The Hero: Love Story of a Spy

Intelligence officer Major Arun Khanna is honored by the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) for foiling a terror attack. While traveling to India, he narrates to a fellow senior Army officer about the turn of his events regarding his love Reshma.

Arun reveals that Pakistan ISI head Isaq Khan and terrorist Maulana Azhar, following several failed attempts to liberate Kashmir from India, decided to initiate a nuclear attack, allowing Azhar to steal a nuclear device covertly. The conversation, recorded on camera, reaches Research and Analysis Wing and the Government of India covertly, who send Khanna under an alias of undersecretary Ajay Chakravarty to submit the proof of Isaq's nefarious plans to the United Nations. Isaq gets wind of this and tries to bribe Arun by offering a suitcase full of cash while meeting him in New York and sending his officers to his supposed mother in India in return for the evidence collected. However, Isaq's plan fails after his cronies in India are arrested, his mother reveals herself to be Arun's colleague and RAW officer Nilima, and Isaq is arrested by authorities in New York near the UN office. Isaq is deported to Pakistan and jailed, but is given another chance by the authorities.

On return, briefs RAW chief Vinay Kapoor about a mole that led to the discovery, who is shot by Arun. He is then sent to the Indo-Pakistan border in Kashmir for the next mission. Under the identity of Major Ravi Batra, he sets up a spy network to obtain information about Pakistani terrorist activities across the border. In a nearby village, he meets Reshma, an orphan. Reshma joins the network to help Batra, and they fall in love. He reluctantly sends her into Pakistan to work as an undercover maid through a handler Karimuddin at Pakistan Army officer Colonel Ashfaq Hidayatulla's house, who is associated with Isaq and Azhar.

Covertly, Reshma begins passing information to Batra. Khan, Azhar, and a group of nuclear scientists meet Hidayatulla's house, where they reveal plans to make a nuclear bomb for a terrorist attack in Kashmir. During one such moment, Reshma is exposed; she escapes and is chased but is saved by Khanna after a dying Karimuddin informs him and returns to India. Batra proposes marriage to her, which she accepts later. Their engagement ceremony is cut short when terrorists attack the venue, killing several guests. Reshma goes missing after falling into the river, and Khanna is presumed dead.

Khanna realizes Khan and Azhar are responsible for the attack. He fakes his own death and plans to infiltrate their terrorist network. After attacking Hidayatulla's hideout, where Khanna and his team kill Hidayatulla, he finds out that Khan got safe passage to go to Canada through Ukraine. In disguise, he follows Khan and Azhar to Canada and discovers they are planning to create a nuclear bomb. At the same time, Reshma is found alive on the Ravi River shore in Lahore, Pakistan, where she is rescued by Salman. She loses the ability to walk after learning about the deaths of Batra and her parents. Salman takes her to Canada for treatment under the care of doctor Shaheen Zakaria, the daughter of Muslim fundamentalist Arif Zakaria, an associate of Isaq. In a shopping mall in Canada, Reshma finds a muffler she had knitted for Khanna, and realizes he is alive and in Canada.

Khanna changes his identity to that of a nuclear scientist named Wahid with the help of authorities in Canada after sharing information. To infiltrate Zakaria's group, he wins Zakaria's trust and gets married to Shaheen. Reshma sees Khanna as Wahid at his wedding with Shaheen and recognizes him. Khanna tells Reshma they cannot be together because he is now married to Shaheen. Reshma is heartbroken and returns to India. Overhearing their conversation, Shaheen learns the truth and is heartbroken. Khanna tells Shaheen the truth about her father, who she does not believe the news about her father's terrorist links, but nevertheless, waits for the facts. However, Isaq's fellow terrorist Wasim overhears this and attempts to notify Isaq, but is neutralized by Idris before he can notify.

Khanna tricks the group into revealing the location of the bomb's parts, which have been kept at a high-altitude facility owned by Zakaria. The group reveals the codes to him, and he transmits a signal to the Canadian and Indian governments. Shaheen learns about the group's plan, exposing them. During a conversation with the suppliers, Isaq gets a radio transmission and learns about "Wahid's" true identity from Wasim's phone. Isaq attempts to kill him by throwing him from the facility, but Khanna survives. Realizing they have been exposed, Isaq, Zakaria and others escape as soldiers arrive, forcing the terrorists toward a train station. Hijacking a train and taking the passengers hostage, Isaq demands a safe passage in exchange for the hostages. Shaheen runs to the train and gets on board, condemns their views that have brought shame to the Islamic community. During a confrontation by Dorjee, Idrees and Khanna, she tries to disarm Khan, but he accidentally kills her. Before dying, she forgives Khanna. Maulana is caught and killed by Dorjee and Idris, but Idris dies after being stabbed by Maulana. Khanna kills the other terrorists and Isaq using a nuclear cannister, and is rescued, but is hospitalized to recover from the radiation.

As Khanna returns to Kashmir and concludes his narration by revealing that Zakaria surrendered and gave up his contacts with terror groups, he meets Dorjee, who reveals that Reshma has got married, giving her a letter to him, asking him to move on. However, Reshma reveals herself to be unmarried and Dorjee admits tricking Khanna, and they reunite.

Credits adapted from Bollywood Hungama.^[3]

Director Anil Sharma had planned to make The Hero: Love Story of a Spy before the release of his blockbuster film Gadar: Ek Prem Katha (2001).^[4] Sharma said he wanted to make a spy film and had contemplated making a James Bond-esque film for a long time but realised Indian films did not have the budget needed to make a film on such a scale.^[4] Sharma then thought of making a film based on India's spy network and, unlike his last historical film, set it in the early 2000s. His idea was to make a family film with no sex and violence.^[4] After the success of Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, Sharma decided to make The Hero: Love Story of a Spy, which Shaktimaan had written.^[3][4] As part of his research for the film, Sharma interacted with Army personnel to understand the working methods of its intelligence section.^[5]

Sunny Deol (top) and Preity Zinta (bottom) were cast in the lead roles

The Shah brothers of Time Magnetics—Dhirajlal Shah, Hasmukh Shah, and Pravin Shah—were engaged to produce the film.^[6][7] Aiming for high production values, Sharma mounted the film on a sizable budget and the scale he said was needed for a story of this proportion. He said the film was a risk, especially when the Indian film industry was going through a slump.^[4] Sharma defended the budget, saying, "But everything is risky; even walking on the street is risky. I knew before I started how much it would cost. I think the two years I gave to the film are more important than the budget. The money may come back, the time won't. Films these days don't work because filmmakers don't give enough time to them."^[4]

Sharma cast Sunny Deol, who also starred in Gadar: Ek Prem Katha, in the role of an Indian spy.^[7] The director felt that the film differed greatly from their previous collaboration because Deol played a "subtle spy" who did not "scream and shout" (Deol's trademark in his films).^[4] Deol streaked his hair blond and wore several disguises in the film, which made him uncomfortable.^[4] Preity Zinta was cast in the female lead as a naive Kashmiri village girl, while Miss World 2000 Priyanka Chopra was cast in the supporting role of a Pakistani-born Canadian doctor.^[7][5][8][9] Zinta thought that the film had "a terrific script" and she identified with her character thanks to Zinta's Himachal Pradesh roots.^[10] Chopra thought the film had "a very emotional subject" and being a part of a big film like this seemed like a good option for her.^[11] Kabir Bedi and Amrish Puri completed the cast.^[3][7] Simple Kapadia, Abu Jani, Sandeep Khosla, Neeta Lulla and Sheetal India designed the cast's costumes.^[12] Sanjay Dhabade was the film's production designer. Several huge sets were constructed, including a massive glass house on water.^[5][6] Kabir Lal handled the cinematography.^[3]

Principal photography took place in Kullu and Manali in India with filming in Lonavala and Film City^[13] where half the film was shot. The rest half was filmed at locations in Canada and Switzerland.^[13][3][4] Filming in freezing weather in Canada and Switzerland proved to be difficult for the cast who had to be transported to rooms with heaters every five minutes. Sometimes, the temperatures fell to −20 °C (−4 °F).^[7] Allan Amin designed the action set pieces, and international action experts coordinated the stunts.^[3][6] In one of the "heavy duty" action scenes, eight helicopters were used in the filming.^[5] The film's producers cast professional wrestler Big Guido as Bedi's bodyguard for an action sequence.^[7] For one scene, Deol had to jump off an 11,000-foot (3,400 m) tall peak, which he felt was difficult.^[7] The climax of the film was shot at Jungfrau in temperatures of −16 °C (3 °F).^[7] To shoot the scene, Lal propped himself on top of an open helicopter to capture the Jaungfrau Heights from 15,000-foot (4,600 m) in −30 °C (−22 °F). The shot took two hours to film. After landing, he collapsed and was rushed to a hospital immediately.^[5] Ganesh Acharya choreographed the songs, and Suresh Urs edited the film.^[3]

Uttam Singh composed the music for the songs of The Hero: Love Story of a Spy and the lyrics were penned by Anand Bakshi and Javed Akhtar.^[3] Initially, Bakshi was signed as the sole lyricist for all the songs, but during production he fell ill. He wrote the lyrics for six of the total eight songs, but unfortunately died before finishing all. Akhtar pitched in to write the lyrics for the remaining two songs.^[10] The background score of the film was provided by Gurmeet Singh.

The film contains eight original tracks with vocals provided by Vital Signs, Udit Narayan, Alka Yagnik, Jaspinder Narula, Sunidhi Chauhan, Sardool Sikander and Hariharan.^[3] Times Music released the soundtrack on 4 January 2003.^[3]

Bollywood Hungama said the soundtrack did not have "anything great or extraordinary to offer" except for the song “Dil Main Hai Pyaar” and that the music is below expectations considering the lavish budget and scale of the film.^[20]

As The Hero: Love Story of a Spy was nearing its release, the 2003 Bollywood Producers' strike prevented the release of new Hindi films in theaters after 1 April 2003.^[22] Deol was unhappy about the strike because he felt postponing a big film like this was not an affordable option, saying: "When a producer has spent so much money promoting and publicising a film like The Hero, how is he expected to scrap his campaign, postpone his film and start from scratch?"^[22] The Hero: Love Story of a Spy was released on 11 April 2003 on 500 screens despite the ongoing ban on the release of Hindi films.^[17]

The film had a successful opening at the box office,^[23] collecting ₹22.2 million on its opening day and ₹63.1 million in its opening weekend in India with worldwide opening-weekend revenue of over ₹111.5 million.^[19] In its first week, the film collected over ₹107 million at the domestic box office and over ₹188.2 worldwide.^[19] In a report published in Rediff.com, Jha said the strike proved to be beneficial for The Hero: Love Story of a Spy because it had sustained a steady second-week run.^[24] During its box office run, the film grossed ₹414.5 million in India and over ₹36.8 million in the overseas market, making a worldwide gross of over ₹451.3 million.^[25] It was the third-highest-grossing Indian film of the year,^[25] but the film's box-office gross was considered to be below expectations due to high production costs.^[19][23]

Time released The Hero: Love Story of a Spy as a single-disc, NTSC-format DVD on 8 July 2003 across all regions.^[26][27] A DVD version released by Venus Records contains some bonus features, including a "making-of" documentary and a collection of Deol's songs.^[28] A Video CD version was released at the same time.^[29] Tip Top Video released the film internationally on an all-regions, PAL-Widescreen format DVD.^[27] A VHS version was released on 1 September 2003.^[30] Moser Baer later released another version of the DVD across all regions on an NTSC-format single disc.^[31]

The Hero: Love Story of a Spy garnered mixed to positive reviews from critics.^[32] Deepa Gumaste of Rediff.com praised the film, calling it a "comic-book spy movie", comparing it to Die Another Day (2002) and Mission: Impossible (2000), and wrote, "At last an original desi spy who combines the guile and charm of James Bond and the raw appeal of Rambo!" She said the cinematography is a "treat for the eyes with exquisite footage of the picturesque landscapes" and wrote, "For once in a Hindi film, foreign locations have actually been put to good use."^[33] Lawrence Van Gelder of New York Times was appreciative of the film, noting its "multiple pleasures" and writing, "stretching from the snow-capped peaks of Kashmir to the ski slopes of Canada, mingling gunplay, spectacular explosions and chases with songs, dances and romance, this colorful Indian spy adventure constitutes the cinematic equivalent of the delightful and inconsequential escapism of a 700-page summer beach novel."^[34]

Sify gave The Hero: Love Story of a Spy film three out of five, writing, "The central theme gets more spice with a love story giving much role to play for Zinta and Chopra. The action sequences are well shot and Deol essays his role with his usual skill."^[35] Kevin Thomas of the Los Angeles Times called the film "straightforward escapist fare" with the sensibility of an "old-fashioned comic-book", and said it "may be corny" and "unintentionally amusing at times" but it is also "a lot of fun" and has "all the classic elements of a Bollywood blockbuster taken to a spectacular level".^[36] The BBC's Manish Gajjar called the film "great escapist" cinema and praised the performances, writing that, "the role of Ravi Khanna was tailor-made for Deol. He got a chance to exhibit the various looks of a secret agent ... Zinta is radiantly refreshing throughout the film, whilst ex-Miss World Chopra appears natural considering that this is her debut film."^[37]

Derek Elley of Variety said The Hero: Love Story of a Spy is "wildly over-the-top" but "undeniably entertaining". Praising the performances, Elley wrote, "Deol makes a solid, rather than exciting hero, better in military duds than his increasingly outre disguises, and Puri overacts wildly as the villain. The female leads are much more engaging, with Zinta typically sparky and likable, and mega-looker Chopra making a solid screen debut as a modern urban miss."^[38] Anupama Chopra of India Today said the narrative has flair, noting the love story, including the courtship and consequent separation that has "emotional vigour" works to some extent but the spying part is a problem. She wrote: "The leads try hard—Deol appears suavely sincere and Zinta, vulnerable—but Shaktimaan's script doesn't hold. The incendiary dialogue got whistles but the comic-book discussions on nuclear bombs were a sleeping pill."^[39] Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama criticized the "superficial" writing but praised the technical aspects of the film, such as the "terrific" visuals and "awe-inspiring" action sequences, and said it "lacks the soul to make you cry and make your heart go out for the on-screen characters ... [the film] has gloss and hype as its trumpcards, but ... lacks in emotions, music and a taut screenplay".^[15]