Eklavya - The Royal Guard (Vinod Chopra, 2007)

[sandeep]

Just 1 hour 45 minutes?
That’s right. At the very onset Vidhu Vinod Chopra was clear that to keep the action thriller mode of the film interesting enough, the film’s length has to be only around 100 minutes. This is why the film is a short and sweet cinematic experience that would keep you on the edge of your seats throughout.

[X.]

Are there any songs?

Then minus 15 minutes, yeah?

[X.]

Oh, I understand Chopra gave Bachchan a gift: a Rolls Royce.

I'd sell my entire DVD collection just to sit with him, and have it cruise through the slums of Mumbai, as hungry kids run after us waving their hands and screaming, "Food food" which the Big B inteprets as "Oh, I know you're my Fans, why say it twice?"

[kaytee]

Just got back from Eklavya and I have to say that it was very dissappointing. Vidhu Vinod Chopra has made a decent effort but his script lets him down big time. The movie would have been perfect for a short movie of 30-45 mins max. He has stretched it to 120 mins which gets tiresome. Here are the +'s and -'s:

Plus:
1) The excellent teaser of Munnabhai Chale Amerika. Glad to see Sanjay Dutt and Arshad Varsi back. They having a conversation between each other on how to translate Hindi to English and this was one of the lines.
In Hindi: Khushi ke maare mera seena phul gaya
In English: Out of happiness my chest turned into breast
2) Saif Ali Khan and Amitabh's scenes together. I could have never imagined Saif to hold his own in front of AB Sr. but he did an excellent job in the penultimate scene.
3) Sanjay Dutt - Why didnt he get more to do in the film, he was so convincing as the cop but alas didnt get much screen time.
4) Only one small song in the movie but that does not matter as it has no connection to the movie as always.

Minus:
1) Short story stretched too long.
2) Overacting by Boman Irani and Jackie Shroff. Boman Irani was unconvincing as the king and he kept yelling for no damn reason.
3) The love story angle between Vidya Balan and Saif was unrequired and that took a lot of unrequired senti scenes and waste of time.
4) Teaser of Talismaan - Amitabh playing Gandalf and this claims to be Bollywood's Lord of the Rings. The teaser was horrible and AB Sr. looked very weird.

Clearly I have spoken of everything else but the movie so you can have a guess of how the movie would be.

Skip this as you wont be missing anything.

[shariqq]

My take tomorrow. Sandeep is already giving this a thumbs up...

[kaytee]

I can see why Sandeep gave the thumbs up, but I rather cut my thumbs (that is a good movie reference)

Shariq make sure you are in early or you'll miss the teasers.

[shariqq]

gotcha.

[kaytee]

Oh and another positive bit of the movie it the excellent location of the movie. The palace in Rajasthan is breathtaking and there are so many shot of the palace that the movie could have been called the Haveli.

[sandeep]

I can see why Sandeep gave the thumbs up, but I rather cut my thumbs (that is a good movie reference)

Shariq make sure you are in early or you'll miss the teasers.

Hehe... so what is it that made me like the movie...?

Here goes...

As soon as the movie opened, the ambiance was set... a little bit of history of 'Eklavya' follows the present day Devigarh palace, where a death has taken place and the prince is summoned...

As scenes progressed, one felt as if a series of paintings were being unveiled on screen, so rich was the cinematography and direction...

The story was simple, and appealed to me, what does one do in the face of a moral dilemma? Follow one's dharma (moral duty) as set out by society and culture? or redefine duty to suit what one's conscience dictates?

I called the film 'a visual masterpiece, a gripping medium paced 120 minute thriller, with excellent performances, story and dialogue' and stand by it... for once I totally agree with Taran Adarsh's review, not because he simple liked the film and recommends it, but because he appreciates the quality it represents...

http://www.indiafm.com/movies/review/12558/index.html

4/5

p.s. The trailer of Munna Bhai Chaley Amrika was hilarious, but the jokes were ones we have read or heard before... but the look and feel seems in keeping with what the first 2 movies have offered.

Talisman seemed like a good attempt to break in 'The Lord of Rings' type category for India, but more needs to be seen on how good or bad it is...

[kaytee]

***Major Spoilers Ahead***

The story was simple, and appealed to me, what does one do in the face of a moral dilemma? Follow one's dharma (moral duty) as set out by society and culture? or redefine duty to suit what one's conscience dictates?

Yes the direction and cinematography was good, but it the story that falters big time for me. VVC should have had the balls to stick with what he preached from the start. If Eklavya's moral duty was to serve his King then he should have killed the person responsible for getting the king killed and not get all senti just coz his son was involved or just cause of revenge when the king killed the queen. If Eklavya was that moral then how come he didnt go against the king when he stole the land from the farmers. Or does that not matter to him coz he is not affected by it? How can Vidya Balan forgive Saif as he got her father killed? Is she that forgiving? All BS.
That is why I didnt enjoy the movie. Otherwise the movie was beautiful to look at and the acting was excellent but the story again had no courage to go against the bollywood norm.

[sandeep]

***Major Spoilers Ahead***

Why Vidya Balan's father was shot, who shot him and why was it necessary didn't make sense to me... Did Saif ask for him to be shot, was it a decision taken on the spot by Jackie and Jimmy as they were against Boman and anyone who served him... It isn't clear... that should have been made more clear...

Why Amitabh didn't shoot Saif in the end is because Saif was going to kill himself as penance for the death of Vidya's father. He didn't feel any remorse for killing his own father, because his own father killed his mother... Thats the crux of the movie, that Saif redefined his dharma, and was willing to die for it. Amitabh had to redefine his dharma, which he did in the end. The farmers issue were not Amitabh's, he is a guard, and cannot interfere with the King's decision, he just has to guard the King's life, NO MATTER HOW GOOD OR EVIL THE KING IS...

As for the message, its brought up repetitively that Amitabh had this war going on in his conscience to call Saif and Raima his children, but couldn't because he was bound by Dharma and status of being a mere guard. He performed his duty to the King by giving his seed to the dynasty without question, but to be told that the Queen was killed for performing her duty, challenged his belief of age old dharma, and how it needs to be reinvented in the face of changing times...

I dunno, it really made sense to me, and I think Vidya forgave him because she knew her father's death was not Saif's fault, but he was willing to take responsibility for it, by ending his own life, which is probably what earned respect and trust back in her eyes...

[kaytee]

***Major Spoilers Ahead***

Well that is what gets me. I understand that Saif killed the king aka his sautela dad for killing the queen but if Saif was responsible for the King's death and was ready to kill himself why did AB Sr. have to save or stop him. Wasn't AB Sr. dharma to kill the people who killed the king to start off with. How can he change his 9 years of tradition by letting the person who killed the king live no matter for what reason?

And Vidya Balan forgiving Saif was all dumb. I would have loved to see VVC go the Parinda way, in which killed the main actors of the film and then he shows the brothers revenge. I didn't see that revenge in this movie.

[shariqq]

I am quite mixed in my reaction to this movie - mainly because of the baggage that the director's name carries when it comes up on screen before the feature starts. VVC is a name to look forward to if you follow Indian Cinema, whether as Producer or as Director - and especially as director. After all, this is the man who gave us Kareeb, and before that 1942: A Love Story, and before that Parinda, and before that Khamoshi! But if you notice the pattern, this man started on the highest note and has only declined. Although his latest is not his best, especially given to believe what he could have accomplished, it still rises over contemporary *Bollywood* cinema (I don't count Bharadwaj in that list and Santoshi is an exception).

The movie starts by telling us who Eklavya was in Hindu Mythology, and lays the question: Was Eklavya's sacrifice in the name of Dharma (Moral Duty) right?

Eklavya (AB) plays the royal guard of the present-day King (Boman Irani) of a small Rajashthani town. When his Moral Duty is called into question, he has to make the choice between blindly following his Moral Duty or redefining what Dharma is. His dilemma is created mainly due to the presence of Kunwar Saif Ali Khan (Prince) and Kunwar Jackie Shroff (King's younger Brother).

Even for a little less than 2hrs, the movie trudges at a slow pace. The breathtaking visuals help to not ever let boredom set in, coupled with another outstanding performance by Saif Ali Khan. His brooding self-justified Kunwar is anchored in his own interpretation of a *new-age* Dharma that he preaches to redefine for Eklavya.

Being a little gutless, VVC does slip in the make-believe factor during the climax in an otherwise realistic movie. Yet his technique builds up enough positives that the end-result is stays well above the satisfaction line. A grateful/thankful performance from Jacki Shroff does not help, but Sanjay Dutt chews that off by stealing scenes even off from Ab. Boman Irani, Vidya Balan, Raima Sen, Parikhist Sahini are fill-ins.

Over time, the movie might be reduced to one of academic interest only in the Director's filmography, but could be just a little more for the major actors.

My Rating ---> 3.5 of 5


SPOILER **highlight to read**

Gutless VVC? Yes. He should have let AB kill Saif. And then, for the rest of his days, live in the eternal guilt of killing his son & in the Moral Dilemma of whether he FOLLOWED Dharma, or DEFIED Dharma. That would be a really awesome closing. I don't think it is for VVC to decide if Eklava (of Myths) did the right or wrong thing.

[kaytee]

I definitely agree with your spoiler and that not happening ruined the whole movie for me.

[sandeep]

***Major Spoilers Ahead***

So, AB was damned for providing the seed, and he should damn himself forever in the name of an age old dharma which isn't relevant now? I don't agree. As the movie clearly explains, DHARMA was always meant to be a progressive concept, and to listen to one's conscience, if it brings unhappiness to all concerned, where is it right? I guess our views differ extremely on this movie...