Eklavya: The Royal Guard (2007)

The experience of watching Eklavya is akin to reading a novel - the plot unfolds with each passing page. Vidhu has done a commendable job on this front. The visuals are stunning very much Hollywood standards. The pain and anguish of Eklavya were a bit Over-the-top. Nishabd (sans voice-over) is a classic example for a true-to-life depiction of the same emotion.Couple of scenes impress and noteworthy to mention are the train sequence and the archery. However the latter appears to be force-fit into the story. Performances::¤ Amitabh:: Needs no mention as usual. Having said that, Mr. Chopra you have under-utilised the given opportunity.¤ Sharmila Tagore:: Had very limited screen time.¤ Saif:: Restrained performance doesn't suit him…. yet!¤ Vidya Balan:: Not one of those Parineeta performances and no scope in the script either.¤ Sanjay Dutt, Raima Sen, Boman Irani, Parikshit Sahani :: No great shakes – sleepwalking roles.That bring to ask, why attempt to assemble the entire star cast of VVC Camp?The movie was pushed against the wall publicity-wise hence ends up working against it. Expectations run high and the delivery fails to impress.And the climax is a major downer, very-very Bollywoodish. Definitely not expected out of talented Vidhu (Devil's advocate: maybe he is over-hyped). And spending five years to pen it is a bit too far fetched. PS: Parinda moment? Oh, just stop it and go away!

I don't understand why most of the users here have written negative comments regarding this movie. Eklavya had a powerful, well narrated story that had me captivated right from the start. Yes, it is not a typical Hindi film but i am truly glad for that. The cast and the director have done brilliant jobs in bringing this movie to the masses. Now, it was not received very well at the box office in India but that is understandable as Eklavya is not the typical 'singing, running around trees' sort of movie. The cast have performed well and the character acting shone out; from Amitabh, Saif and even the villains. It has also been nominated for an Oscar for best foreign movie so it deludes me as to why anyone would not want to see it!

Bollywood has been churning up some impressive films recently,and improving the quality of their films.But they have yet to learn to master the art of film-making.Their films are not yet perfect or great; they still have a long way to go.But after having seen this film,I'm glad to say that they are getting close.Bollywood has the potential to make great movies and they are trying and improving and almost getting there.But they still fall short of spectacular results.I would say EKLAVYA is by far the best of the very,very rare number of good films that Bollywood has made throughout their existence.Why,because it's more focused and well made than any of their minute number of good films.It's got rich atmosphere,intriguing setup,brilliant visuals,impressive sets,costumes and a different vision.But,overall,it is still a flawed epic.The story revolves around a family,that is hiding secrets that once revealed,might have deadly consequences upon them.It is inspired by some of Shakespeare's works and it echoes throughout the film.It's about one aging guard(Bachchan),named Eklavya; who has served for the family all his life.Many generations of his family has served before him and he must continue to do so,carry on their legacy.The family of the Kindom of Devigarh itself has mysteries that keeps echoing throughout the film.Eklavya has sworn to protect the family no matter what.He also protects some of the secrets that can never be spread throughout the Kindom.Until,one night,the Queen of the Kindom dies,besides her is her mourning husband.This starts the doubts and accusations within the family.The Queen's Son,Prince Harshwardhan(Khan) arrives to take responsibility of the family.But there are other things going on in the palace.Slowly,one mystery after another pops up and secrets are revealed,and as the story progresses we see more and more people dying because of the secrets.Putting Eklavya into a painful position and come to terms with the happenings and the truths about this family's dark history.EKLAVYA is an intriguing period piece.It blends ancient settings with modern lifestyle.Giving the film a unique look.The film functions like a thriller,but focusing more on melodrama and characters,that aren't well written.And it's a well made drama that borderlines on melodrama.But the film has flaws,especially in the second half and by the time it ends,it feels incomplete.It's a relatively short film by Bollywood standards and I was more than surprised.Not only did it manage to tell an engrossing story but also wrapped it up with style with its short length.And the best thing is that it's devoid of songs,only one song throughout the film.But,I guess,because the story is wrapped around an epic setting,it needed a longer running time to develop the plot and characters more.Some of the characters were weak and not well written,some of their back stories are never told and leaves a lot to be desired.First half or so into the movie,you are hooked and quite entertained,but after the interval,the film slowly drags,since the plot becomes weak and it's going in one direction; so there isn't much to tell.Subplots are added to compensate the running time.In other words,it could've trimmed a little more of the length and finished it quickly.That would've made the film perfect.But it gets boring as it drags the story and adds subplot and makes the whole of second half contrived.But the third act,which is the big revelation of who is behind the whole scenario,somewhat pays off with satisfaction.Praise the Director who manages to keep the story afloat,which could've been worse.The whole movie could've been worse if it were handled by someone else.But the Director impresses you with his visual presentation of the story and keep you entertained.His script might be flawed but he succeeds in good storytelling,which is rare in Bollywood. But what he should be thanking most is the film's Cinematography,which elevates the material and gives a bold and rich look to the film.And some impressive set design and costumes,with able score.However,what really keeps this film afloat is the acting.Each and every actor deserves equal recognition.They all have a part to play and they all help in move the story forward.You can't just give out all the praises to Bachchan alone.He was terrific,but the other actors allowed him to emote the character well.But,of course,Mr.Bachchan's performance is the strength of the film.His silence and his eyes says more than his words.I've never liked this actor and thought he was yet another over-hyped Bollywood actor,like any other.But after watching him in this,I understand why people worship him.But I still thought he could've done a little better.Saif Ali Khan was quite competent and gives a good supporting performance,but his character doesn't allows him to do much.This guy has the looks and moves of a good actor.Sanjay Dutt was just great in his small part.Booman Irani's character was flawed as well,and his acting sometimes goes from over the top to annoying.But if that's what his character was supposed to be,than he succeeds.He manages to make his character dark enough to be impressed.Jackie Shroff , Jimmy Shergil as well as the beautiful Vidya Balan have little to do and wouldn't really comment on them.On the whole,this is an ambitious piece of work that could've been better.But for what it is,it's a fine example that Bollywood is capable of making good movies,only if they try.And I hope they keep making films like these.I would like to see more of it in the future.This, with films like Black Friday, proves that Bollywood is learning, and improving but they have yet to learn a lot to be able to compete at a world class level. However,Indian audiences opt for mindless junks or poorly made films like Dhoom 2 or Guru than appreciating films like this one.Reducing the chances of making films like Eklavya .I wouldn't recommend this film to be sent as an entry to the Oscars,Black Friday deserves that position.But it wouldn't hurt if they send it.This film goes to my list of only a handful of Bollywood films that I've enjoyed.B-, 3/5 , 7/10

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)