A matinee idol Arindam Mukherjee is going by train to collect an acting award. On the train, he is confronted by a journalist Aditi who somewhat unwillingly starts to take his interview. Arindam, won over by Aditi’s naivete, starts to disclose his past, his fears and his secrets.

The ever-symbolic pairing of the train and the cinema rumbles along in The Hero, which flickers with surreal dreams and existential pathos. A career-best performance from real-life matinee idol Uttam Kumar lends a psychological depth to the self-reflexive critiques of stardom and the film industry.