Dharma Cola. Review on Eklavya: The Royal Guard

What is dharma(duty)? Is it the constricted definition passed down from the Mahabharata ages in the form of Eklavya’s story(who cut his thumb to please his pseudo-master), where we celebrate the horrifyingly unjust demand for sacrifice only because it sounds righteous and appeases the base moral instinct? Or, is there a leeway where your own brain and circumstances can carve out not your thumb but a practical path of reconciliation? Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s latest directorial venture Eklavya-The Royal Guard, after a long seven year hiatus, tackles this pricky dilemma and questions the value and relevance of Eklavya’s sacrifice.

The film centres around Eklavya(Amitabh Bachchan), the royal guard of a fictitious Rajasthani princely state Devigarh, where a terrifying secret about the parentage of the prince Harsh(Saif Ali Khan) and his mentally challenged twin sister Nandini(Raima Sen) is buried beneath the thick walls of the fort. Once the queen(Sharmila Tagore in a guest appearance) is murdered by the jealous king(Boman Irani), the events start to unfold leading to a climax where the fulcrum of duty oscillates between the two principal characters Eklavya and Harshvardhan.

Other characters that add to the story are the king’s younger brother Jyotivardhan(Jackie Shroff), his son Uday(Jimmy Sheirgill) and a police inspector Pannalal(Sanjay Dutt) who is in awe of Eklavya.

The director’s challenge to the timeless definition of dharma is presented well. A large posse of principal characters is positive in essence, which is a great relief. And the direction is consistent, and the pace even.

But what mars the film is its extremely heavy atmosphere, which relentlessly doesn’t provide any respite, despite a hesitant romantic interlude between the prince and the driver’s(Parikshit Sahni) daughter Rajjo(Vidya Balan). The second weak aspect is the screenplay where the movement from the first scene to the last is essentially zilch; once the characters are introduced the film could have moved to its climax without anything in-between either holding story value or aesthetic interest or entertainment. In that respect even the short running time(its just close to two hours) seems exorbitantly long especially the tedious second half! For a story of this kind, there isn’t any intricate interweaving of events and characters, which could have made the film’s appeal richer. Finally, the drama lacks the requisite punch.

There are several other minor flaws for example, the fort is surprisingly devoid of any other servants or helpers; or the language, which has no trace of the local dialect.

However, what saves the film are two huge positives a) Amitabh Bachchan he breathes a scalding intensity into Eklavya’s forlorn character, tucking in every nuance and shade, and leaving no ungainly folds or loose ends. His body language is taut like a bow while his facial expressions are fluid and vivid. Hell, even the veins on his forehead emote out his anguish and pain; and b) KS Natarajan’s absolutely stunning cinematography each shot is a painstakingly executed picture postcard capturing the rugged Rajasthani territory. The shot involving a thousand camels running amok in front of a running train is enormously scintillating.

Other actors put their best mask forward Saif Ali Khan’s new found acting capabilities are put to good use. Sanjay Dutt delights in the only slightly lighter role. Boman Irani is as ever effective. Jackie Shroff and Jimmy Sheirgill add value. However, Vidya Balan gets her third consecutive(after Guru, Salaam-E-Ishq) inconsequential role, and she acts as if she is doing a great favor to the film!

Sharmila Tagore is actually wasted in the small role, and that is a shame. And what was Mita Vashisht doing in that single scene she gets?

Except for a few lines of the lullaby Chanda re chanda re, the film is song-less. But the background score is neat.

In totality, the film is not for those seeking weekend entertainment. Even as a film it remains largely at an average plane and fails to lift itself to glorious height.

Overall: Average, but worth one viewing for sure esp. for Big B’s superb performace!