By Krishna Kant
Insight:
An Indian mountaineer named Shivaay, takes her daughter, Gaura, to Bulgaria, so that she can meet her mother, Olga, who left them a few years back. While trying to trace her back, Shivaay encounters people involved in the flesh-trade and organ-trade business and becomes a part of it as his daughter is kidnapped by these men. Now, Shivaay needs to go on a warrior’s journey, in order to save her daughter. Can he save her?
Buzz:
Ajay shares his first on-screen kiss with Erika Kaar(Polish Actress, debut in Bollywood) in the movie. Sayesha Saigal(grand niece of the legendary Saira Banu) makes her Hindi cinema debut with the movie. This is Ajay Devgn’s highest budgeted movie till date.
What to anticipate:
At the very onset, besides smoking chillum and killing the villain with a trishul-shaped icicle, there is no such relevance to Lord Shiva. I mean, when Olga asks Shivaay, if he has anything else related to Lord Shiva than just the name, he replies by showing three tattoos related to Lord Shiva and she stands impressed. I mean..Really?
A young Bulgarian student comes on a mountaineering trip and she has nothing better than falling in love with the first mountaineer she sees. So much so that they even have a love scene while hanging for their lives. Then again, the part where, Shivaay asks Olga to remain there for 9 months, bear his child and go after that.. saying that he never had anyone before or after him. Seriously.. WTF? Is there any logic whatsoever to this?
You logic and sense to reality shall have a trip, when in the first scene of the movie, Shivaay back flips from a cliff and slides to the middle, only to hang by a cave and then slide again to reach the end of the mountain. The other part where an avalanche cannot pass a crevasse and affect others is also hilarious. He, literally, defies all logics of mountaineering and gravity.
The movie takes ‘Bollywood’ head on, with its stunts, overly extended and useless scenes, including emotional ones.
Shivaay is the Indian version of Taken and Ajay is our Liam Neeson with not one, but several glitches. I mean, you can’t just learn the art of fighting and beat up as many come in your way or go to a fight fully prepared and without any guns. That’s just too much heroic!
And be the young mountaineering girls or Olga or even Sayesha, everyone falls in love with Ajay. Is he that charming?
The extended bath tub scene of Sayesha Saigal, imagining Shivaay in the frame of his father (Girish Karnad) has strong Oedipal connections and seems unnecessary. If not anything, it would have saved a lot of time in the never-ending movie. Also, the role of Vir Das has serious undertones.
Ajay Devgn fails miserably as a director and the movie could have been slightly better if Ajay Devgn could have just stuck with the acting. What’s funny is Shivaay asking Olga, if she had such beautiful mountains in Bulgaria. Why? Because they were shooting in Bulgaria!
If nothing, Abigail Eames as the mute daughter does some good acting in the movie. Also, the bonding between father and daughter, as in Shivaay and Gaura has been beautifully portrayed.
Trailer