I rarely watch new releases first day. But since I had heard much about Ekalavya - The Royal Guard with its multi starcast and Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s return to direction after a long gap, I immediately went in for an advance booking a day before its release. First, this movie was made with Amitabh Bachchan in mind. During the television series "Jeena isika naam hai" on ZEE TV a few years ago, the Big B in his message to Chopra mentioned his desire to work with him. Chopra immediately started planning on how to do justice to the acting talent and megastar status of Bachchan. And thus, after a long term planning with Munna Bhai series scattered in between, Chopra gave birth to his ambitious project.
But Bachchan wasn’t the only reason. Chopra in fact assembled all his proteges and loyals- Sanjay Dutt, Jackie Shroff, Saif Ali Khan, Vidya Balan, Raima Sen and Jimmy Shergill to add to the recipe. So, whats the end result? I won’t call it AWESOME. I would just give it a GOOD. Frankly, the movie is very bollywoodish if you forget Amitabh Bachchan’s character. Particularly, the villains - Jackie Shroff and Jimmy Shergill look like Gulshan Grover and Shakti Kapoor duo with their evil plans. And the romance between Saif Ali Khan and Vidya Balan reminded me so much of Parineeta.
Even though the concept of Ekalavya was well thought of, I donot agree with its cinematic interpretation. Omkara was an entire adaptation of Shakespaere’s Othello into an Indian milieu. The characters were given local flavour and the director remained loyal to the original play to a large extent. "Ekalavya - The royal guard" on the other hand starts with the story of Ekalavya and Dronacharya and how Dronacharya asked for his right hand thumb so that he could not pose any challenge for the royal Arjuna. It took me a long time to understand how the loyalty of Amitabh Bachchan’s character matched with Ekalavya. Why, oh why was the Rani maa Sharmila Tagore so much attached to him - just because he fathered her two children? Chopra should have shown that association between the two in the past. The night(s) of passion and the restrained romance between the two. The building jealousy of Raja Saab that leads to so many events in the movie.
Was chopra too busy to show us how good Amitabh Bachchan is as an actor that he hardly paid any attention to anything else than him and the technical aspects of the movie? The cinematography is awesome. But the movie was limited to the Haveli, a few outdoor locations and thats it. There is this scene at the railway tracks where the Raja saab is killed in the car by his enemies and Ekalavya isnt able to save him as he gets blinded by the sunrays. Too much of technicality went into it. A big herd of camels comes in his way and there is also a fast moving train in the background. The scene is supposed to be tragic. But it did not have the impact that it should have had.
In fact, I personally felt that Chopra was too much in awe of Big B while shooting his scenes. Almost all of them are shot in slow motion enhancing Bachchan’s minutest wrinkles and sweatdrops and teardrops.
Sanjay Dutt’s character is the most lovable character in the movie. He manages to bring smiles in an otherwise very grim movie. He plays a lower caste police inspector investigating the supposed threats to Raja Saab and the subsequent murders. He has great respect for Ekalavya baba. He also has a childhood connection with him. Again, I would not elaborate on this but it did not impress me too much.
Saif Ali Khan who plays Amitabh’s son sleepwalks in the whole movie. He was just about okay. Vidya Balan didn’t have much of a scope. She also is so so. Jackie Shroff, and Jimmy Shergill are wasted.
Raima Sen was surprisingly good. Specially watch out for her in the scenes she has with Saif.
Boman Irani was strictly okay. He plays a comic tragic role I would say. A spineless impotent King who hates Ekalavya because he in spite of being just a guard could do what he couldn’t - sleep with his wife.
Amitabh Bachchan lives his role. He brings across the pain and agony of Ekalavya through his eyes and expressions. Not to talk about his rich baritone voice that resonates in the background even while he narrates the story of Ekalavya when the movie begins. I was impressed with the beginning of the movie. The well known story of Ekalavya being told by Bachchan to a kid and when the kid reacts to the story by saying "Galat tha Ekalavya, wrong tha Ekalavya!" and the effect that had. Somehow guys, I could not relate the concept of Ekalavya even after the climax as it was too bollywoodish.
Please watch the movie and explain to me whether I got it right. This is what I understood:
~ By giving away his thumb to Dronacharya, Ekalavya wasn’t following his dharma. He was just being a plain idiot.
~ Dharma is following what your heart says. What you feel is right. Thats what Saif’s character in the movie echoes. So, he convinces Ekalavya towards the end that just following his loyalty towards the royal family(equivalent to giving away the thumb by the original Ekalavya after whom he is named by his mom) without weighing the pros and cons of their actions, he was ignoring the rational aspects and wasn’t being practical.
At least, thats what I understood. Forgive me for my limited knowledge of cinema and understanding serious subjects like this. Omkara, I repeat was straightforward for me to understand. Ekalavya was a little tangential. Thats the complain I have against VVC. He could have explained things(perhaps by adding more scenes) to help novices like me relate to the concept of Ekalavya and the story he told in today’s era.
Having said so much about the things I didn’t like, there are a lot of things Chopra must be credited for. First, the length of the movie is a litle less than two hours. There is just one song. The direction though not too good or awesome, is good. There are certain scenes which have an impact but there are certain scenes which are strictly mediocre. Overall, its a satisfactory performance from everyone. I have a habit of rooting for blemishes. I’ll tell you what, I only rate a movie very highly when it has an everlasting impact on me. If I wake up in the night to go to the loo and certain scenes of the movie flash through my mind. Or, when I am watching or reading something, I am still marvelling at what I saw the other day. You know, that kind of an I-M-P-A-C-T or punch that stays with you long after you have watched the movie. An expression or a scene. Ekalavya coming from such a team and assembling the best in the business somehow falls short of a class movie. Nevertheless, worth a dekko!
Go ahead and watch it! Inspite of its shortcomings, its definitely better than a Bhagam Bhaag or Dhoom2!