A romantic drama like no other, Hi Papa, also known as Hi Nanna, is a 155-minute-long movie that revolves around a single dad and a stranger who turns out to be more than just a random person. Starring Nani and Mrunal Thakur as the protagonists, this movie is the first film to be directed by Shouryuv.
Hi Papa revolves around Viraj, a successful and popular fashion photographer who lives in Mumbai with his young daughter. Being only 6 years old, Mahi suffers from Cystic Fibrosis and has to be taken care of very closely. Mahi often wonders who her mom is, but Viraj never brings up anything about her.
Things take a different turn when Mahi ends up getting lost, and a woman named Yashna finds her and returns her to her dad. This begins a friendship between the two, who run into each other all the time and start hanging out more often.
Besides Nani in the role of Viraj and Mrunal Thakur as Yashna, the cast of Hi Papa consists of Kiara Khanna portraying Mahi, Nassar plays Dr. Ranjan, Jayaram plays Yashna’s father and Priyadarshi Pulikonda plays Justin. Shruti Hasan and Neha Sharma have cameos as models in the movie.
What Happens In The Film?
Viraj, a well-known photographer, does anything he can to make his daughter Mahi happy. From fulfilling all of her wishes to giving her all of his time, Mahi gets anything she wants. Since she suffers from cystic fibrosis, Viraj tries to keep his daughter at home and monitors her closely.
The only thing that Mahi wants is to know who her mother is and why she isn’t with them anymore. Viraj tells her that if she gets good marks in her exams, he will let her know all about her mom. Despite Mahi scoring higher than usual, Viraj doesn’t tell her about the mother and keeps delaying her.
Mahi ends up getting lost one day and is found by a woman named Yashna. Soon enough, Yashna and Viraj spent more time together and became friends. Mahi also seems to like having Yashna around since she lacks a mother figure in her life.
Yashna and Mahi eventually force Viraj to reveal more about Mahi’s mother. That’s when he says that her name was Varsha, and they had a happy marriage until Varsha found out she was pregnant and her past parenthood traumas strained their relationship.
Varsha’s parents were divorced, and she had a terrible childhood. She was afraid to bring a child into this world and have them go through the same pain. Things got worse when she found out that Mahi was going to have cystic fibrosis. Hearing all of this breaks Mahi’s heart, and she stops listening to the story.
While Mahi is not there, Viraj lets Yashna know that he and his wife ended up in an accident after they were arguing while driving. This is where we find out that Varsha is none other than Yashna herself and lost all her memories after the accident.
Yashan is unaware that Mahi is her daughter and throws a party for her in Goa. As the birthday arrives closer, Yashna finally confesses that she loves Viraj, but knowing what happened between them before, Viraj just rejects her. Meanwhile, Yashna’s family prepares for her marriage to the doctor who saved her life after the accident.
Ending Explained
As the ending of Hi Papa draws closer, Yashna’s mother shows up at Viraj’s house and lets Mahi know that Yashna is her real mother. While Yashna prepares for her wedding, Mahi’s cystic fibrosis symptoms return, and she has to be admitted to the hospital.
Seeing that Viraj and Mahi are still on Yashna’s mind, Aravind tells her to follow her heart, so Yashna cancels the wedding and comes back to Viraj and her daughter. Aravind and Yashna show up at the hospital and find out about Mahi’s health. Aravind then decides to perform a rare but urgent surgery on herself.
Since the operation was risky, both Yashna and Viraj were worried about their daughter. However, Aravind manages to save the day, and Mahi is soon stable. Now, having realized that they are truly meant for each other, Viraj and Yashna finally get together.
Viraj doesn’t let Yashna know that she is Mahi’s real mother, fearing that it would lead to a rift between them again. Hi Papa then takes us years into the future, where Mahi is all grown up and seems to have inherited singing skills from her mother.
The ending of Hi Papa shows Yashna and Viraj deciding to stay together and giving their messy but real relationship another chance. Although Varsha/Yashna had lost her memory after the accident, she still ended up with Viraj and Mahi. Viraj may have tried to reject Yashna’s feelings, but deep down, he wanted to be with her, too.
Mahi finally gets to be a part of a loving family and becomes a good singer, just like her real mother. Hi Papa is an emotional but entertaining movie that has good actors and an absorbing storyline. While the ending is predictable, it’s heartwarming to see Mahi get to live the life she had always wanted with both of her parents by her side.
Hi Papa is now available to stream on Netflix.
