Mumbai, Nov 9 (TIWN): Sooraj Pancholi's showbiz career has so far mostly been about surviving the spotlight of bad press, for his alleged role in starlet Jiah Khan's suicide. It's a situation the young hunk would like to get out of, and prove that he can also court the spotlight of stardom by essaying scripted roles that let him woo the masses. "Satellite Shankar" would seem like a clever effort in that direction.

The film overflows with feel-good melodrama toplined by 'deshbhakti' vibes and 'maa ka pyaar' mush, with random capers thrown in to project the hero as a benevolent do-gooder and a one-man army dedicated to serving humanity. Indeed, everything about aceSatellite Shankar" sets up Sooraj's on-screen avatar as a young messiah with a heart of gold, cut out to command sympathy and adoration.  Sooraj plays armyman Shankar, who is posted somewhere at the Indo-Pak border in Kashmir. He needs a week's holiday to go home - in faraway Tamil Nadu - for his mother's cataract operation. But his Army bosses won't sanction his leave, given the ceaseless tension at the border.