'Drona' Groan-aaa!

Starring : Abhishek Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Kay Kay Menon, Jaya Bachchan
Director : Goldie Behl

Gentleladies and men. Please make way for our new local superhero – Indiana Drones. Mind you, he doesn’t embark on any trivial mission like the search for the Holy Grail. Drona fights to save nothing less than the entire srishti.

As you must have rightly guessed, director Goldie Behl lets his imagination run amok in Drona . He pieces together a visual spectacle full of mind-numbing special effects and a zillion poses of a sword-wielding Abhishek Bachchan trying hard to stand gracefully against the strong desert winds. And that’s pretty much what ‘Drona’ is all about. Visuals, and visuals, and some more visuals. Story and script may go to hell. Or still better, to the asuras.

‘Drona’ tells a tale of a clan of warriors who have been protecting the supreme secret of the elixir of life – the amrit that was churned out by the gods but has been sought by the asuras (demons) since forever. Drona is the title of the main person who guards the secret.

Now, cut to the present day Prague where Aditya lives a thankless existence until one day he – guided by a hovering rose petal – finds an ancient bracelet in his cupboard and puts it on. Coincidentally, a devious magician Riz Raizada ( Kay Kay Menon ) visits the city for his show and spots Aditya and recognizes him as a potential Drona, the only person who knows (or could know) the secret place where the amrit is hidden.

You see, Riz is the modern asura who wants to be immortal by gulping down the holy amrit. And Drona is the man who possesses its secret.

Before Aditya can figure out why the heck this queer-looking magician is so interested in him (pun unintended), enters Sonia ( Priyanka Chopra ) who kicks a few butts and protects Aditya from the magician’s men. Aditya is then told about his real identity – that he is the next Drona.

Voila. So, our superhero-in-waiting flies home to Pratapgarh to take charge of his duties as the protector of the pious secret. But the evil Riz catches up with him fast. What follows is a battle between Drona and Riz, the good and the evil. And you don’t have to be an Einstein to figure out who will win this battle.

Many things don’t click in ‘Drona’. For one, Abhishek Bachchan is a poor choice to play the title role. No doubt he can act, but he doesn’t have the body and its suppleness to play the part of a warrior. A Hrithik Roshan or Akshay Kumar might have done wonders to the role, while Abhishek looks stilted in his Drona suit and is visibly uptight when he wields the sword. His sword-to-sword combat with the magician in the end is without any spark.

Priyanka Chopra – playing Drona’s shadow and protector – looks fetching in her unique outfit with a special head-gear and foot-gear. Though her role doesn’t demand exceptional histrionics, she does look convincing doing the action scenes.

Kay Kay Menon makes a caricature out of his character with his over-the-top performance. This performance stands conspicuously low in the career of an otherwise superb actor. Jaya Bachchan has a small role and is reduced to a stone statue for the most part of the story.

Goldie Behl may have intended to make an interesting film for kids and adults, but he fails to give ‘Drona’ a right shape. He seems over-fixated to make the film visually spectacular. One special effect after another is hammered into your head as if the director wants to exhibit his skill and imagination, which, alas, is borrowed from a number of films from Spielberg’s ‘Indiana Jones’ to Zhang Yimou’s ‘Hero’.

Consequently, ‘Drona’ ends up a boring, botched-up, soulless film with below-average music and sub-standard performances.

‘Drona’ released on October 3rd, 2008

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Welcome To Sajjanpur

No item girls here. No phoren locations. Just a small, dusty hamlet named Sajjanpur where an aspiring novelist Mahadev ( Shreyas Talpade ) makes his living by writing letters for the illiterate village folk. And what a splendid rustic lot they are!............more

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'1920' -Scary in scraps'

Vikram Bhatt’s horror movie ‘1920’ doesn’t leave you zombied. But it does scare you enough to have a few sweaty, sleepless hours when you hit the bed at night.The movie derives its title from the year it’s set in, when huge mansions (in present-day Yorkshire)............more

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'Rock On'

No matter if you’re a rocker or no-rocker – this is one movie you shouldn’t miss. Even if you have an ingrained aversion to the jarring sounds of the distortion-guitars and keep a safe audible distance from anything with a semblance of rock, you should still watch this flick............more

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'Bachna Ae Haseeno'

Friends, it’s Independence for Yashraj Films from its jinxed series of sub-standard films that has by now dented the reputation of the elite production house known for telling its stories against the backdrop of nothing less than Swiss Alps or Sydney Harbour or...........more

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'Singh Is Kinng'

Singh Is Kinng begins in Australia but the movie actually takes off a few reels later in a Punjab village when the protagonist Happy Singh is introduced. Akshay stands like a scarecrow, clenching the corners of his kurta sleeves and flashing that million-dollar gummy...........more

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'Jaane Tu Ya Jaane Na'

There is something about Imran Khan that makes him very endearing. He has the demeanor of a shy guy with a rare combination of the sharp and meek, the clever and vulnerable. He has an unpretentious, honest face, clear eyes and a voice that is confident and also inhibited...........more

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic'

All cinematic blasphemies can be forgiven when you see a delightful, heart-winning tale filled with fun; frolic, fantasy and some tear-jerking drama unfold on the screen. That’s what Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic is. So even if you think for a moment that director Kunal Kohli has blasphemed when ..........more

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

'Haal-E-Dil'

Introducing three newcomers, ‘Haal-e-Dil’ promises to be a heart-winning romantic movie. The film is primarily the launchpad of Amita Pathak, the doted daughter of producer Kumar Mangat. It also introduces two debutants – Adhyayan (Shekhar Suman’s son) and Nakuul Mehta ..........more

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------