It breaks my heart to say this because so much talent and sweat is involved but Mohenjo Daro is a mess. It has ambition and scale. At best, the film works as unintentional comedy.
I’m sure that director Ashutosh Gowariker started with a grand vision – a historical set in 2016 BC – essentially Amar Chitra Katha meets 300 meets Baahubali.
We are introduced to the noble and handsome Sarman who can kill a crocodile. Sarman seems like a regular village hero with a sidekick named Hojo – perhaps inspired by Hodor in Game of Thrones. Except that he dreams of a one-horned animal and is desperate to see the big city – Mohenjo-daro. Soon he makes his way there. Before you know it, Sarman and Chaani, the priest’s daughter, are making eyes at each other.
When Sarman gets too problematic, Maham ( the villian) throws him into an arena with oversized, dreadlocked warriors called Bakar-Zokar. Their fight sequence is the highlight of the film. As is A. R. Rahman’s fantastic music. The rest of it veers between bewildering and bad.
In an interview, Ashutosh had requested viewers to suspend disbelief when they see the film. I really tried. But it didn’t work for me. Really! for me the movie was a disaster.