Cast:
Amitabh Bachchan, Sharmila Tagore, Sanjay Dutt, Saif Ali Khan, Vidya Balan, Jackie Shroff, Boman Irani, Raima Sen, & Jimmy Shergill.
Direction: Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Genre: Drama,
Movie Overall Rating: **** (4 stars out of 5)
Length: 1 hr 45 mins
The aim and intention of my reviews is to critique and recommend while not revealing the whole story to enjoy the movie when seen. Minor details may have been divulged for proper review!
The philosophy of Eklavya is about ‘Dharma’ - What is Rightful and What you Believe is Rightful! "Dharam Wohi hai jo apna mann sachcha maaney.” an oft repeated dialog in the movie translates to “Dharma / Sacred Duty is what your heart and mind feel is right”!
Eklavya, the royal guard - Amitabh, is named after the legendry character Eklavya in Mahabharata who gave up his thumb as a Guru-Dakshina/ teacher payback to Dronacharya ; Eklavya, an incredible marksman, is duty bound and zealant in protecting the royal dynasty of Devigarh. Though the King Rana Harshvardhan (Boman Irani) is just a figure head in the modern democratic state of Rajasthan in India, the formality and splendor continues so does Eklavya’s duty and family loyalty to the dynasty which has been continuing for nine generations.
After the Queen’s (Sharmila Tagore) inconvenient death, Prince Harshvardhan (Saif Ali Khan) is called for from London. He is confronted with intriguing family secrets, conspiracies, deceptions, murder plots and confusion. This is followed with murders, deaths and bloodshed for money; revenge; or dharma/duty! Finally it’s the triumph of Dharma. You will have to check out yourself which facet of dharma!
Vinod Chopra excels in making a concise and succinct movie of 1 hr 45 minutes, yet building an action packed intriguing thriller with dramatic and spectacular action sequences, smooth screenplay with no loose ends, drama and melodrama, romance and comedy, all into one impressive movie.
Eklavya is amazing in the big screen experience with its beautiful palatial settings, picturesque deserts of Rajasthan and awesome cinematography. The action scenes in the movie need a special mention- the pigeon sequence which applauds Eklavya’s marksmanship is amazing; and another scene with a large herd of camels and a moving train in the desert has incredible choreography and cinematography. The music is good and doesn’t intrude, but accentuates the story. There is only one song – ‘chande re’, which makes us appreciate the director’s film making abilities of not intercepting the movie with a string of songs.
The movie boasts a magnificent star cast- Amitabh Bachchan has a brilliant performance as the ageing royal guard. The character, look, costume, and the bloody red eyes get enlivened with his dialogues and acting. Saif Ali Khan has been giving mature and amazing performances lately, and of course the Nawab Pataudi’s son carries his princely role with grace. Sanjay Dutt, as DSP Pannalal Chohar, adds wit and humor with his cheeky dialogs and delightful presence. The untouchable turned into a man of authority was depicted well. He is a classy actor and does well in every kind of performance. Sharmila Tagore, as the queen mom is graceful in the short role as Saif’s Mom! The enchanting Vidya Balan impresses in the role of Rajjo/Rajeshwari, the chauffeurs daughter, the prince’s romantic interest and the princess Nandini’s companion. Raima Sen acts well as princess Nandini, the mentally unstable twin sister of the Prince. Boman Irani plays a complex personality with a feminine side reasonably well. Jackie Shroff plays intensely the negative role of the Rana’s covetous brother Jyotivardan. Jimmy Shergill too pulls a good job in his small role of Jyotivardans son Udayvardhan.
Eklavya is not your typical 3 hr long masala movie. The movie is commendable for its uniqueness in today’s bollywood cinema with its ability to pack everything into a crisp movie. It’s surely worth a watch on big screen. But if you forget the hype about the movie, you will appreciate it much better!
3 comments:
I was not interested in watching this movie, but after I read your review I will. I have always found your reviews very good. Goodwork.
While Vidhu Chopra has a good reputation in the film business, and the movie has perhaps many merits, I get curious about the themes chosen by our film-makers.
An old world feudal type of loyalty is a craving you see among the richer classes. They crave to see more of it in an increasingly democratic and market-driven world where the people around you believe themselves to have their own destinies to carve, and look for the best monetary rewards for themselves.
This emergence of the individual is a sign of the modern era. No more flunkeyism, yes-men, clan followers, palanquin bearers etc. Not that this has happened entirely, but the trend is unmistakable.
The resurrection of such an old-world metaphor of an unswerving loyalist is not inspiring to this modernist mind at least.
Couldn't this film have been titled something else... :-)
warm regards
Bala,
True, positioning this character and movie in the modern era is trully unrealistic. BTW this movie was named YAGNA earlier till chopra deicded to give it the eklavya title.
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