Starcast:
- Amitabh Bachchan ... Eklavya
- Sanjay Dutt ... Pannalal Chohaar
- Saif Ali Khan ... Prince Harshwardhan
- Vidya Balan ... Rajeshwari "Rajjo"
- Jackie Shroff ... Rana Jyotiwardhan
- Jimmy Shergill ... Udaywardhan
- Boman Irani ... King Rana Jaywardhan
- Raima Sen ... Princess Nandini
- Sharmila Tagore ... Queen Suhasinidevi
- Parikshat Sahni ... Omkar Singh
"Eklavya’ is Amitabh Bachchan’s career best: Vidhu Vinod Chopra
And it is!!
If there is one thing that you will come out of movie theaters and say about this movie, its the marvellous acting of the BigB himself. As the lead Eklavya, a royal guard, who is committed to protect the Devgarh Dynasty, Amitabh Bacchan delivers a stellar performance. And with an impressive star cast thats something to say.
StoryLine:
An epic film out and out, this movie is set in the early years of Indian Independence. The movie begins with Amitabh Bacchan recalling the "Eklavya from Mahabharat". Eklavya is the royal guard whose family has for nine generations protected the Kings of Devigarh. Eklavya (Amitabh Bachchan) trains everyday, from sunrise to sunset, with one steadfast goal in mind: protect the king.
The king, Rana Jayawardhan, played by Boman Irani, is an old archaic ruler who is himself a failed king. His wife(played by Sharmila tagore) is in love with Eklavya and this further annoys the king who has one purpose in life, to destroy Eklavya. Meanwhile Rana’s brother Jyotiwardhan (Jackie Shroff) and nephew Udaywardhan (Jimmy Shergill) are impatient to grab his palace and wealth. Among all this, Sharmila Tagore dies and the kings son Harshwardhan(played by Saif Ali Khan) comes back and starts staying in the fort. His return brings joy and hapiness to his sister princess Nandini (Raima Sen) and childhood friend Rojja (Vidya Balan), his love.
Meanwhile the king and his scheming son are terrorizing the villagers and confiscating the land. When the king receives a death threat, he informs the police. Pannalal Chohar (Sanjay Dutt) is called in to investigate the matter. As the scheming continues, there are murders, attempted murders, villager rebellion and among all this romance between Saif and Vidya.
Performances:
A period film is expected to have old traditional settings. Vidhu captures the settings of the age beautifully. It took him 5 years to write this, an impressively long time and he has not disappointed anyone with the end result. From raguvendra rathore costumes, to the backdrop, all convey the actual era to the viewers. The story telling is good(may be a tad slow at some times) with the second half of the movie being more of a action thriller. The beauty with which Eklavya's role has been captured and presented is praiseworthy.(especially when a blindfolded Bachchan is testing his archery skills.) The cinematography by Natarja Subramanian is good and even though much of the film takes place inside the palace, the portrayal is quite good.
There is only one song in the film(oh yeah!) and a good one at that. Background music is good and apt for the film.
Amitabh Bacchan Leads the way with a top notch performance. I dare say someone would have to come up with a real good one now or else filmfare award is his for the taking. Saif Ali has again shown that he has developed into a wonderful actor and ready to take on the bigger "Khans" in the industry. Sunjay Dutt, as a mass appeal police inspector gets a fantastic role, one that not only suits him but also wherein he delivers a realistic and a good police officers performance. jackey in a negative role in the film is good. The cute Vidya Balan, may not have got as much screen time as Parineeta, but she still does a good job in the movie in whatever time she got. The same cannot be said about Raima sen though, who it has to be said does not suit the film and its role.(she better stick to the glamour roles only)
Overall:
An excellent movie. One thats set in the periods but will capture the imagination of all. Both half's are good, although the ending could have been better(more like a run of the mill bollywood ending, whereas the film certainly is not run of the mill.)
Must Watch for the Big B, must watch for the master story telling, must watch cos its gonna be a hit.
Rating: 8/10
Official Website: Eklavya The Royal Guard..........Official Site
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