Heroine (2012)

A glimpse into the darker side of Bollywood fame, exploring the pressures and the backstabbing that its stars have to contend with. Mahi (Kareena) is one such star, sitting pretty on a wave of popularity that can't sustain itself. When stormy waters hit, she takes drastic measures to remain relevant.
There's some interesting commentary on the country's big budget output vs its lower budget stuff, and a clever parallel with Kareena's own career choices, but very little about the production gels together. It looks pretty, but too often opts to tell rather than show its most important themes, and the acting of most of the secondary characters is rubbish, at best. Not for the first time in Indian cinema, the last half hour is where it really shines.

2½ controversies out of 5