Interesting,Spectacular & Good Big Screen Experience despite its flaws! 

Brahmastra Part One-Shiva (2022/ Cinema Release/Action/ Fantasy)

Direction – Ayan Mukherji

Cast – Ranbir Kapoor,Alia Bhatt, Mouni Roy, Amitabh Bachchon, Shahrukh Khan,Nagarjuna. 

Brahmastra attempts something fresh and its vision, scale and efforts are worth applaud. 

It tries its best, accomplishes a lot and sets the balI rolling for interesting sequel stories.

I did enjoy Brahmastra, majorly. But I kept waiting for the highs which were few.And there were many loopholes and lags to mar the effect. 

When I walked out of the theatre, I was actually wondering if we have lost it completely… the ability to revel, relish & feel overwhelmed ? Or is it that the film makers are not being able to match our raised parameters? 

Can’t blame the Brahmastra trailer or songs for raising my expectations. I was not too impressed ever  but still hoped like an eternal optimist. Perhaps the Non- Marvel , Non-SciFi but Mythology Lover in me kept feeding the spark of hope.

I was looking forward to this film because I, for once, wanted to be carried away like my son and hubby when they are in the Marvel world.

Let me explain what worked and what didn’t. 

Shahrukh onscreen was such a potent potion for the heart. But the scene & dialogues were not; quite kiddish in my opinion. 

The love story angle which was so pivotal to the story had a clichéd and amateur introduction, seemed sudden, unconvincing and sans chemistry for the initial part. 

Dialogues were borderline cringe and as a critic rightly pointed out, seemed dubbed. 

The “astras”track was the one that kept the adrenaline flowing and we kept waiting for the lacklustre love story to give way to real action.

For me things started getting better around intermission.

The action, the visuals, the pace , the love, the connect, everything gets better. 

Through out all of this, it was the basic premise, the back story and its intrigue, the missing dots of the puzzle, the mythological references, that kept us hooked . 

When the love angle graduates,Isha becomes a trigger for not only Shiva but also the story and action.Isha and Shiva’s connect and its effect grew gradually but beautifully. 

Performance wise, Alia , Ranbir looked great though nothing outstanding. Might sound strange but I was impressed with Mouni’s negative range. 

Shahrukh was a treat to watch even in that cameo and reminded us of how much we miss him and how he charges up the frames and our moods. 

Wonder what’s the reason Dimple took that blink and you miss role. I mean she has scope of a meatier role in the sequel but this still didn’t make any sense. 

Only one department deserves a severe trashing – the dialogues. Hussain Dalal has done hell of an awful job ! 

Dance ka bhoot chadeya might be peppy for some, but was ill placed and broke the pace.

Love storiyan was melodious and beautiful.

Loved the background tracks in between. They added to the feel. 

While I might not seem too impressed with the film, I thoroughly enjoyed watching it on big screen. It was totally worth it, despite the flaws.

The efforts, the vision, the mythological reference, the scale, the action, the story, the visuals, the cast, they make it worth your while. And the film deserves a watch on big screen for the right experience. 

Definitely looking forward to the sequel, if they are able to go ahead with it & hope they do not take another half-a-decade for it. 

Score 2.5 on 5