join them. Maanav is confused at this point about what is happening around him. He cannot seem to trust anyone but his instincts. Maanav escapes in one of the cars outside Sai’s home, leaving the gunman and Bhoora together to sort out the problem.

Bhoora is confused at this point about how many people are after Maanav’s life. Bhoora, though, is hell-bent on killing Maanav and starts following him to London. Maanav is again attacked by some gunmen in the city, but he is not sure why. He runs away from them to collect the footage. Once he collects the footage, he surrenders in front of the police station, hoping this will help him strengthen his defense. Maanav is again kidnapped by the same group of gunmen and taken to a deserted building. Bhoora follows them. Maanav, to his shock, is confronted by the world’s most wanted terrorist, Masood Ibraham Katkar (make a wild guess who this character is based on?). Maanav is taunted by Masood that he is still relevant, and to prove that right, he forces Maanav to perform at his daughter’s wedding. Maanav, at this point, has no choice, but he is cursing his destiny at this point, for the problems in his life are just snowballing into bigger problems. All Maanav does at this point is agree with what life throws at him, and he will deal with the situation as it comes. Bhoora is tracking Maanav to the wedding and sees him performing with Malaika Arora. A frustrated Bhoora fires the gun to gain attention. Masood Ibrahim is livid at the fact that a shooting incident happened at his daughter’s wedding. Masood pushes Bhoora to kill Maanav, for this is the only chance he will get. Bhoora takes this as one last attempt, but he ends up accidentally killing Masood Ibrahim instead. Bhoora is shocked, as he did not intend to kill the Don. Maanav now uses this as a trump card to use against Bhoora. As they hear gunshots in the hallway, Maanav talks about how he needs to become a real-life action hero to save himself from whatever fate is out there. Maanav, at this point, becomes self-aware of the fact that life is not cinema, and it never works the way we want because, unlike cinema, life is not scripted. But he also emphasizes the fact that it is up to the film industry people to tell you the ending; the audiences can never guess the ending. Maanav finally decides to take it upon himself to get out of this mess, and he knows he must do it alone. There are no friends here to save him at this point. Maanav claims to have an idea.

Once back in the interrogation room with the RAW, he puts across a proposal that will not only salvage him but the Indian intelligence agency as well. Maanav, along with RAW and the local police, concocted the story for the media, in which he stated the killing of Masood Ibrahim Katkar was a joint operation conducted to kill the mafia kingpin. Maanav became a part of the plan after he was invited to the gangster’s daughter’s wedding with the sole purpose of killing the man. This way, RAW and the police will get the credit, and Maanav can return home as a hero. On being questioned about the death during this operation, they are informed of Bhoora’s death in a crossfire. Bhoora, though, was killed by Maanav way before the crossfire began, as he admits that he knew Maanav was innocent but that his ego brought out the worst in him. Bhoora was smart enough to know it wasn’t Maanav’s fault that his brother died. Bhoora is immediately killed by Maanav after his admission of Maanav’s innocence. Maanav creates the scenario where he is the one who killed the kingpin Masood Ibrahim Katkar. With Bhoora eliminated, Maanav can now go back to India and live life as an innocent. Maanav knew that RAW would do anything to get some credit for the killing of the gangster, and he used it as leverage to free himself from UK’s custody and head back to India. Maanav ended up being smarter and more cunning because to have reached this point in life; he’s got to have been both other than just being a hard worker. Bhoora had nothing going for him despite this, but Maanav had a lot running on him, and he intended to live because he ain’t going out over a revenge saga. The media were hounding and tearing apart Maanav for his hand in killing Vicky Solanki; the same media branded him a hero for eliminating the man who was responsible for heinous crimes in our country. The role the media played in demonizing Maanav and then idolizing him has had a profound effect on him. He realizes the media can be used as a weapon to support him, and they would turn against them in a matter of seconds.

Final Thoughts

“An Action Hero” is one of the best films this year. Why? The film explores the genre of meta and black comedy intelligently. The subtle commentary on what the media in our country has become—a bunch of channels that are either praising you or criticizing you. There is no mid-point for these channels presently that would run news only based on topicality just to improve their TRP ratings. There is a joke about the TRP in the film as well. Very funny and very subtle. Kudos to the writer Anirudh Iyer and Neeraj Yadav for subtly talking about plenty of issues that plague the lives of an actor daily. Maanav is rich, arrogant, yet hardworking, and he has the idea that he will be out of this mess in no time. When he sees things slipping out of his hands, he realizes he is the only one who can save himself from trouble. The writers elaborated on this idea smartly. “An Action Hero” also does not shy away from the fact that actors indeed lead two different lives. The lives they live on the screen and off the screen. Two thumbs up to some amazing humor pumped into this meta black comedy film, which stays with you long after the film is over. The film is slickly edited and directed. Edited by Ninad Khanolkar, the film’s pacing is excellent, and there is no point in the narrative stalling. The action is on from the beginning, with no stopping at the midpoint, which takes us to the end. Anirudh Iyer’s stunning debut as a storyteller and director will be remembered for years. The music and the background score are excellent and complement the story. The lead actors, Ayushmann Khurrana and Jaideep Ahlawat deliver stellar performances as Maanav and Bhoora, who don’t slow down at any point in the film. A film like “An Action Hero” needs an audience because it is rare that one comes across an impressive original story made well for the screen that is not marred by any unwanted intrusions.

“An Action Hero” is running at theaters near you.