Sanajy Leela Bhansali assisted Vidhu Vinod Chopra for 8 years. but finally, chopra himself reminds of bhansali’s canvas and aura in EKLAVYA, which is possibly his biggest project in terms of budget, star cast, grandeur, and yes expectations! **Vibrant costumes, mammoth sets, loud narrative. feels something familiar, na?
EKLAYVYA is inordinately loud at times, but settles down finely in the end. the climax, is thankfully not tragic and the films ends on a happy note just at the right time. **Chopra succeeds in creating the requisite thrill and a bona fide "twist-in-the-tale" that makes this surreal tale even more enthralling.
Amitabh bachchan is flawless in a role written especially for him [ though he does remind of his angry young man image occaionally ]. Saif Ali Khan - the actor has left Saif - the english accented pataudi miles behind. EKLAVYA is a worthy follow-up after OMKARA. and dare I say, he was better than Amitabh. JAGGU DADA and SANJU BABA make a mark while VIDYA BALAN and BOMAN IRANI were passable but below expectations.
though it doesn’t entertain you stereotypically, EKLAVYA is still a treat to watch for all the SANJAY LEELA BHANSALI FANS, even if CHOPRA is not your draw. Watch it for the stunning visuals atleast.
final rating - 1/2
P.S. - don’t forget to leave a comment anyways.
cheers