Rating : ⭐️⭐️1/2
Genre: Fantasy/Mythology
Year: 2022
Running time: 2 hours 40 minutes
Director: Ayan Mukherji
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Mouni Roy, Nagarjuna, Amitabh Bachchan
Kid rating: G
Expectations were high for Brahmastra especially because it’s been in the making for three years and it’s the Indian version of the superpower mythology-based film. Sort of like a cross between Harry Potter and Percy Jackson. So even on a Thursday night 3D IMAX screening, the theater was almost 70% full and there was quite a bit of clapping from the crowd when Shah Rukh Khan made his cameo appearance. For all the hype though, Brahmastra is tolerably entertaining but it falls way, way below my expectations for an Ayan Mukherjee film (Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani, Wake Up Sid).
Shiva (Ranbir) is a DJ. At a temple one day he spies lovely Isha (Alia) and cannot get her out of his mind. Later, he sees her again and makes his move. But while he’s with her he starts to have disturbing visions about a killing. Somehow he can actually see the event as it is happening. Thus begins his introduction to the Brahmansh and the fight for power to obtain the Brahmastra, the most powerful weapon in the universe.
The mythology-based story is actually kinda cool and well spun. The computer graphics and visual effects are also pretty good and have been imagined well. What is missing though is the actual essence of the film. There is no person-to-person connect. The attempts at making us feel for poor orphanage-bred Shiva are so ham-handed it makes me cringe. Shiva and Isha make a lovely pair, but are so flat that I can’t quite care about them. And all the world’s computer graphics can’t fix that!
It almost feels like Karan & Co. were so focused on giving Bollywood it’s first Harry Potter knock-off that they forgot the basics of good film-making. Besides the poor character development and the flat characters, the dialogues are atrocious. The film’s story is inspired by Hindu mythology but the dialogues are so very flippant and Bollywood-ian, shoddy and without any of the gravitas that they should have had.
The film has an excellent star cast, but wastes it spectacularly. Ranbir and Alia, fine actors both, dish out decent performances in spite of the poor material. Ranbir’s character has the meaty part, but Alia’s is just there for the looks. I kept waiting for Isha to turn around and surprise us with super-powers of her own, but alas, she remained just a supportive girlfriend. Mouni Roy was fierce as the villainess! There’s Nagarjuna, Amitabh and Dimple Kapadia playing senior Brahmansh members, although Dimple’s screen-time is minuscule – hopefully she does more in Part 2. The film’s ending does set up very well for part two, which I’ve heard stars Ranveer Singh and Deepika Padukone.
Brahmastra has a great concept but the execution does not match. Minus the fantastical story and the excellent computer graphics, it would’ve been a C grade film. As it is it barely breaks average. It is disappointing that with this kind of material and the great potential, Brahmastra is of such poor quality. Watch it, if you do, for the grand visual imagery and not much else.
Kidwise: Clean apart from a few kisses. Scenes featuring violence.
