Super 30 trailer breakdown: Hrithik Roshan's mathematician act doesn't add up, but the story intrigues

The trailer of Hrithik Roshan’s much-delayed film, Super 30, was released today. The film is based on the life of mathematician and teacher Anand Kumar, who helps underprivileged aspirants crack IIT-JEE exams. The 2 minute 38 second trailer throws light at the socio-economic divide in India — a third world country of ‘cheap labour’ that happens to produce the biggest achievers in business and tech. We see Hrtihik — sporting a heavily darkened look that puts Ranveer Singh's Gully Boy brownface to shame  — climbing the ranks of Bihar’s cut-throat coaching centre trade. The actor’s accent, which recalls Amitabh Bachchan’s flagrantly implacable drawl from the 70s, also seems inauthentic. 

Yet, despite the unsavoury portrayal of its leading man, the trailer manages to spark interest as we see a real-life underdog story being brought to life with the bluster and force of a big-scale Bollywood drama. Aditya Shrivastava, best known for playing television sleuth Inspector Abhijeet, seems back in his element as the main antagonist of Super 30. While the trailer makes no mention of the film’s female lead Mrunal Thakur, we do catch a glimpse of Pankaj Tripathi dancing away in an item sequence (here’s hoping the actor gets a sizable screen share). 

Super 30 is directed by Vikas Bahl. The filmmaker was recently cleared of sexual harassment charges by an internal complaints committee formed by Reliance Entertainment. As such, Vikas's credit as the director of Super 30 has been restored. The film marks the last offering of the now-dissolved Phantom Films. 

Hrithik Roshan’s last theatrical release was Kaabil (2017). Super 30 is slated for release on July 12. 

Here's the trailer: