Eklavya

Vidhu Vinod Chopra has always been the master stylist...repertoire is full of cinematic brilliance...whether it was Parinda where he showcased a underworld gangster with haunting memories...or 1947 a love story..a power house packed romantic film in the backdrop of Quit India movement...or it was Mission Kashmir where estranged son and father fought and valley burnt in their anguish...his narration has always been packed with a grip, sheer brilliance of dialog delivery, daunting back score music and use of lights and camera angles which reminds you of Guru Dutt's work...no doubt Vidhu has his traits in all his protégé, be it Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Hirani or Pardeep Sarkar... so when one hears it took him five years to pen the screenplay of Eklavya, the expectations had to be high.

But then Eklavya is no disappointment. a failing dynasty with frail rulers, a secret seeded deep in heart, and dilapidated royal guard trying to keep secret intact. There is heresy, treachery, pain, unrequited love all wrapped beautifully in four walls of a grandiose palace (..Heard its Maharani Gayatri Devi's. Palace).... shimmering chandeliers, royal swords, candle lit harem's...they are mesmerizing...and so are the actors who have slipped into their characters as if they are living them from ages.. Mr. Bachchan is powerhouse at its best...Saif is yet again reserved but impact full...Jackie and Jimmy are at their evil best. It's amazing to see Balan making her presence felt among all stalwarts. So does Raima impress. Sanjay is flawless in his rustic, vindictive demeanor. But its Boman with niceties of queen, which make you realize, he is one hell of an actor.

The narration is what makes it impeccably, nicely told, not a scene out of context. Good camera work during panoramic view of palace. The use of special effects adds gravity to story. It's another brilliance from master stylist and best story narrator in film industry.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra has seemed to me in recent times to be a better film-marketer/producer than a film-maker, thanks to his marketing genius none of his recent films have ever received a low rating. Also he has a great eye for untapped potential (backing the likes of Saif , Nana Patekar, Vidya Balan when they were around but never stars and Sanjay Dutt who was giving one flop after the other till Munnabhai came along).

His weakest movies are the ones which involve stars at the top (mission Kashmir, 1942 ) and Eklavya suffers from the same fate.

Now if we consider this movie like an Auto-rickshaw (for the uninitiated it has 3 wheels) then ...

THE REAR WHEEL.

The first thing that struck me and everyone else too was the fabulous cinematography, its easily one of the most visually pleasing movies to come out in recent times, but is the effort really that good Rajasthan is one (if not the) of the most beautiful places in India, anyone who has visited will tell you that its any camera lovers nightmare as you can easily polish of a reel or 2 in a day even ordinary photographs of the palaces look spectacular, in any case this movie is my candidate for cinematography next year.

Technically in all aspects to this movie is extremely sound with great sound, computer graphics, etc.

The editing is slightly patchy but I don't think that has anything to do with the editor.

So on the all important Technical Aspects this film is near perfect and like brand new, perfectly balanced wheel and tyre.

THE OTHER REAR WHEEL.

The acting in this movie is superb all around, there were a couple of scenes that were over-acted, but other that everyone including Boman, Amitabh, Saif were great.

Special mention to Jackie who despite being a mighty fine actor and looker has been reduced to character roles, I really wish he goes back to playing a more central character in films.

A wheels go this one is like the most expensive alloy wheel with run-flat tyres even.

THE FRONT WHEEL.

Anyone who experienced punctures in a four wheeler will tell you that a puncture in any of the front tyres will immediately affect your car while a car may go on four kilometers with a rear flat.

If a movie is to be compared to an auto-rickshaw this spot will definitely go to the script.

And this tyre (script) has not deflated but burst.

The characters are so badly written that in the end you have nothing but contempt for all of them, you actually end up feeling bad for the so called bad guys,THIS MOVIE IS LIKE A SLAP IN THE FACE OF THE CONCEPT BEHIND ADOPTION.

There is so little content in the film that even the extremely short film (by Indian standards) of 105 minutes seems like running forever, to add to it there are a number of over the top scenes (no fault of the actors), including the choking scene (at first I thought I had the dirty mind), and the Sholay scene.

Picking out faults in the script and the plot will take days, even if you are able to digest AMITABH BACHANS SUPERHUMAN POWERS.

THE RESULT Is exactly like what it would be if one the tyres of your rickshaw were to burst and had no other option but to ride it out till the end of your journey.

Your trip would be a slow excruciating one once the tyre burst and would involve frequent veering of the course.

You sat in a mighty fine rickshaw that looked superb (thanks to the cast), was famous (thanks to the Bentleys given as gifts), had a great engine (some of the names besides vidhu in the film crew have great talent), had great wheels, BUT HAD BAD MUSIC.

But halfway through the ride you realise that your tyre has burst you have no spare and you have no option but to continue on the slow bumpy ride, the only consolation being that the ride is not long as you expect.

Only recommended if you are a big fan of amitabh, bored, and willing to watch a movie that has lots of glitz and glam but no substance.

Watching the matinée on screen is recommended to enjoy the visuals,a large screen TV (on DVD) will just about do but cable is a no-no.

I for one would not encourage that we fall pray to such gimmicks and encourage more ordinary films in India.

+s FINALLY AN ORIGINAL FILM +1 FOR THAT ONLY, SUPERB ACTING, SUPERB TECHNICALLY,short length.

+/-s only one or 2 songs, hardly any romance.

-s EXTREMELY WEAK SCRIPT AND RELATED ASPECTS (plot holes, super amitabh, predictable, some over the top scenes etc etc).

total 5/10 (includes one for originality 2 each for acting and technical aspects didn't minus marks because after an hour i knew i was screwed but had enjoyed the movie till then plus this movie has many scenes that looked great and even though they were low on content managed to hold your attention)

On paper, this movie had all the makings of a classic...a hugely talented superstar cast, a unique and creative storyline and an artistic assortment of cinematic spices like emotion, tender romance, jealousy, greed, mystery and a lip smacking element of surprise in the end. Yet sadly on screen, the director fails to synchronize all these tools into a well oiled machine; in short, the movie fails to grip the audience.

going by its length, under two hours which is remarkably short for a Hindi movie, one would have expected the movie to unfold at breakneck pace...the kind of tempo that keeps your hips gyrating on the edge of the seat; however, the pace is sluggish for most parts.

set in a captivating palace of Rajasthan, it traces the emotional roller coaster ride of the royal palace guard Eklavya ( amitabh bachchan in a memorable performance ) who is put to the cruelest of altars in the end when he is faced with a choice between his loyalty and his son...

Saif ali khan as the son, Vidya balan and Sanjay Dutt all give beautiful performances, although the focus never really manages to shift out of the magnetic persona of Amitabh, who plays the role with such rigorous conviction that every crease in his face or every hint of a tear in his eyes more than makes up for the lack of dialogs in the movie..Eklavya is a movie of personal choices and the overly challenging task of choosing the lesser of the two wrongs, or for that matter, the better of the two rights...

barring the tortoise pace, which is not quite so bothersome as the screens blank under a couple of hours, the movie is quite worth watching for the sheer gravity of performances.

Is it me or has Bollywood really stepped up to a new level these past two years. Performances, locations, directors, make-up and art direction are entering new heights of excellence. While this movie is not perfect, Kudos to Vinod Chopra and his production team in providing the cinema going public with a classy movie. Great locations, great back ground music and powerhouse yet subtle, nuanced performances make this a great watch in the cinema.

Bollywood actors seemed to have learned how to underplay and downplay the usual melodrama to give performances that leave a lasting impact. The Big B does not really have much dialogue but his protective and watchful presence can be felt throughout the movie even when he is not in the scene. Now for the Vinot Chopra regulars - After a good performance in the disappointing salaam namaste, saif has been cranking out great performance after performance ( being cyrus, omkara) and Eklavya is no different. He really holds his own against the big B. The supporting cast are all wonderful - Boman Irani was powerful, Jackie had a strong menacing role which was ably suppported by Jimmy Shergill, Vidya Balan mesmerizing as always. Raima Sen and Sharmila Tagore were effective and of course the always excellent Sanjay Dutt in a small role that lightens the mood somewhat.

Yes the movie does have a huge star cast but in my opinion the true stars of this movie are the director Mr. VV chopra and the astounding palace/fort location used for the film shoot.

This movie can be considered a novelty in Bollywood and I feel it deserves to be watched. It looks as if Yash Raj films, VC films and to a small extent RGV films seem to be at the forefront of Bollywood film making in terms of excellence, profitability and risk taking.

Two reasons why this movie is a good reason to watch: the first is the visuals. Rajastan is a beautiful place for sure, but dear god, does this movie make the most of it! There where times when I was actually holding my breath in awe of the sheer visual poetry that flashes across the screen.

The second reason: the acting. All the other commenters already cheered Big B's performance, and true, he really reaches unsurpassable form here. But be sure to also have an eye for Shroff, Irani, Sanjay Dutt and Saif Ali Khan: they also give an impresssive performance.

What's less good of the movie is the way the characters develop. VVD has a goldmine of a storyline here but he fails to mine it: we could have easily seen more of Big B's doubts about dharma, more of Saif Ali Khan's uneasy steps on the path of palace intrigue and treachery, more of Dutt's feeling as a scheduled caste DSP involved in outdated monarchical madness,more of Shroff's agitation as the king's younger brother - the story now is told in such a way that it leaves you guessing too much at what the characters would be going through, so that at the climax you recognize: this would have been a heart-breaking tragic scene of more then epic proportions, if only you would have felt more...

So,all in all, a good performance and a great visual tour of Rajastan - but not the brilliant movie you can easily understand it could have been.