Star Cast: Jackie Shroff, Mihir Godbole, Shivansh Chorge, Durgesh Kumar, & Prateik Smita Patil
Director: Manish Saini
What’s Good: The idea, execution and the thought of casting Jackie Shroff as the superhero!
What’s Bad: Nothing Much. Either this would work for you completely, or it won’t.
Loo Break:Not during the school spying sequences in the first half!
Watch or Not?: If your childhood involved waiting for Sunday morning television, then Yes!
Language: Hindi
Available On: Theatrical release
Runtime: 1 hour 51 minutes
User Rating:
I remember my childhood and summer vacations – it was a time when I used to wait for Doordarshan’s special segment for kids – that would air stories by Premchand. Sometimes there would be some stories from Panchtantra, and most of the time stories from the fantasy world that included Karamati Coat and Alice in Wonderland, both! Then came an era when kids had their first Indian superhero in Shaktimaan! Since then, children waited for another superhero to arrive till Hrithik Roshan arrived with Krrish. Jackie Shroff makes yet again a fierce attempt to save children’s cinema with The Great Grand Superhero! An effort to bring back the superhero genre and an attempt to make the kids learn important things in a fun way!
In a world full of dark anti-heroes, violent universes, trauma-dumping superheroes, and CGI explosions that give you headaches instead of happiness, this film feels like a nostalgia trip from the era of Shaktimaan. The days when superheroes were meant to make you learn a thing or two. Remember, when Sorry Shaktimaan became a trend, even before trends were cool!
The film retains its innocence through a brilliant starcast and honest storytelling – it is silly at places but still emotional, unintentionally hilarious, intentionally heartwarming, and by the time the credits roll, you walk out feeling lighter. Like someone just took you on a nostalgia trip with your childhood memories. You feel alive, happy, and content!
The Great Grand Superhero Movie Review: Script Analysis
“Agar kisi ko pata chal gaya to dharti par hamla ho sakta hai,” tells a young Dipu to his friend, sharing the biggest secret of his family! He says, “Superpower hai mere dada ke paas. Wo bhari se bhari cheez uda sakte hain.”
“Superman jaise?” his friend asks.
“Wahi hain mere dada – The Great Grand Superhero,” announces Deepu, with a grand role of the credits for Jackie Shroff‘s film. It starts with this bizarrely adorable line, and suddenly you are transported into a child’s imagination where logic does not matter, emotions do. A world where your grandfather can be Superman. A world where innocence is still believable.
Deepu tells this story about his grandfather to fit in because he has to change schools every three months due to his father’s transferable job! However, what happens when Deepu’s grandfather tells him that he actually is a superhero! Does Deepu believe his story? Does the group of kids believe him? Do they treat him like a superhero is what forms the entire narrative of this superhero film!
The Great Grand Superhero Movie Review: Star Performance
Jackie Shroff is the absolute beating heart of this film. At 69, playing a superhero who can conquer galaxies but is completely petrified of a household wall lizard is a masterclass in situational comedy. Shroff brings a beautiful combination of warmth, vulnerability, and effortless coolness. Watching him rule the screen through chemistry with kids a quarter of his age is something you would not have expected!
There is something about Jackie Shroff’s screen presence that automatically makes everything feel safer. Kinder. More human. His eyes carry warmth. His smile carries nostalgia. His body language carries the simplicity Bollywood has forgotten while chasing mass moments. This is not a superhero film trying to become Marvel. Thank god for that.
Mihir Godbole as Dipu is a revelation. He leads the film with a wide-eyed conviction that keeps the entire narrative grounded. His chemistry with his onscreen friends, played by Shivansh Chorge, brings a wonderfully raw, unscripted energy to the adventure blocks.
Durgesh Kumar and Pratiek Smita Patil fit seamlessly into the film’s little universe, providing just the right amount of comic book energy without making it look like a cheap spoof. And yes, keep your eyes open for a delightful cameo by Bhagyashree that will make you grin!
The Great Grand Superhero Movie Review: Direction, Music
National Award-winning director Manish Saini has brilliantly segregated his films into two elaborate halves – the first part goes into the believe it or not story by Deepu and his grandfather about the old man being a superhero. The second half becomes the action and activation part when the aliens actually arrive on Earth to attack the planet!
In an industry currently completely obsessed with hyper-masculine saviors, blood-dripping axes, and dark cinematic universes, three-time National Award-winner Manish Saini walks in with an aging grandpa, three school kids, and a bunch of quirky aliens – and there, the film wins you right there.
What makes Saini’s script spectacular is how it balances the lines of reality. For the longest time, the audience kept guessing. Is this a beautifully constructed lie by a doting grandfather who wants his grandson to believe in magic? Or does Jaggu Dada actually have a superpower energy hidden beneath that aging white hair and that traditional kurta? The dialogue flows naturally, packed with confusion, comedy, and kids turning into spies! And by the intermission, the grandfather has his own cult!
Director Manish Saini treats the lens like a storybook page. Editor Deepa Bhatia keeps the story moving briskly at a tight 1 hour and 52 minutes, ensuring that things never get too heavy-handed. Instead of using a metallic, dark, Hollywood palette, the visual ethics of the film rely on bright, vibrant colors and animated sequences that perfectly fit into a child’s fantasy!
The kids’ anthem at the end credits is fun and foot-tapping! Although it could be completely avoided!
The Great Grand Superhero Movie Review: The Last Word
This is a film about how children see heroes. Sometimes in comic books. Sometimes in capes. Sometimes in their grandparents’. And Jackie Shroff understands that assignment perfectly. There’s a scene where he quietly listens to the child explain his powers, and the way Jackie reacts – without mocking, without overacting, without turning the child’s fantasy into comedy – tells you why this film works emotionally. It respects childhood innocence.
Today’s children are growing up with screens, algorithms, and attention spans shorter than Instagram reels. This film reminds us that children still need stories. They still need fantasy. They still need emotional anchors. And grandparents? This film gives them dignity, magic, and emotional importance again. That alone deserves applause.
In one of the scenes, Deepu tells his friend, “Jab raat ko alien bachche sote nahi hain to pata hai unki maa kya kehti hain? So jaao beta, nahi to The Great Grand Superhero aa jaayega!” I mean… Come On! How can you not smile at that?
The Great Grand Superhero is not trying to be the coolest film in the room. It just wants to make your inner child smile for two hours. It works big time for two simple reasons – it remembers a fundamental rule Bollywood has completely forgotten – children deserve high-quality cinema made specifically for them. It doesn’t try to be over-smart, preachy, or excessively aspirational.
The Great Grand Superhero Trailer
4 stars! This one completely works for me – It made me happy, and I was smiling while I left the theater! Jaggu Dada is a beauty!
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