I saw Eklavaya...ALL EKLAVYA REVIEW HERE! - Page 6

Shahid Khan's review of EKLAVYA

Rating: * * * *

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After watching Vidhu Vinod Chopra's Eklavya – The Royal Guard, my lips are humming Chanda Re Chanda Re. As the only song in the entire film, it leaves a forbidding echo. The staging of the song is so simple – a lullaby that Rajjo (Vidya Balan) sings to her beloved Prince Harshwardhan (Saif Ali Khan) as she tangles with a kite - while in the distance, another man's (Amitabh Bachchan) highly attuned sense of hearing picks up the sound and allows it to reverberate in his heart. His involvement changes the dynamics of the meaning behind the song. The song is not just about one romantic relationship, it becomes a reminder of other relationships that could not blossom – the relationship between a queen and her royal guard, the relationship between a father and his son.

Fractured relationships is a theme that recurs in Chopra's gothic thriller (which marks the end of a seven year hiatus in Chopra's directing career, a long time by Bollywood standards) and the connection between Eklavya and Harsh acts as the central epitome of it. The plot itself is quite Shakespearean with little hints of Macbeth thrown in. Actually, Macbeth is an appropriate play to refer to – even though Eklavya may not have much in common with the play at first glance – because it tells us that power corrupts and turns men into split personalities. Harsh refers to this when he tells his new bride that he is not the same person that she earlier knew. His twin sister Princess Nandini (Raima Sen) is mentally passive and her behaviour is more child-like. These twins reveal two different faces of the same coin. She resembles the innocence that has been taken away by the fort and twisted and thwarted into something else. Harsh is constantly caressing her during her sleep as if he wants his darker subconscious to disappear and turn into the innocence that his sister represents. The fact that Harsh could not have a twin who is on the same adult level as he is shows that nothing is ever really developed in the haveli – relationships and personalities do not flourish, they remain stunted for years.

Perhaps, I am reading too much into this but I believe that this is the main element that Chopra borrows from Shakespeare. The story is actually quite disappointing in an odd way. The queen's (Sharmila Tagore) death sparks off a series of feuds and members of the clan (which also include Boman Irani, Jimmy Sheirgill and Jackie Shroff) contrive to outwit each other. Murder and deception is planned and, add to this, a major revelation about Harsh's and Nandini's true ancestry. There is an engaging history and back-story to some of the characters. Sanjay Dutt appears as the policeman whose ancestors were considered to be low-caste and subsequently tortured by the royal family. He resembles the democratic India that is at odds with the ancient customs that the royal family still abide by. Yet, not much is made of this, Dutt is there to make a point and little else. Same could also be said for the talented Sheirgill who could surely have been given a meatier role to get his teeth into.

With these supporting characters, you expect to see a little more depth in the political intrigue that envelops this gloomy mansion. But the characters make their exit rather early and seem to fall victim to the tight editing by Raviranjan Maitra. At least, they get dying scenes to remember. The confrontation between Bachchan and Sheirgill is worth a mention as are the impressive sequences staged near the train that passes by at high speed (while also seemingly tagging camels along with the carriages). These scenes are brilliantly shot and directed but in other scenes, the camera never seems to stay still. It lingers and wavers and such camerawork becomes rather tiring early on. The chilling score is another ingredient that adds to this recipe of a gothic melodrama. One other thing is that there seems to be an awful lot of whispering going on except for Boman Irani who seems to be relishing his role of a vengeful madman. Princess Nandini's drawing of him highlights and mocks the pantomim-ish quality of his get-up.

This fragile concoction could easily descend into a pantomime but Amitabh Bachchan's towering performance lends the gravity that the film needs. I may complain about the lack of depth in the supporting characters but the truth is that Bachchan as Eklavya is all we really need. Not only do we get to see the interesting history behind this character but we also delve into his current insecurities and fears. Before the Chanda Re number, Eklavya explains that he would love to hold Harsh in order to expel his loneliness and grief but he cannot. This is the anchor, the soul, that weighs him down throughout the entire film. In his feverish loyalty to the royal family, Eklavya has denied himself the chance of love and family bonding. Bachchan's sad bloodshot eyes convey all this and much more.

It all comes to a happy ending though and Eklavya finds a reason to smile. The protagonists come together to create a new family, and continue the legacy of the royal order. I can't help wondering though that perhaps remaining within the blood-drenched walls of that haveli is the worst thing that could happen to those characters. As they say, absolute power corrupts….

Mayank Shankar's Eklavya Review

Rating: * * * *

DIRECTOR: Vidhu Vinod Chopra
ACTORS: Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Vidya Balan

By now, if you've heard of this film, you would have caught its most publicised sequence. A large herd of camels charge down paralleling a moving train, the galloping hooves whip up a slight sandstorm, just as a bullet shatters through the wind-shield of a black vintage car.

It's the Rana (Boman Irani) who is dead. He leaves behind a son (Khan); a mentally-slow daughter (Raima Sen); an ambitious nephew (Jimmy Shergill; well moulded), and a frustrated younger brother (Jackie Shroff).

Rana was the king, without much of a kingdom. This is Rajasthan in post-independent India when rulers of princely states have at best an official title and a privy purse, or not even that (if the film is set after 1969 — it doesn't say).

Eklavya (Bachchan; sufficiently serene and self-assured) is the old, lone, loyal guard bound by ancestral tradition to never question, blindly surrender, and serve his master. The protagonist eventually ascertains his king's killer. In a characteristic but rich expression of the director's self-love, Eklavya finds himself in a room, where the assassin (or one of the accomplices) is lazily enjoying Parinda on his projector-screen. Eklavya switches off the projector, and rest of the lights, to attack his prey's sound with a sword. He is blessed with a mysterious force to hit bull's eye in the dark.

The screen is pitch-black; the theatre exposed to unexpected dimness. The shot remains frozen for way more than a few seconds, with just Bachchan's grainy voice-over. You will notice no one in the cinema coughs or moves; eyes remain squinted but fixed, brows furrowed.

The scene is lavishly gimmicky. But it reveals an immaculately confident Chopra, with temerity and pizzazz to hold you by the balls with just sound, leave alone anything else: clearly a filmmaker nearing the prime of his movie-talent.

A strong self-awareness these well-packaged sequences of moments come with, is unmistakable; the aesthetics, exemplary; the almost-song-less grand illusion, world-class (Nataraja Subramaniam, a choreographer to line up around). In fact, it may even unnecessarily overwhelm you at times. To insinuate a minor influence of protg Sanjay Leela Bhansali in his mentor's latest work may not be entirely incorrect either. Yet, the scenes never quite cloud reason: each one either informs or takes the film forward. You don't turn your eye away.

If at all, it's the larger screenplay that a while after the film may just leave you feeling relatively undernourished or under-whelmed; as if what you witnessed was essentially a expansive novel, compressed into a tight chapter of immediate, rushed, crisp filmic actions, and reactions. Surely there was a better approach to keep it all under 120 minutes of screen-time. (This, thankfully, the movie does).

Khan's Harshvardhan (marvelously controlled, immensely brilliant star of the show) emerges after his mother's (Sharmila Tagore) death to realise that he is after all a foster heir of his lost dynasty. The rest is a Shakespearean tragedy of palace plotting and serial deaths.

Unlike the Bard's loaded plays though, what this original script (Chopra, Abhijat Joshi) lacks is the complexity, layers and depth in this royal intrigue: way too few characters, fewer full-bodied back-stories; and more opportunities missed to link a claustrophobically placed set to its most interesting time-setting.

Even the unusual relationship between a pampered, feudal monarchy and democracy of modern India appears but as a feeble side-note, in the form of a low-caste cop (Sanjay Dutt; pricelessly poised) who feels liberated by history.

Eklavya's concluding memo however, in a battle between ordained tradition and subjective truth, is the intellectual obsession of the Mahabharat (or the Bhagwad Gita). It hasn't lost its currency still: that 'dharma' (personal duty) is nothing but what the 'mati' (conscience; as roughly translated) considers appropriate.

The message couldn't have been more appropriate. It may be inappropriate to give its neatly entertaining messenger a miss.

EKLAVYA - REVIEW

Courtesy: naachgana.com

Just went and saw Vidhu's film. I didn't even know that the damn movie was suppose to release this week. I wasn't interested in it at all. Yes, I think Vidhu is a fine director…but I found Mission Kashmir very weak. Eklavya is a different story though. The movie is shot so beautifully. Amazing camera angles…BEST CINEMATOGRAHPY. Spell-binding photography and locals. The editing is so crisp. Very colorful with off the hook background music. The movie is intense at points, gripping at points, there is suspence here and there, there's comedic relief, there's very well shot action sequences and most importantly great performances from the lead. When I say lead I mean Amitabh Bachchan and Saif Ali Khan. Amitabh Bachchan is everywhere. But here he is so reserved. His look reminds you of Kudha Gawa. But forget his look..his performance is solid as usual. I really liked his emotional scenes. He's a legend and will always be the BEST at what he does. Saif Ali Khan is an actor I never took seriously until Ek Hasina Thi. Then came Omkara. And now Eklavya. Yes he had some decent stuff in the middle of all these. But these three movies were something so different for Saif. Saif is the last person I would think of that could stand toe to toe with Amitabh. But man…this fool got game. I swear…he wasn't nervous…he didn't look weak…he didn't do anything wrong infront of Amitabh. They both fed of each other so well. I think of actors like Akshay Kumar (FAKE AS HELL) and Sunil Shetty (HE'S A GONNER) and then I think of Saif. Saif has improved so much and he's really taking his career seriously now. The man will keep shocking us over and over again. Jackie was good as the villain. Sanjay Dutt came and stole a scene or two. He added the comic relief. Very well done Mr. Dutt. His look was cool as well. Jimmy performed his role with great passion. He gives 100% to everything…no matter how small or big his roles are. Vidya looked gorgeous, cried here and there…played her part well. Raima Sen got annoying…but EH I DONT CARE…she wasn't important to the movie. There are flaws. The biggest flaw was the over the top, fake bas***d BOMAN IRANI. I know that his guy can go over the top very easily…but in this movie he was just too fake. Almost every scene. And in a movie like this you just can't go wrong witht he performances. I dont know who to give fault to here…Vidhu or Boman. And Sharmila Tagore got wasted. I felt bad cause Im a huge Sharmila fan. The scene where Amitabh kills Jimmy could have been done better and there were a few english lines here and there that stood out like a sore thumb in my opinion. Overall the movie is something that must be watched. It's very unique and is something so different. These type of films dont come often in bollywood so when it does dont hesitate to check it out on the big screen. The colors, intensity, rajhastan, the castle, amazing performances from the leads, and most importantly the good time lenght of the movie are the reasons why I ENJOYED AND APPRECIATED THIS FLICK. Vidhu is special to bollywood…the man is a genious…Eklavya will go down as another gem just like Parinda and 1942 A Love Story.

8.1/10

Member's Rating of this Product: Member's Recommendation of this Product: Yes Plot: Cast Performance: Sound Track: Cinematography: Pros: Brilliant acting, glimpse of Rajasthan, Cinematography Cons: Suspense is revealed very soon, too short a movie

Yesterday, I watched Eklavya. Expectations from it were very high and I was satisfied with the package I got.

It is a good movie with some brilliant performances, but in order to limit the movie to less than 2 hours, the director has not allowed the suspense to develop and leave a mark on our memories. The story line is good, and there is enough suspense, but they unfold them too soon.

((This is the story of a guard of Ranas (Kings) from Rajasthan, whose only purpose in life is to protect the life of his master. But due to some turn of events in the past, the Rana discovers that his famed guard is the father of his son (Saif) and daughter. In a sense of suspense, Rana is killed and AB couldn't protect him. At the climax, he even gets ready to kill Saif, who is the new Rana.))

The acting by AB is superb. Hats off to him again. Saif, Vidya Balan, Parikshit Sahni, and others are all great in their respective roles.

Overall, they could have turned this into a superhit, if they gave it some more minutes to develop the suspense and storyline. My take, go and watch the movie with friends.

Saw Eklavya the first day show and I must say its one of the most boring and Iloogical movie I have seen in recent times .I was left yawning in the theatre .

we have a foreign returned son that too in a helicopter , who speaks fluent English , wears top brand shirts and yet the palace is shown to have no electricity and they light up candles which I found to be absolutely ridiculous .

They have lauded raima sen who has barely 2 scenes . Vidya Balan has no pupose in the movie except to grab Saif's attention

we have a royal guard who killed two people for the main reason that they killed his master but then he lets go of Saif, when he was the one who ordered them to kill the king bcoz of which an innocent man dies as well ...........as Jackie rightly said , if he did his duty by killing his son then he should do his duty by killing his own son who ordered the kill.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra brags abt wanting to send a message , what message does the film send, that a person should kill another person to take revenge and then justify it by going scotfree , thats rubbish .

Eklavya is supposed to be the Royal guard instead he turns out to be a normal parent who lets the killer of the king free why , coz ,he is his son

oh yeah then theres the lady who was asked to sing the lullaby which his mother sang for him so that he could remember her and we have the heroine singing the lullaby as if it was a seductive romantic number .......pathetic

Last but not the least was the beautiful message by the director that injustice and corruption in the police is a must , and that they would do anything to let go of their fav person without any punishment . Sanjay Dutt cooly comes and tells Eklavya that he was free by planting a pathetic suicide note , is this how jutice prevails where a person who comitted murders is allowed to go free. Is this the message he wants to convey , pls dont convey the movie as thoughful with a message when all it does it send wrong messages

what kind of message is he sending to the public, is this how justice should be then everyone would justify an eye for an eye policy .

The film was illogical and full of flaws taken in full darkness . Amitabh Bachan has done a lot better than this and this wasnt his best at all . No one had a well etched character , on one hand we had sanjay dutt saying that he worshipped Eklavya and he was his inspiration to become a police officer and bring jusitce and then he himself commits fraud to let his fav person free .

when it comes to his son , he realises the meaning of dharma , where did his duty go then .

The queen hides a truth from her husband for god knows 20+ years and then says his name in her dying days and then they show the king to be evil , how would a person react tothat ofcourse he would be enraged by it . OK the killing was wrong and should be punished but then an eye for an eye was the wrong way to go abt it and worst of all going free without any justice

dissapointment is what I would say and I am being very lenient here