What's Behind
Brahmastra Part 1 Shiva directed by Ayan Mukherji is the most awaited film in the Indian film industry. The film's star cast Alia Bhatt,Ranbir Kapoor,Amitabh Bachchan, Nagarjuna, and the cameo of Shah Rukh Khan increased the curiosity levels. Karan Johar, being one of the Brahmastra producers, the film is made on a whopping budget of more than Rs 400crs. Rajamouli associating with Brahmastra generated immense hype and tremendous interest not only down south but across the country. The film is releasing on September 9 in a grand manner amidst the boycott brigade vociferously targeting it. Let us see whether Brahmastra blew away movie lovers with its extravaganza.
Story Review
Brahmastra is all about a youngster Shiva who is blessed with superpowers. Shiva (Ranbir Kapoor) is a DJ and he falls for pretty girl Isha (Alia Bhatt). However he often experiences mysterious happenings and when he finds out that a renowned scientist Mohan Bhargava (Shah Rukh Khan) ended his life and committed suicide and comes to know that what he is seeing in his dreams is turning true, he goes on a mission to save Anish Shetty (Nagarjuna) and in turn finds out about Guru (Amitabh Bachchan) and his organization Brahmansh. How Shiva is connected to Mohan Bhargava, Anish Shetty, Guru, and Junoon (Mouni Roy) forms the backbone of Brahmastra.
Artists, Technicians Review
The story of Brahmastra seems to have been inspired by Hindu mythology. Director Ayan Mukherji worked a lot on various astras like Agneyastra, Prabhastra, Nandiastra, etc. He tried to create his own astraverse and decided to Indianise with Hindu mythology drawing inspiration from Marvel series and other Hollywood hit films. He roped in top stars like Shah Rukh Khan, Amitabh Bachchan, and Nagarjuna for important cameos and wove a web around the lead pair Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt. Though the idea excites all on paper, he failed in his execution.
Instead of concentrating on the strong script and story, he concentrated more on the extravagant usage of graphics and VFX. This in turn gave viewers the experience of watching a video game on the big screen. He at times went overboard in various aspects and missed many logics. One such logic is he showed the Astra of Brahma going on to create destruction and this may hurt the feelings of the majority of people. The story makes viewers resemble the hit film Karthikeya 2. Just like in Karthikeya 2 where the protagonist goes to various parts across the country to get various objects and arrive at the final solution, in Brahmastra also hero goes on to various parts to save people and get various astras.
Director Ayan Mukherji for all his hard work failed with his screenplay and direction. The romantic scenes between Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt may appeal to few but they acted as the speed breakers. Narration slowed at times and after the first half ends with an interesting interval bang and the second half goes on and on and on and people are left to wonder whether one gets an exciting prelude to the second part like Baahubali, why Kattappa killed Baahubali. But noting of such sorts happens and it ends on a simple note with a lead to the second part.
Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt tried their best to carry the film on their shoulders. Ranbir Kapoor is good in some scenes and okayish in the rest. Alia Bhatt just passed through the motions. However, it is the cameos of the top stars that thrilled viewers. The story starts with Shah Rukh Khan and he excites all with his dialogues and screen presence. Nagarjuna made a powerful impact but he got only a limited screen presence compared to Shah Rukh Khan and Amitabh Bachchan. Nagarjuna made his presence felt and one gets a feeling that he should have gotten more screen time. Amitabh Bachchan made a lasting impression in the film. He looked young, slim, and trim. But one feels, whether he is hale or healthy or got affected due to covid.
Multiple people handled the cinematography and thus at times variations are seen in many scenes. The makers used extensive graphics and people are left to wonder whether the story demands such usage. Prakash Kurup's editing left a lot to be desired. There are many drags and repetitions in the scenes which impacted the film for all the visual extravaganza. Songs tuned by Pritam are ok and the background score of Simon Franglen just passed through the motions and at times went overboard and loud. Production values are good.
Advantages
Ø Presence of top stars
Disadvantages
Ø Missing emotions
Ø Screenplay, Direction
Ø Writing
Ø Lack of connectivity
Ø Extensive usage of VFX
Ø Similarities to Hollywood films
Rating Analysis
Altogether, Brahmastra missed the emotions everything looks ordinary as the story fails to take off to new heights. Ayan Mukherjee with his Brahmastra went on a mission to create his own version of Astraverse popular in Hollywood. Though his idea is good and he tried to embed the modern-day universe with Hindu mythology, he missed many points in his attempt to create a visual extravaganza. Visual effects are overdone and instead of concentrating on it, he should have paid attention to the strong story, tightening the script and including more twists and thrills. Ayan Mukerjee seems to have gotten carried away with his emotional connection to Brahmastra and in turn, missed connecting chords with the viewers. He failed in his execution as everything turned out to be a sheer exaggeration. Considering all these aspects, Cinejosh goes with a 2.0 rating for Brahmastra Part 1 Shiva.