Vidhu Vinod Chopra, who has produced a number of good films in the last few years, including the Munnabhai series, returns to direction after a seven year hiatus with Eklavya: The Royal Guard, a film that pulls together strands from Shakespearean tragedies, the Mahabharata and historical Rajputana to weave a contemporary tale of power and betrayal. Everything one can expect from an epic tale is here – palace intrigue, illegitimate children, brutal murders, class struggle, love, hatred, jealousy and betrayal. The central theme is a play of the concept of “dharma” or the moral underpinnings of duty and conscience. 

Originally titled Yagna: The Fire that Heals, Eklavya is set in a small kingdom, Devigarh, a lost world of a powerful monarchy that rules by unleashing extortion and oppression on its subjects. The contemporary world does not intrude here, except in the form of occasional helicopters and cell phones and wisecracking police officers. The tone and look remains consistently of a world caught in a time warp!

The central character is the aged royal guard, Eklavya, whose family has protected the kings of Devigarh for nine generations. Elkavya’s chief raison d'être is to protect the Devigrah dynasty and the dark secrets that reside within the majestic fort, that’s all he lives for. The narrative starts with the death of Queen Suhasini and the return of her son, Prince Harshawardhan from London. Suhasini’s death reveals one of the palace’s darkest most shameful secrets and sets off a chain of actions that’s ends in brutal violence and bloodshed, eventually reaching a denouement that changes the kingdom and its power equations forever. Several characters play key roles in creating an atmosphere of mystery, intrigue, betrayal and suspense in a plot that centers on Eklavya’s “dharma” being forced to go through an ordeal of fire! 

Does he pass the ordeal in the same manner as the original Eklavya of the Mahabharata did when he cut off his thumb to please his manipulative “guru” Dronacharya, sacrificing the source of his power? Not really! The film ends by questioning retrogressive values and advocating a progressive and modern interpretation of “dharma”. The final message is that “dharma’ should not exist in a time warp; duty does not mean unquestioning acquiescence to a dead or morally corrupt tradition, the true meaning of “dharma” means doing what is right based on existing circumstances. A utilitarian, rational approach that endows the “classic” story with a contemporary touch!

With the stellar caste Chopra has lined up, one would not expect anything but exceptional performances. Unfortunately, the script restricts the characters to mere puppets or plot machinations rather than complex human beings. Most of them remain one-dimensional stereotypes we have seen in cultural representations past and present. Chopra’s talented cast does its best within the limited scope of the roles they have been assigned to, to bring this somber tale to life.

There is nothing new that one say about Amitabh Bachchan in the title role. It is obvious that a great deal of attention is paid to the details of his appearance and costume. But it is his sunken eyes, lined face, exhausted yet forceful gait that evoke the burden Eklavya has carried through his life, the personal sacrifices he has made to keep his lifelong vow to protect the king. Even though the climax does not do justice to the intensity of emotions smoldering within this character, Eklavya is another good performance that can be added to Mr. Bachchan’s illustrious career!

Fresh from his performance in Omkara, Saif Ali Khan proves again the strides he has taken as an actor. Restrained, yet emotive, silent, yet expressive, he turns in a fine performance as Prince Harshavardhan, perhaps the most complex character in the narrative. Sanjay Dutt is on the screen for a very short time as the “lower caste” Pannalal Chohaar, empowered by Indian democracy to reach the rank of police officer. His appearances are fleeting, but targeted at appealing to the masses -- he brings a touch of comedy and lights up the gloomy and dark atmosphere of the film. Boman Irani is required to be a bit over the top as the repulsive King Jayawardhan which he does effectively. Jackie Shroff and Jimmy Shergill in negative roles are good, as is Parikshit Sahni in a small supportive role. Women are secondary in this film that primarily focuses on the power politics of a male world and patriarchal notions of honor, tradition and duty. Sharmila Tagore as Rani Suhasini, the dead queen who is the heart and soul of the story is more iconic than a real character. Vidya Balan as Harshavardhan’s supportive and forgiving love interest Rajjo, is natural and spontaneous, but her role is limited to a few scenes. Raima Sen as the mentally challenged Princess Nandini is not given enough scope to get under the skin of the character and comes across as an irritatingly overgrown child rather than a tragic figure. 

The film’s real strength lies in its aesthetics. Every aspect of the film – camera angles, lighting, sets, costumes, make up, art direction, background score, lyrics, is perfect! The cinematography is spectacular! Every single frame of this visually stunning film proves Chopra’s attention to detail. The highlights of the film are a few amazing sequences like the rendition of Shakespeare’s sonnets prior to a Othello-Desdemona like murder at the beginning, the blindfolded dagger throwing in the pool and the murders of Jayawardhan in the midst of running camels near a railway crossing, Udaywardhan in the darkened screening room and Jyotiwardhan being thrown at the moving train.

However, beautiful as the move in its entirety is, I was personally disappointed with it. I felt that the superior craftsmanship and sense of aesthetics are not balanced with a taut script, tight editing, strong plot and character development. If Chopra had paid as much attention to the content as he did to the form, Eklavya could have been a cinematic masterpiece. Form on its own can never be a substitute for content, nor can it stand on its own. When the mood is so dark, action so infrequent, dialogues so inadequate, even the best of form cannot be fully appreciated. Both the multi-layered plot structure and the angst-ridden characters that populate this dysfunctional world had the potential for developing into a compelling tragedy of human flaws, but Chopra does not take that path. He focuses all his resources on the externalities, on creating an atmosphere. The end result is a magnificent shell that is hollow and brittle to the core! It is the Grecian Urn in all its static beauty, peopled by a set of engraved figurines, frozen forever in time. 

However, despite its flaws, Eklavya is both interesting and different. Fortunately, the director has kept the length short enough to hold the audience captive to the twists and turns of the narrative, (though to be absolutely honest, at times one felt like prodding the director to move on with the story!). Though it falls short of the high expectations it arrived with, it is definitely several notches above some of the tripe that’s gets churned out every Friday! Definitely worth a watch!