Hero is a 2019 Indian Tamil-language superhero film directed by P. S. Mithran, and produced by Kotapadi J. Rajesh under his production house KJR Studios. It stars Sivakarthikeyan, Abhay Deol, Arjun, Kalyani Priyadarshan and Ivana in prominent roles. This film marks the Tamil debuts of Deol and Kalyani Priyadarshan.
The story was written by P. S. Mithran, Pon Parthiban, Savari Muthu and Antony Bhagyaraj. The music for the film is composed by Yuvan Shankar Raja, with cinematography done by George C. Williams, and editing done by Ruben. The film was released worldwide on 20 December 2019.
Sakthivel “Sakthi” is a young boy who dreams of becoming a superhero, like Shaktimaan. After being ridiculed by his teacher and classmates for believing that Shaktimaan is real, Sakthi tries to prove it by falling off the terrace of his school, injuring himself in the process. His father (Azhagam Perumal) tries to convince Sakthi that Shaktimaan is fictional by showing the disclaimer of actor Mukesh Khanna advising viewers that the events depicted in the show are purely fictitious, causing Sakthi to abandon his hopes of becoming a superman.
Years later, Sakthi (Sivakarthikeyan) and Inbaraj “Ink” (Robo Shankar) are friends who earn their livelihood as educational brokers and run a xerox shop in their neighbourhood that houses a certificate forgery unit to help the needy secure their desired jobs at the expense of huge commissions. Sakthi bumps across Meera (Kalyani Priyadarshan), a social worker at an educational fair. and falls in love with her. Meera happens to be the inspiration of Mathi (Ivana), a brilliant girl who aspires to become an aeronautical engineer. Mathi devises an engine that runs on saltwater as a measure to help her father (Elango Kumaravel) and many other thwart the problem of rising petrol prices. Meera soon learns of Sakthi’s true profession and advises him to help Mathi secure an admission in an engineering college without any payment. Sakthi tries to secure an admission for Mathi, but to no avail. He learns that the only way to help Mathi secure a seat is to demonstrate the practical applications of her engine, which is rejected by Sathyamoorthy (Arjun), Mathi’s teacher who runs a school for the academically weak but brilliant children. Sakthi bypasses his warnings and demonstrates the engine at an educational fair by attaching it to an autorickshaw. This attracts the attention of the henchman of Mahadev (Abhay Deol). In turn, he promises a seat for Mathi with full scholarship. The next day, the autorickshaw is seized by the police, and Mathi is arrested on grounds of patent violation. The court convicts her guilty of the charges, which distraughts her. She attempts suicide by falling off a running train. Sakthi takes her to the hospital, only for the doctors to delay her treatment, and she eventually succumbs to her injuries. Sakthi and Ink are also convicted guilty and are placed on the wanted list for aiding Madhi.
Sakthi, on the run, decides that the only way to avenge Mathi’s death and prove her innocence is to confront the company issuing the patents. Due to his experience in forging certificates, he easily fishes out the fact that the patent was forged by the company under Mahadev’s orders but is attacked in the process, when he is rescued by Sathyamoorthy wearing a mask. Sathyamoorthy explains to him that Mahadev is a corrupt business tycoon whose aim is to wipe out innovation in work culture. He also subdues brilliant students and subjects them to lobotomy, rendering their frontal cortex unusable, therefore reducing them to his “puppets”. He uses their innovations to sell them to foreign companies and