Bramhastra
This post is quite delayed, I wasn't really sure if I am ever going to post it but what the heck, here I am.
It was really disappointing to see the 2 most interesting plots that could have been a turning point for the Indian Hindi cinema to show case the Ancient Indian Culture in a larger than life manner only if the the direction, dialogue & story writing were given more thought and bit more sincere efforts were put into them.
No that the efforts were not there but could have been way better considering that if I can see it lacking then these experienced directors, script writers must certainly know it well. Here is my take on one of the 2 plots I mentioned earlier
Bramhastra, the very first movie in fantasy genre that relates to Indian mythology/ancient history; the plot was interesting but the presentation, direction, play writing, dialogues & special effects could have been so much better. I am tempted to say about the choice of actors as well but the production house has its lucky charms to follow or is it that they are scared of experimenting with the other talent?
I liked the idea, the way the plot was built up but there were a lot of loopholes else the movie would have been certainly bewitching. Just sharing my thoughts as a audience with common sense, with the expectations that the movies and web series must have some logic despite being the stories to entertain people.
I would like to start with the positive, there indeed were some pleasant special effects but that is all that’s pleasant about it.
I was excited about Mr Bachchan's role in this story; I am sure he must have had researched thoroughly for this character but it seems that probably this was not entirely up to him to decide Guruji’s character portrayal on screen. The mystic, the dominance and the charisma that must have been around him(Guruji) was lacking hugely. Too many words, no foreplay, no build up unlike those similar world famous character of Dumbledore or Gandalf. Of course, I expected too much the director & screenplay for Guruji to be dominating the screen.
Dialogues and play writing were another sore spot, the small budget web series are way more realistic and presentable. Did the writer, directors forgot the normal language they themselves speak or did they not notice their surroundings? If the story is set in the current times, it must have the feel of the current times. On the contrary, it was a disappointing mix of the tone and the words that sounded phoney, made up and unnatural to the environment. The tone in Mumbai must have the local Mumbai feel and the language of the learned and those of the critical characters must relate to their identities. Guruji and the intrinsic characters of Bramhansha must be familiar with the old ways and the use of Sanskrit; the hint of some ancient mannerisms & belonging is expected. An Indian mythical characters with ancient connections using urdu words like Shukriya & Qurbani instead of Dhanyawad, Aabhar or Tyaag or other Sanskrit words was such a disappointment. It would have benefitted the dialogue writer(s) to have visited the people living in Haridwar, Rishikesh and many such parts of India where there are ancient temples or places connected to religious and mythological stories of India; they could have taken a hint from the likes of Osho, Satya Sai and the very much alive and famous founder of Isha foundation Sadhguru.
The scientist and the artist who were the guards of the Bramhastra, must be formidable else they wouldn’t be only ones from the secret group Bramhansha to be responsible for guarding something so precious. Their presence felt belittled, the character Junoon too could be louder and vicious to have overcome such formidable opponents.
The flow and connectivity of the story unfolding is uneven, the dialogues between Isha and Shiva lacks logic and connectivity. There is a failed attempt to display the awakening and unnecessary dialogues between them indicating of growing romance. I would have preferred if the character felt more drawn towards each other by not just attraction but something more spiritual and sort of destined. It would be so much better in expressions, only if the screen play was more intended to present the logical flow of the hints, deductions, explorations and discoveries. A nobody, with a happy go lucky attitude must be crazy to have discovered something unbelievable; the disdain reactions of discovery of his visions being the fact was such a disappointment. The excitement, the fury or the disbelief were not as eminent as they would in such a state. This chemistry and the build-up were lacking in the dialogues rather than screen play.
Everyone must have worked hard and it feels really disappointing if the ones related to such a big project were lacking in sincerity. For how long are we going to watch international movies and praise them while the people in industry can themselves make the stories they could be proud of watching themselves.
There is no dearth of the actors to play the desired characters, or the directors who can visualize the story and the scene they want to display. I remember the onscreen magic of the religious mythological stories from the iconic Arvind Trivedi and soft spoken, ever smiling Arun Govil who owned the characters of Ravan and Ram in BR Chopra’s Ramayan; not to forget the humble Hanuman who could only have been play by the beloved Dara Singh. Long story short (not that short considering the length of this blog) , the outcome is not as pleasant as I had expected but I do hope that this will improve with the sequels and if this could become or inspire India’s first ever parallel to the Marvel & DC universe
