Eklavya'
UK Rated: 12A
Runtime: 107min 31secs
Tagline: The Royal Guard.
Written & Directed by: Vidhu Vinod Chopra
Writing Credits: Abhijeet Joshi

Plot Outline
Contemporary India. A majestic fort. A royal dynasty that no longer rules. A king without a kingdom. Yet Eklavya [Amitabh Bachchan], their royal guard, lives in a time warp. He lives only to protect the fort, the dynasty and the king. For nine generations, Eklavya’s family has protected Devigarh, a centuries old citadel in Rajasthan. Eklavya has spent his entire life serving the royals and closely guarding their secrets, but now he’s getting old and increasingly blind.

Unable to cope with the suffocating customs of his land, the heir, Prince Harshwardhan [Saif Ali Khan], has stayed away in London. But the sudden demise of the queen, Rani Suhasinidevi [Sharmila Tagore], forces the Prince back to the kingdom he had left behind. The Prince’s return brings a rush of joy into the moribund fort. His mentally challenged twin sister, Princess Nandini [Raima Sen] and his childhood love, Rajjo [Vidya Balan] are delighted to see him. But the joy of reunion is short-lived.

There is unrest in the kingdom: Farmers are being stripped of their lands. The king, Rana Jaywardhan [Boman Irani], influenced by his brother, Rana Jyotiwardhan [Jackie Shroff], supports the atrocities being forced upon the helpless peasants. The king receives a death threat over the phone. An irreverent police officer, Pannalal Chohar [Sanjay Dutt], is called in to investigate. But he might be too late. The fragile peace of the land is suddenly shattered by a barrage of bullets. And amidst the mayhem, the safely guarded secrets of the fort are unveiled.

Review:
The first thing that stands out & worth mention is that it has only the one song, Chanda Re, which could be removed, that said it doesn't hinder the pace really, there are ample other things that seem manage that. For a short Bolly-flick (under 2 hours), it really didn't need an intermission for a start, in fact, it seemed to be structured as one piece as opposed to two anyway, (unlike most Bolly-flicks) so re-iterating intermission - pointless.

The story was pretty engaging and supreme talents were enacting the roles yet it still lacked pace, for such a short film this is kindof worrying. This may just be because I watched it really late at night (23:30 show), but I found it was too wordy. Too much chit-chat between the royal family. Well on the bright side, the fort, the costumes and design of sets & action have been given much detailed attention & this certainly shows. Everything 'looks' absolutely amazing. The action too was top-notch, the narrative even included the odd twist & turn that I didn't see coming, but I felt a lack of build-up to these parts and this lets it down hugely. This said, the pre-climax has a moment or two where you're unsure what might follow & this deserves special mention as a plus. It would have been interesting to see the other outcome of this as an alternative ending perhaps (though this may just be me).

I won't fault any of the performances. they were all spot on - but one man took away all the applause from the crowd (myself inclusive) .. & nope its not Amitabh Bachchan in the principal role as most people may expect. In fact its Sanjay Dutt, in a small bit part as the police inspector in two scenes, he manages to steal the show. If I go watch this again, it will be merely for the action & Mr. Dutt

Spectacular visually, keeping your eyes glued, but lacks pace at times, leeting your mind wander. (6 out of 10)