Shivaay Review and update thread - Page 48

Before telling you all why I feel Bollywood does not deserve a mammoth of an effort like Ajay Devgn's Shivaay, watch the first trailer of the movie that was released on August 7. The trailer has already garnered 2,60,22,754 views, by the way. #JustSaying

I was bowled over by this trailer, and to prove I am not faking it, here are a couple of tweets I had posted then.

I couldn't, however, catch the first day first show of the movie,and I regret it. But I finally saw the movie yesterday.

First things first, after scanning through many reviews that appeared on my social media feed, I realised most of them trashed actor-director-producer Ajay Devgn, a two-time National Award winner for Best Actor, and this vision of his, entirely. And I guess I understand why.

SHIVAAY MOVIE REVIEW: Ajay Devgn tries hard but fails to save this film

The first trailer gave us sky-high expectations maybe, and maybe all the critics expected too much depth and characterisation in the movie. But is that Devgn's mistake? That's what trailers are supposed to do.

Let's get this one fact straight and then go ahead keeping in mind that, and only that.

SHIVAAY IS AN OUT AND OUT ACTION FILM.

A SUPERHERO FILM, SHIVAAY IS SUPERMAN.

Why is it that people seem to enjoy Rajinikanth's Robot, Hrithik Roshan's Krrish franchise, or, to be fair, Akshay Kumar's Baby and Varun Dhawan-John Abraham's Dishoom, Tiger Shroff's Baaghi where the heroes are not robots or superheroes but fend off multiple attackers single-handedly, but not Devgn's Shivaay?

SHIVAAY MOVIE REVIEW: It's like Ajay Devgn of the 90s with the painful dialogues

Why such hypocrisy?

If Tiger Shroff can become a superhero, our man Ajay Devgn very well can, and we should appreciate the man for giving us a superhero movie without showing it off as one.

Yes, he destroys the entire clan of villains all by himself, so what?

Let's talk about the introduction and the first half of the movie

Ajay Devgn's introductory sequence was jaw-droppingly amazing. The CGI was impressive and AT LEAST a hundred times better than the flying crocodile in Mohenjo Daro. The sequence establishes, in the first five minutes, Shivaay's expertise in mountaineering, his stamina and strength. It is also good to see Devgn, the director, using it to his advantage in the second half.

Now, let me break it to you. Shivaay is Taken in Bollywood (albeit unacknowledged), and I think it did justice to the Hollywood action-thriller. Taken, having been made in Hollywood, cut to the chase, began with Liam Neeson's daughter being kidnapped. Shivaay, on the other hand, dedicated enough time to build a love story that had a conflict, and also took time to establish Shivaay's relationship with his daughter.

I agree, Devgn takes advantage of the fact that it's a home production and that he is at the helm, when he makes teenage girls say, "Oh my God! He is so hot!" But come on, why not!

After a bit of a drag, the chase sequence after Shivaay's daughter gets kidnapped, is one of the best action sequences in Indian cinema. YES!

And the interval is when the Shiva in Shivaay is all set to open his third eye, the eye of destruction.

Let's talk about action (read second half)

Ajay Devgn, donning the director's hat for the second time, chose to make an action movie this time. And he has done a fantastic job at that. In fact, a review on Rotten Tomatoes says, "Honestly, the film isn't as bad as some reviews are making it out to be, in fact the film is mostly engaging thanks to its excellent cinematography, good action set pieces (for Bollywood standards) and Ajay Devgn's powerful performance."

Devgn, much like Neeson, is a wounded, aching, disturbed father who has lost his 8-year-old daughter to a human trafficking barbaric group. Why wouldn't any father break all rules, do whatever he can -- be it a jailbreak or killing people if needed -- to save his only child? That's all what Shivaay does, plus, he has already proven the physical strength or the character.

From a loving father, Shivaay turns into a violent monster who destroys anything and everything that stands between him and his daughter. When Shiva opens his third eye, he doesn't destroy selectively. It's mass destruction. That should sum up the movie's second half for you.

The villains look menacing, there is a twist towards the end, and of course, spectacular action sequences (yes, logically flawed, but we don't see a lot of logic in Fast and Furious series either).

Brilliantly shot by Aseem Bajaj, the scale at which Shivaay is made is commendable. The action sequences are far better than any of the recent "action movies" we have seen, and certainly better than the much hyped Mohenjo Daro and Dishoom. Yes, given Tiger Shroff's skills and Baaghi could be considered better, and it's slightly unfair to compare the two actors, but as a complete package, Shivaay scores more.

Also, if we think about it, Shivaay is the only action-thriller other than Baaghi that released this year.

Toh phir problem kya hai?

Let's talk ratings

In this digital era, most of the multiplex-going crowd read a couple of reviews and see the ratings a movie has got before finally heading to watch it. Shivaay has got great ratings on many websites, but why is it struggling at the box office (as in, is not doing as well as the other Diwali release, Ae Dil Hai Mushkil)?

For instance, on Rotten Tomatoes, Shivaay has got an average rating of 4 out of 5. On IMDB, the movie has got a 7.4 which is decent. On Book My Show, the movie has got a 75 per cent from the 45,000 plus ratings.

Toh phir problem kya hai?

We have sat through Ra.One, we have sat through Dilwale, Happy New Year, Chennai Express. If Shivaay is struggling at the box office, it means nothing other than that Bollywood doesn't deserve such efforts from actor-directors.

Shivaay has its heart at the right place, that's action and a father's emotion. It is a movie that deserves your time (a lot of time actually), and at least one watch.

If I could take the liberty to compare Shivaay with some of the other movies I have seen this year, it's way better than Mohenjo Daro, Baar Baar Dekho, Dishoom, MS Dhoni The Untold Story, Baaghi. Yes, I won't say it is better than Airlift, Wazir, Mirzya, Fan or Neerja. I hope you get an idea where the movie stands.

I rest my case.

Thank you Salim uncle @luvsalimkhan, your appreciation always makes a difference and thank you @BeingSalmanKhan for all your good wishes.