# Phata Poster Nikhla Hero
**Phata Poster Nikhla Hero** (फटा पोस्टर निकला हीरो) is a 2013 Hindi-language action comedy film directed and written by [Rajkumar Santoshi](https://www.edgepedia.org/rajkumar-santoshi), starring [Shahid Kapoor](https://www.edgepedia.org/shahid-kapoor) as Vishwas Rao, an aspiring actor who is mistaken for a real police inspector, with [Ileana D'Cruz](https://www.edgepedia.org/ileana-dcruz), Padmini Kolhapure, Darshan Jariwala, and Saurabh Shukla in supporting roles.[1](https://thereviewmonk.com/movie/phata-poster-nikla-hero/) • [2](https://www.zee5.com/global/movies/details/phata-poster-nikhla-hero/0-0-41093) It was produced by Ramesh S Taurani for Tips Films and released in India on 20 September 2013.[3](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/phata-poster-nikhla-hero/cast/) The film was a box office flop, and critics received it largely negatively to mixed, though several singled out Shahid Kapoor's performance and a brief Salman Khan cameo.[4](https://www.sacnilk.com/movie/Phata_Poster_Nikla_Hero_2013) • [5](https://thereviewmonk.com/movie/phata-poster-nikla-hero/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 20 September 2013, Hindi language, India[3](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/phata-poster-nikhla-hero/cast/) |
| Director and writer | Rajkumar Santoshi (story, screenplay, dialogue)[3](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/phata-poster-nikhla-hero/cast/) |
| Lead cast | Shahid Kapoor as Vishwas Rao, Ileana D'Cruz as Kajal, Padmini Kolhapure as Savitri[6](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/phata-poster-nikhla-hero/vnuiLKP6eg0HW6979buDU4/credits/) |
| Music | Pritam Chakraborty; lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya and Irshad Kamil[3](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/phata-poster-nikhla-hero/cast/) • [7](https://filminformation.com/reviews/phata-poster-nikhla-hero-review/) |
| India net collection | ₹363.7 million (₹36.37 crore; Sacnilk); ₹384.2 million (₹38.42 crore; Box Office India)[4](https://www.sacnilk.com/movie/Phata_Poster_Nikla_Hero_2013) • [8](https://boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=1515) |
| Verdict | Flop[4](https://www.sacnilk.com/movie/Phata_Poster_Nikla_Hero_2013) |
| IMDb rating | 5.0/10 from about 6.3K users[9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2615584/ratings/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
Vishwas Rao, the son of a widow, Savitri ([Padmini Kolhapure](https://www.edgepedia.org/padmini-kolhapure)), dreams of becoming a Bollywood film star, while his mother wants him to join the police force and become an honest inspector.[2](https://www.zee5.com/global/movies/details/phata-poster-nikhla-hero/0-0-41093) • [10](https://www.sarita.in/bollywood/film-review/hindi-movie-fata-poster-nikla-hero) He arrives in Mumbai, gets small roles in films, and, while dressed as a police officer for a photo shoot, is mistaken for a real inspector by Kajal (Ileana D'Cruz), a social worker who enlists him against local gangsters.[10](https://www.sarita.in/bollywood/film-review/hindi-movie-fata-poster-nikla-hero) • [2](https://www.zee5.com/global/movies/details/phata-poster-nikhla-hero/0-0-41093) The confusion spreads until everyone, including his mother and the gangsters, believes he is a real cop.[2](https://www.zee5.com/global/movies/details/phata-poster-nikhla-hero/0-0-41093)
## Cast and crew
Shahid Kapoor plays Vishwas Rao and Ileana D'Cruz plays Kajal; the supporting cast includes Padmini Kolhapure as Savitri, Mukesh Tiwari as Yeshwant Rao/Napolean, Darshan Jariwala as Shivanand Khare, Saurabh Shukla as Gundappa Das, Zakir Hussain as Deepak Ghorpade, and Sanjay Mishra as Guruji.[6](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/phata-poster-nikhla-hero/vnuiLKP6eg0HW6979buDU4/credits/) Salman Khan appears as himself in a special appearance, and [Nargis Fakhri](https://www.edgepedia.org/nargis-fakhri) appears in the "Dhating Naach" song.[6](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/phata-poster-nikhla-hero/vnuiLKP6eg0HW6979buDU4/credits/) It was the first film in which Shahid Kapoor and Ileana D'Cruz appeared together.[11](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2615584)
Rajkumar Santoshi, who had earlier directed films such as *Ghayal* (1990), *Andaz Apna Apna* (1994), *[Khakee](https://www.edgepedia.org/khakee)* (2004), and *Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani* (2009), directed the film and wrote its story, screenplay, and dialogue.[5](https://thereviewmonk.com/movie/phata-poster-nikla-hero/) Ravi Yadav was the cinematographer, Steven H. Bernard the editor, and Pritam Chakraborty the music director.[3](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/phata-poster-nikhla-hero/cast/) The Film Information review praised the "Agal bagal" song as a hit and noted the picturisation by [Bosco-Caesar](https://www.edgepedia.org/bosco-caesar) and the "Dhating naach" choreography.[7](https://filminformation.com/reviews/phata-poster-nikhla-hero-review/)
## Reception
Critical reception was largely negative to mixed. A summary of 18 critic reviews found most reviewers considered it an uneven, exhausting comedy whose laughs dry up midway, while praise centered on Shahid Kapoor's committed performance, the film's self-aware spoofing of Bollywood conventions, and [Salman Khan](https://www.edgepedia.org/salman-khan)'s roughly two-minute cameo, which several critics called the most fun moment in the film.[5](https://thereviewmonk.com/movie/phata-poster-nikla-hero/) Rajeev Masand wrote that it "loses steam at the halfway mark when the laughs suddenly dry up," and Shubhra Gupta of *The Indian Express* wrote that on "this one-liner of a plot, Rajkumar Santoshi has built a two-and-a-half-hour film which is meant to make us laugh, but ends up making us groan instead."[5](https://thereviewmonk.com/movie/phata-poster-nikla-hero/) • [12](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/phata_poster_nikla_hero_2013) The *Times of India* gave it 3.5 out of 5, calling it worth watching for its "howlarity" and Shahid Kapoor in his element.[13](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/phata-poster-nikhla-hero-phata-poster-nikhla-hero-movie-review/movie-review/22807611.cms) On Rotten Tomatoes the Tomatometer stood at 47% from 4 critic reviews, and the film held a 5.0/10 rating on IMDb from about 6.3K users.[12](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/phata_poster_nikla_hero_2013) • [9](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2615584/ratings/)
## Box office
The film opened to ₹59 million (₹5.90 crore) net on day 1 in India and earned ₹363.7 million (₹36.37 crore) net over its run, according to Sacnilk, which lists a worldwide gross of ₹631.4 million (₹63.14 crore), comprising ₹491 million (₹49.10 crore) India gross and ₹140.4 million (₹14.04 crore) overseas, and assigns a "Flop" verdict.[4](https://www.sacnilk.com/movie/Phata_Poster_Nikla_Hero_2013) Box Office India's figures differ: a first day of ₹58.1 million (₹5.81 crore), a first week of ₹294.8 million (₹29.48 crore), a total net gross of ₹384.2 million (₹38.42 crore), and a worldwide gross of ₹633 million (₹63.30 crore) against a budget of ₹470 million (₹47 crore), also with a Flop verdict.[8](https://boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=1515) Budget estimates vary across trackers: ₹400 million (₹40 crore) on Sacnilk, ₹470 million (₹47 crore) on Box Office India, and a producer's total investment of ₹450 million (₹45 crore) reported by Film Information, which noted that roughly 50% of that investment had been recovered from satellite rights, about 10% from audio, and 12.5% from overseas rights before theatrical release.[4](https://www.sacnilk.com/movie/Phata_Poster_Nikla_Hero_2013) • [8](https://boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=1515) • [7](https://filminformation.com/reviews/phata-poster-nikhla-hero-review/) In the United States and Canada the film grossed $410,526, with an opening weekend of $260,188.[11](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2615584)
## Aftermath
The film was Santoshi's last release for several years; after it, he turned to historical subjects, beginning work on a period drama about the [Battle of Saragarhi](https://www.edgepedia.org/battle-of-saragarhi).[14](https://epaper.navhindtimes.in/PageImages/pdf/NAVHINDTIMEPDFMERGER/Merged/06102020-md-ga-all.pdf) The film is available for streaming on Zee5 and VI movies and tv.[15](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/phata-poster-nikhla-hero)
## References
1. [Phata Poster Nikla Hero (2013) – Review, Rating & Box Office Collection, Sacnilk](https://www.sacnilk.com/movie/Phata_Poster_Nikla_Hero_2013)
2. [Phata Poster Nikhla Hero, Zee5](https://www.zee5.com/global/movies/details/phata-poster-nikhla-hero/0-0-41093)
3. [Phata Poster Nikhla Hero Cast List, Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/phata-poster-nikhla-hero/cast/)
4. [Phata Poster Nikla Hero (2013-09-20) – Box Office Collection, Sacnilk](https://www.sacnilk.com/movie/Phata_Poster_Nikla_Hero_2013)
5. [Phata Poster Nikla Hero (2013) Movie Review – 18 Critic Reviews, TheReviewMonk](https://thereviewmonk.com/movie/phata-poster-nikla-hero/)
6. [Phata Poster Nikhla Hero – Full Cast and Crew, Moviefone](https://www.moviefone.com/movie/phata-poster-nikhla-hero/vnuiLKP6eg0HW6979buDU4/credits/)
7. [PHATA POSTER NIKHLA HERO Review, Film Information](https://filminformation.com/reviews/phata-poster-nikhla-hero-review/)
8. [Phata Poster Nikhla Hero – Movie, Box Office India](https://boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=1515)
9. [Phata Poster Nikhla Hero (2013) – Ratings, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2615584/ratings/)
10. [फटा पोस्टर निकला हीरो, Sarita Magazine](https://www.sarita.in/bollywood/film-review/hindi-movie-fata-poster-nikla-hero)
11. [Phata Poster Nikhla Hero (2013), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2615584)
12. [Phata Poster Nikhla Hero (2013), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/phata_poster_nikla_hero_2013)
13. [Phata Poster Nikhla Hero Movie Review {3.5/5}, The Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/phata-poster-nikhla-hero-phata-poster-nikhla-hero-movie-review/movie-review/22807611.cms)
14. [The Navhind Times e-paper (6 October 2020)](https://epaper.navhindtimes.in/PageImages/pdf/NAVHINDTIMEPDFMERGER/Merged/06102020-md-ga-all.pdf)
15. [Phata Poster Nikhla Hero streaming: watch online, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/phata-poster-nikhla-hero)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Hindi films of the 2010s › Hindi films of 2013*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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