Movie Review: Shivaay
Movie Review: ‘Shivaay’
Rating: 3/5
Director: Ajay Devgan
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Sayyeshaa, Erika Kaar, Abigail Eames, Vir Das, Girish Karnad and Saurabh Shukla
Ajay Devgn’s last directorial U Me Aur Hum had bombed terribly. After years once again trying his hands at direction, the actor now comes up with Shivaay.
Sadly, even with his second film, Ajay’s script sense seems to have not improved. Shivaay has been co written by Sandeep Srivastava and Robin Bhatt. Partly, it is them that Devgn must blame for his film turning out to be a bore. First they rip off the basic premiss from Taken, then amp it up dollops of emotional melodrama on father-daughter relations. Unfortunately, they do not confluence well.
There are many scenes in the film which are meant to be tear jerkers but due to bad writing, turn out hilarious. One such scene would be between Anu (Sayyeshaa)and her father.
Also it is quite a big cinematic liberty on the writers’ part to make Shivaay’s character such a heroic, one man army one. It’s hard to believe that a man who’s never stepped out of Himalayas, would so easily shut down a Bulgarian flesh trade racket.
Certain things that could be a problem are, Shivaay mentioning his friend ‘Kancha’ repeatedly. Also, weird dialogues such as “Jin ladkiyon ke achche Baap hote hai unki (ladkon ke liye) talash bohot lambi hojati hai” feel absurd.
Just like the trailer, the locations and cinematography of Shivaay are completely breathtaking.Aseem Bajaj’s camera guides us through tunnels and snow-covered hills. With a little help from the CGI team, he successfully creates an environment where the vast canvas makes the audience anxious. Devgn escalates the excitement with a well-choreographed opening action sequence that sees him doing bungee-jumping, gliding and parachuting. The rising crescendo in the background makes him appear flamboyant, tough, skilled and intimidating.
It is also the moment when Devgn gets carried away. He doesn’t want to let go the initial momentum and keeps stretching the sequence. As a result, the film takes time in arriving to the actual plot. You can occasionally be reminded of Vin Diesel’s xXx, Vertical Limit or The Dark Knight Rises, but proceedings mostly remain under Devgn’s control except when he tries to make space for emotional unfolding.
After beating around the bush for many minutes, Devgn finally gathers the courage to come out of the mountains. He has already set a tone for the narrative by now. The film moves to a new location, but it needs to maintain the same attitude. Shivaay is primarily conceived as an action film. Shiva — the destroyer is dominant than Shiva — the protector. References through names and symbols make it obvious. Plus, Devgn is really good in action sequences.
Shivaay is an Ajay Devgn show all the way. He is literally there in every frame of the film. Although, he rarely gets a chance to show off his acting chops in the midst of all the action. While he seems better in the second half, his act in the love story seems a little childish.
Erika Kaar could have rather spoken in English than the awkward Hindi that we are subjected to. Sayyesha’s role is too small and I’m not sure if Shivaay is the best choice for her debut. She does not get noticed in this role.
Abigail Eames does a good job at emoting stuff since her character is speech impaired. Girish Karnad and Vir Das are extremely unnecessary characters in the film.
After releasing the first logo of the film almost two years in advance, one expected Shivaay to be a masterpiece. Going by what is served, Shivaay comes across as a film with loads of mindless action that is not always well choreographed. One of the chase sequences runs so long that we totally lose interest in it.
Another problem is that while Ajay’s character has so much grit, the antagonists seem too fickle. There is no sadistic pleasure one may get from the climax fight sequence while watching the villain die. The cinematography is one of the best things about the film. Bulgaria looks beautiful yet eerie through Aseem Bajaj’s lens. The Vfx too are done quite decently.
On the music front Bolo Har Har has been overused as a background score. Darkhast makes up for a pleasant hear.
Basically it all boils down to the fact that had the film been a little crisper with its run time, it would have been much enjoyable. The forcefully dragged climax turns into a complete snoozefest.
What begins as a thrilling adventure turns into a self-indulgent experiment. From shaky camera to mafia to corrupt policemen, everything boils down to Devgn’s uncontrollable urge to raze each standing thing to the ground. When you think it’s about to touch a logical end, another twist comes into sight. It keeps dragging in search of an end.
The ingredients are there, but loose ends restrict Shivaay from becoming a smooth ride. Shivaay seems high on never ending action and loud emotion. Visuals don’t fill the void of the missing storyline
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