30 May,2026 07:50 AM IST | Mumbai | Mayank Shekhar
Jackie Shroff and Mihir Harshad Godbole in ‘The Great Grand Superhero’. Pic/Youtube
At the centre of The Great Grand Superhero (GGS) is a thoroughly relatable, Std VI kid, Dipu (innately natural Mihir Harshad Godbole).
What does he do? He makes up stuff about his family at school! He does this chiefly to get attention from classmates; what else? He's new to the school, and a certifiably aloof nerd, otherwise. The fantasy being? That his grand-father is actually a super-hero!
Jackie Shroff plays the grand-dad. Jackie began his career in and as Hero (1983). Ever since, as a popular star, who goes about his life, barely taking his celebrity seriously - he's been a super-hero of sorts, alright. You can view him in all kinds of Insta Reels, and short films.
This movie's set in a fictional, scenic hamlet called Hoshiarpur - the kinds, where everybody's a neighbour, making for a quaint, quiet community.
I'm no child psychologist. But I do think bright kids often alternatively imagine the world in comic strips.
How do Dipu's incredulous buddies take to his claims? They wanna believe him, of course. Especially the bestie, cho-chweet & chubby, Laddu (Shivanssh Chourghe).
The grandfather, of course, shows no signs of any super-powers. Jackie, in fact, has seemingly put on weight to look more weighed down, and haggard, than he does in real life.
What follows in the film, for the most part, are the kids, and their own grandparents, wondering if the delightful Dipu is telling the truth; or just flying a kite. The audience wonders alongside.
This fun premise, which is almost the length of the picture itself, works perfectly fine. The humour lands; mostly. The characters are uniformly pleasant and charming.
I found myself letting out a giggle, or few. Especially, in the portions, where two funny blokes, in shaadi-sherwani and alien goggles, show up - supposedly from outer space, with a central Indian accent.
Take Sharat Saxena as the old, retired boxing-champ - insecure about his own grand-son taking a shine on a much cooler, rival grand-father!
So, is Jackie, the super-hero, or not? As it is, by and large, all super-heroes have an averagely human alter-ego. As mentioned here - think Gangadhar, and Shaktimaan.
Better still, consider Jackie himself. Those of a certain vintage will remember him as the eponymous super-hero from Shiva Ka Insaaf (SKI, 1985). Orphan Shiva's human version was the timid journalist, Bhola - raised by three dads (a Hindu, Muslim, and Christian).
SKI was a rare 3D film for its time - first from Bollywood, at any rate. I know - that essentially meant a few objects flying in your direction from the screen, on occasion. But what did we have to compare its quality against; anyway?
SKI, if you recall better, starts off with thanks to the iconic amusement park, Appu Ghar - a Delhi adult's ultimate nostalgia, that hasn't belonged to childhoods since it tragically shut down in 2008.
GGS kinda opens with scenes reprising the war of arrows from Ramayan/Mahabharat from Doordarshan. The children allude to SRK, Karan Arjun, and DDLJ. Which, kinda bothered me about middle-aged people writing for kids, with references that belong to them, instead.
Sure, no kid will go to the cinema alone. Adults will have to tag along. It's a summer holiday release, yes. But even Jackie's son Tiger Shroff as A Flying Jatt (2016) will feel closer to the film's core audience for a call-back.
That said, Jackie, adorably playing along here, seems way cuter than anyone we know. He plants a personal message about "ped-paudhe" that give us superpowers.
The lesson I learnt from this securely scripted-directed film (Manish Saini) is how little it takes to please children. What with most overloaded super-hero spectacles, aimed at adults for overgrown kids, spending millions for the same effect. Which is a simple smile, after all.
Imagine - the bits that bored me in GGS are the actual alien, superhero stuff created on CGI/VFX. Those images are, by now, a big-screen cliché. This sweet, li'l pic is not.
