Director-writer Vidhu Vinod Chopra disappoints in one of the year’s most eagerly awaited film. With a storyline that plays out like an epic Greek tragedy rife with scandal, deceit, murder, mayhem, vengeance, and performances that simply beg for awards, Vinod Chopra squanders the opportunity by being self-indulgent and pretentious.

Eklavya is an aging royal guardsman to the now-defunct monarchy of Devigarh, whose nominal head, King Jayawardhan is shown at the onset of reels passionately choking the life out of his ailing wife while his retarded daughter watches in stupefied silence. The Queen dies whispering Eklavya’s name.

Death of the queen signals the return of the prodigal son, Prince Harshwardhan, who learns a secret or two that have been hidden from him since birth. Events are acclerated as greed breeds enmity, and knives are drawn against unsuspecting targets. Deaths are inevitable, and so is vengeance in this dark and brooding tale that feels overdrawn even at a mere 100 minutes.

Two noteworthy scenes - one involving a flying pigeon and a blindfolded Eklavya, and another, the climactic sequence that involves Eklavya, a no-gooder and a moving train, are simply jaw-dropping.

In a film that revolves around Amitabh’s Eklavya, it was highly unnecessary to pepper the remainder of the cast with likes of such talents as Boman Irani, Sanjay Dutt, Vidya Balan etc. But to be fair, the cast have turned in terrific turns despite their brief roles.

Boman Irani as the mad-with-vengeance monarch Jayawardhan delivers the requisite complexity to his role without going overboard. Sanjay Dutt as the lovable cop ACP Chauhar is a riot. Saif Ali Khan is suitable restrained as the conflicted Prince Harshwardhan. Vidya Balan, Jackie Shroff and Jimmy Shergill lend able support.

Now to the major role - Amitabh Bachchan as Eklavya is totally in character from the word go, but has not delivered anything exemplary. He is a veteran of his craft, and as such, plays out his character as required by the script, but there are no individualistic quirks or ticks that would render him unique. He is good but not mind blowing.

Camerawork is exemplary with favourable support from music and art direction. Production values are top-notch. Editing could’ve used a bit of supervising, and the writing could’ve done with a bit of tweaking.

Film has the feel of a Shakespearean play and features heavy exposition that would’ve been at home on a stage rather than the screen.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra is a highly regarded director in Bollywood, and therefore will retain that respect inspite of personal projects like EKLAVYA.

VERDICT: EKLAVYA is not a bad film, but is not a film that I can recommend either.

DURATION: 100 mins.
CAST: Amitabh Bachchan, Saif Ali Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Vidya Balan
DIRECTOR: Vidhu Vinod Chopra