After the first look at the top of the page, I will say what I need to: Side Heroes already looks like a warm-hug movie, the kind Bollywood keeps promising but rarely lands without overdoing it. The new Hindi film is presented by Imtiaz Ali, directed by Ssanjay Tripaathy, and led by Aparshakti Khurana, Varun Sharma and Abhishek Banerjee. It is currently set for a Friendship Day release on August 1, 2027.
Presented by Lyca Productions and Mahaveer Jain Films in association with Window Seat, the film is backed by Imtiaz Ali, Mahaveer Jain, Mrighdeep Singh Lamba and Reeyan Shah. It has been written by Siddarth Sen and Pankaj Matta, the duo behind Good Luck Jerry. Ssanjay Tripaathy last directed Binny and Family, so this small-town, feelings-first space is not new to him.
What the first look promises
The first look is not a trailer, and it is smarter for it. It gives us three friends sitting above their small town, looking at the sprawl of a life they left and came back to. It promises reunion energy, nostalgia, and an underdog story that is more about rediscovering joy than winning a trophy. The film is billed as a poignant yet comical story of three childhood friends who reconnect at a reunion after years of distance and rediscover the true meaning of happiness, exploring dreams, love, memories and life.
What it holds back
There is no dialogue, no song, no full cast list, and no real plot turn beyond the reunion. We do not get the wives, the old flames, the failed ambitions, or the specific joke that will make the trailer click. That is a confident tease if the script is as sturdy as the mood. It could also be hiding a thin story under a pretty poster. I am leaning toward the former because this trio is too smart to waste on a lazy reunion comedy.
The one moment everyone will talk about
The rooftop image is the conversation starter: three actors who have spent years making other people’s films better are now the centre frame. Aparshakti Khurana has long been the reliable spark, Varun Sharma the chaos engine, and Abhishek Banerjee the actor who can flip from funny to unsettling in a beat. Seeing them together as small-town boys grown older feels like a casting idea fans have been asking for without realising it.
Where this sits
For the cast, Side Heroes is a lead-role upgrade that does not ask them to stop being character actors; it asks them to carry the heart. For Imtiaz Ali and Window Seat, it continues the presenter-producer path of backing intimate, music-and-mood-driven stories. For the studios, Lyca and Mahaveer Jain Films are betting on warmth over spectacle, which is a welcome change from the event-film default.
We related to the tale of three friends looking back at their life during a reunion, told through the filter of humor and emotions, Jain and Lamba said in a joint statement.
The verdict
I am cautiously in. The first look does what a first look should: it puts a warm, specific idea in my head and leaves me needing the trailer. Side Heroes is not a guaranteed ticket yet, because the comedy and the emotional stakes are still invisible. But the cast, the reunion hook and the Friendship Day date give it real promise. If the trailer keeps this small-town sincerity without turning it into a montage of old songs, this could be the one we actually rewatch with our school group.
Watch the original: SV filmy on YouTube
Source: Cinema Express
