‘The Man Who Feels No Pain’ is a great alternative to ‘Novocaine’

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SALT LAKE CITY — The action, thriller movie “Novocaine” hit theaters on Friday and critics are saying it’s action-packed and fun. But when I first saw the trailer, all I could think about was another movie. 

“Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota” is an Indian movie that premiered in 2018 at the Toronto International Film Festival. It translates to “The Man Who Feels No Pain.”

Related: KSL Movie Show review: ‘Novocaine’ is fun, unless you have pain empathy

The stories are very similar … at least at first. The main character Surya has a disorder that prevents him from feeling physical pain, leading him to grow up very cautiously and to be bullied. 

But Surya also grows up watching martial arts on VHS and dreams of fighting crime. On his first attempt to becoming a vigilante, he tries to save his friend and neighbor, Supri, from her abusive father. But it just leads to her having to move away and for them to lose contact. 

But Surya, still determined to achieve his dream, continues to train in martial arts. Years later, the two meet again. But Surya isn’t the only one that has been training, Supri was trained by a master and doesn’t recognize him at first, creating an action-packed fight scene and a really entertaining meet cute.

The rest of the film they must work together to defeat the evil twin of Supri’s teacher’s and his gang of thugs. 

Yes, I know that ‘evil twin’ sounds ridiculous. That’s because it is. Every turn of the plot is hilarious and the characters are almost caricature, taking hero movie stereotypes and spinning them on their heads. It’s not the usual gritty action superhero movie.

But as funny as it is, there is also a lot of heart in the movie, from romance to navigating grief and family relationships, we get to see Surya try to become the hero he longs to be.

This movie is also a great alternative because, while “Novocaine” is rated R, ‘The Man Who Feels No Pain” is rated PG. I believe it’s partly because the main weakness Surya faces doesn’t have to do with pain from violence, but not feeling the pain from dehydration. 

Yep, that’s right. The main issue Surya faces is not drinking enough water. So much so he carries a CamelBak with him at all times, sucking on the straw throughout the movie. On top of that he also has to wear special glasses, giving Surya, who becomes a very muscular adult, the look of a very eager student on his first day of school.

And due to being sheltered most of his life, Surya is still very childlike. He even tries to remember what he was taught as a child, like drinking water and saying “ouch” when he’s supposed to feel pain. 

Overall, this movie is just so fun. With a B-movie plot that’s always surprising and hilarious, a funky soundtrack that makes you want to dance, and no shortage of cool action scenes, this is a watch I recommend. 

You can stream it now on Netflix and YouTube in Hindi with English subtitles. 

Running time: 134 minutes.