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Eklavya - The Royal Guard
indya.com rating: 3 out of 5 *
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Vidya Balan,
Jackie Shroff and Boman Irani
Director: Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Synopsis: Contemporary India. A majestic fort. A royal dynasty that no
longer rules. A king without a kingdom. Yet Eklavya (Amitabh
Bachchan), their royal guard, lives in a time warp. He lives only to
protect the fort, the dynasty, and the king. For nine generations
Eklavya's family has protected Devigarh, a century old citadel in
Rajasthan. His marksmanship is stuff of legends. His unflinching
loyalty inspires ballads.
Eklavya has spent his entire life serving
the royals and closely guarding their secrets but now he's getting old
and increasingly blind. Unable to cope with the suffocating customs of
his land, the heir, Prince Harshwardhan (Saif Ali Khan), has stayed
away in London. But the sudden demise of the queen, Rani Suhasinidevi
(Sharmila Tagore), forces the Prince back to the kingdom he had left
behind.
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The Prince's return brings a rush of joy into the waning fort. His
mentally challenged twin sister, Princess Nandini (Raima Sen) and his
childhood love Rajjo (Vidya Balan) are delighted to see him. But the
joy of reunion is short-lived. There is unrest in the kingdom as the
farmers are being stripped of their lands.
The king, Rana Jaywardhan
(Boman Irani), influenced by his brother, Rana Jyotiwardhan (Jackie
Shroff), supports the atrocities being forced upon the helpless
peasants. The king receives a death threat over the phone. An
irreverent police officer, Pannalal Chohar (Sanjay Dutt), is called in
to investigate. But he might be too late. The fragile peace of the
land is suddenly shattered by a barrage of bullets. And amidst the
mayhem, the safely guarded secrets of the fort are unveiled. One
shocking discovery starts leading to another.
Acting: Amitabh Bachchan in the title role is simply terrific with a
performance that is on par with some of his career bests. Though at
times his character is relegated to the backseat in some scenes, his
towering screen presence makes sure you can't take your eyes off him.
Saif underplays well and suits the role perfectly being a Royale
himself.
Boman is a bit theatrical but good. Jackie has always got the
best roles in all Chopra made movies and yet again he is splendid as
the vicious brother. Jimmy pleasantly surprises in a negative role.
Vidya Balan is nice in a comparatively smaller role. Raima is sweet.
The real scene stealer is Sanju baba who entertains playing the
irreverent low caste police officer. His dialogues are bound to get
ceetees by masses.
indya.com rating: 4 out of 5
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Direction: Vidhu Vinod Chopra back to directing a film after 7 years
post Mission Kashmir (2000) commits the same mistake that he has been
doing in most of his films, giving more importance to style than
substance. You get to see picture perfect frames but not enough drama
complementing it. Though he focuses only on the main plot without
deviating unnecessarily, he fails to pack in a punch which he could
have with a great star cast in hand and a competent technical team.
Indya.com rating: 2 out of 5
Script: Chopra and Abhijat Joshi's script talks about the concept of
Dharma, as in what is right and what is wrong. It tries to tell us
that we sometimes make mistakes by following traditions. But in an
attempt to mix it all with the basic storyline of a dramatic thriller,
these messages don't come across effectively. The actual plot is wafer
thin and it is good that Chopra doesn't stretch it unnecessarily. The
writers miss the chance to evoke emotions during the most important
scenes between Bachchan and Saif.
There are many well written moments though, which are lifted further higher by the actors involved. For
instance, the ghungroo sequence with a blind folded Big B and Dutt,
the attack on Boman Irani where Big B is rendered helpless by the
attackers and the Jimmy Shergill murder while he is watching Parinda
(Chopra's crime thriller of late 80s).
indya.com rating: 3 out of 5
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Music: This 1 hr and 50 mins suspense thriller leaves no space for
regular song and dance routine. There is only one song in the film, a
lullaby, Chanda Re Chanda Re picturised on Vidya, Saif and Raima
flying kites. A sweet hummable song put to tune by Vinod Chopra
Productions regular Shantanu Moitra (Parineeta, Lage Raho Munna Bhai).
The background music is good with apt use of Sanskrit Shlokas during
key dramatic sequences.
indya.com rating: 3 out of 5
-- Abhijit Mhamunkar
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