There’s a scene in The Great Grand Superhero: Aliens Ka Aagman where Jagdish alias Dadaji (Jackie Shroff) narrates what must be a superhero origin story. Dipu (Mihir Godbole), his grandson, is visibly appalled that the tale, however preposterous it may sound, contains no bombs, explosions, or gunfire. Of all things, it has orange candy. How ridiculous is that, asks the sharp kid, staring at his grandfather like a man completely out of touch with the times. The moment is amusing, but it also defines the spirit of Manish Saini’s film.
In an era where children’s cinema has almost disappeared from theatres, replaced either by loud spectacle or violent and jingoistic content, The Great Grand Superhero arrives like a relic from another time.
And yet, to call it “small” would be inaccurate.
Saini mounts the film with the promise of a sizeable event waiting somewhere ahead in the narrative. The film carries all the standard trappings of a superhero story. Dadaji may or may not possess superpowers, but a rumour that begins as a ruse among schoolchildren could snowball into something bigger. Could this frail old man, with a love for nurturing plants, genuinely be a superhero?
What makes The Great Grand Superhero instantly distinctive is the world it inhabits. Saini’s film develops in an Amar Chitra Katha mould. It is set in a village far away from the noise and maddening speed of the city. At several points, we wonder which era it is set in. Then you catch a glimpse of a smartphone and a ring light that proves it is indeed 2026. Children still cycle to school. Teachers continue punishing students with the same old-school severity that millennials grew up with. Adults buy groceries from kirana stores and speak with a warmth that cinema no longer captures.
This blend of modernity and timelessness enhances the film’s ’90s comic-book texture. Even Dipu’s parents look like they are from an illustrated children’s weekly. They are grounded enough to be believable, yet heightened enough to be more narrative devices than fully developed dramatic characters. There is a short exchange in which Dipu’s father questions Dadaji’s superhero status – it is as if we are reading a 1990s children’s book.
Then come the aliens.
Some are eccentric, some are strangely cute, but they’re rooted in something earnest. They arrive bearing the burden of repair because humanity has spent years depleting and abusing the planet. Thankfully, Saini never allows this ecological messaging to overpower the childlike wonder driving the film. The activism remains stitched into the narrative rather than overwhelming it.
Interestingly, The Great Grand Superhero is at its strongest before it reaches its grandest moments. The long stretch where Dadaji must somehow prove his superhero status is highly engaging because of how lovingly the children are written. They are a fabulous bunch, all carefully picked for their unique characteristics. While the narrative is a bit overlong during these proceedings, it seldom feels sluggish thanks to its infectious lightness.
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The shift towards a more conventional climax slightly dilutes this innocence. Once the narrative moves into inevitable showdown territory, The Great Grand Superhero loses a bit of its magic in favour of broader messaging and spectacle. Even then, Saini ensures the light-hearted core never vanishes completely.
Jackie Shroff, needless to add, is mighty endearing as Dadaji. The film gives him reasons to spill a little of his real self into Jagdish, and the actor takes it to another level in simpler scenes where he attempts to fit the superhero mould, whether with the local tailor or the photo studio owner. The writing provides a string of charming moments to showcase his innate charisma to the fullest.
Mihir Godbole and Shivansh Chorge have superb timing and are instantly lovable, delivering performances that go beyond what the screenplay asks of them. The duo is wonderful in a key emotional scene where Laddu’s (Chorge) concern for his best friend’s grandfather is beautifully etched and enacted.
Jihan Jeetendra Hodar as Chanakya, too, shines as the extra-curious friend who is hell-bent on proving that Dadaji is a “super-zero.” The surprise packages are Sahaarsh Shuklaa and Kumar Saurabh, whose characters are best discovered by the audience. Lastly, The Great Grand Superhero uses Bhagyashree’s ethereal appeal in a blink-and-miss cameo that is also pivotal to the plot.
At its heart, The Great Grand Superhero knows something basic about childhood fantasies. Whether it is the Avengers or Shaktimaan, none of them emerged out of thin air. In Saini’s film, it is a schoolboy’s crazy fantasy to project his weak grandfather as a superhero, a plan that could nosedive at any moment. The writing takes some sharp turns and, teamed with Jackie Shroff’s enduring charm, gives us a rare film of its genre, one that packs quite a few comedic and action punches.
In an industry obsessed with scale, noise, and visual excess, Saini delivers a superhero film by way of innocence, imagination, and intergenerational affection. The Great Grand Superhero becomes one of those rare films that feels made not by market calculation, but by diving into the vibrant worlds children build inside their heads.
VERDICT: ★★★ 1/2
Read the reviews of The Great Grand Superhero by the Film Critics Guild HERE.
