When this project was announced on Akshay Kumar's 52nd birthday on 9 September 2019, there was a wave of excitement among the fans & the audience (including me) to watch this epic saga unfold on screens. However things turned upside down as the first teaser dropped in, it was more turned into a debate of how Akshay Kumar finishes his movies in less time & with no dedication. Also the makeup department was a disaster. Many people were trolling for the Housefull 4 Bala look and why not? Of course it was meant to be trolled. Even the Bala look was good due to good makeup and it even felt real to some extent, however Prithviraj's makeup is even worse than Laxmii's fake moustache. And the problem is not about similarity, even Airlift's look was similar to Brothers, but here the makeup itself is terrible. This is something that has been severely overlooked by the producers and the actor himself also.
Story & Execution at their weakest
The story had some unimaginable potential. Had the same been done by someone like SS Rajamouli or Om Raut, then the results would have been something different. Such an extraordinary story have been given such a generic execution by Chandraprakash Dwivedi. After the first 7-9 minutes, the movie runs on an extremely fast pace, like it's a Rajdhaani Express. Even we don't get a proper introduction of Prithviraj as he is never introduced as a Good Emperor, yes, his valor is displayed in the climax, but nothing more than that. The conversations between the Samants and Prithviraj in the first half are the best parts of the movie & even there are many such moments which give you goosebumps.
The war scenes are the biggest issue, same as Bachchan Paandey, all the war scenes (only one actually) were already shown in the trailer and in the name of war movie, all we get is a 5 minute war sequence which is disappointing.
Director told that he did 18 years of research work on this movie, but sorry to say, no such result was seen in the movie
I am not going to mince my words, the beginning of the 2nd half is a disaster. With the song Makhmali, it felt as if Samraat Prithviraj transported to a "Suraj hua maddham" mode and it was quite disrespectful for a figure like him.
Also, in the process of making a movie on Hindu Samraat Prithviraj Chauhan, what was the need to insert so much feminism? I am not that person who keeps saying that "girls belong to kitchen", but for half of the runtime of the movie listening to terms such as " Aurat ki raksha", "Aurat ki maryaada", "Aurat ka samaan" was just irritating. Even Padman didn't have this much women empowerment cheesy dialogues.
The biggest problem with Prithviraj is that Bollywood has decided to make it's historical films on a particular formula and that makes them extremely predictable. There are exceptions like Tanhaji, even that was predictable, but the kind of elevations & mass elements added to that movie, made it a winner, as it was something 'hatke' from the regular Bollywood historical films.
Positives
It's not like this movie is a outright disaster like Panipat. There are many good points also which make Prithviraj a good theatrical experience.
The sets, the cinematography are excellent and transport you to that time. The chemistry between the male leads is very good, be it between Kaka Kanh & Chand Vardaai, Prithviraj & Kaka Kanh, Prithviraj & Chand Vardaai, Jaychand & Sheth, all these veteran male actors complement each other, however the most important chemistry, that of Prithviraj & Sanyogita miserably fails. But the scenes between the other actors are praiseworthy.
Another good thing are the dialogues. They elevate the scenes to a better level. With dialogues such as
Ghori: "Ye chaar hindu kabhi ek sath nahi chal sakte kya?"
To which, one of his guards replies "Chalte hai na huzoor, jab Paanchwa unke kandhe pe hota hai"
are masterpiece and hard hitting. The scene in between Sanyogita & her mother is also a remarkable scene.
The best part of the movie is reserved for the pre interval & climax portions.
Performances
For me, the standout performers of this movie are undoubtedly Ashutosh Rana & Sanjay Dutt. Every scene they feature in, is a treat to watch. The first half is totally dominated by Sanjay Dutt's antics as the kind, but ferocious Kaka Kanh. And Ashutosh Rana is a master in playing shrewd & crafty characters like Jaychand & he was the perfect choice to play it, he is subtle and fierce in the scenes which require him to be.
Manushi Chillar is a misfit. It's not even her fault, as a debutant, she has done great work, especially in scenes where she had to dance, she utilizes her caliber to the fullest, like in songs such as Hadd Kar De & Yoddha, but this role required someone a bit experienced to understand the role of Sanyogita & perform it better. Like someone such as Kriti Sanon would have been perfect to the T, as not only she's a good actress, but her chemistry with Akshay Kumar would have been also extraordinary, which was missing from Manushi Chillar.
Sonu Sood is very good as Chand Vardaai. He gives a restrained and subtle performance which was expected form him anyways.
Manav Vij as the antagonist Mahumad Ghori looks very ferocious & strong, but the way the script deals with him, he turns out to be a very weak villain. Not that his performance is bad, as an actor, he performs everything that was expected from him, to perfection, but the problem lies in the 'expected' part.
Sakshi Tanwar is an impeccable performer and it was good to see that her caliber has been utilised in a good way. She is extremely effective in all her scenes.
Manoj Joshi just plays another dealer here, to be precise, the Royal version of Kachra Seth 😂, jokes apart he is good in his limited role.
Other supporting cast such as Rajendra Gupta and Kanti Prakash Jha are good in their parts.
Now coming to the big fish, Akshay Kumar should really stop taking his audience for granted. First he was an action star in 90s and you (I was not even born at that time) all loved him for that, then he transitioned into comedy in 00s and all those films are cult classics today. Then he transitioned into content oriented films like OMG, Airlift, Padman, Toilet in 10s which was again welcomed by everyone. But this new decade of 20s and most probably his last decade as a star is going worse than the worse expected. I have no problem if he finishes a movie like Good Newwz Or Toilet or Padman in 40 days, because the kind of performance he gives in those films, some so called 'dedicated' actors take 2-3 years to do those films. But his performance in Prithviraj is nothing less than the display of his overconfidence & carelessness. I mean no one expects you to shoot for 100 days or to lock yourself in a room, but atleast have a real moustache for God's sake! That fake moustache is one of the most jarring thing I have ever seen in a movie. Due to that, even his expressions are affected as he is cautious whether the moustache will fall down. Not that his performance is bad, it is good, but it's something we have seen him doing million times and he could sleepwalk through such roles which dillute the overall effect. To be honest I don't have any problem if he gives 4 movies a year, provided they are good movies, but with back to back bad to medicore products like Laxmmi, Bell Bottom, Bachchan Pandey, Prithviraj, he is losing his 30 years of goodwill by not only making medicore, but misleading products also, such as Bachchan Pandey was marketed as an Action Comedy where all the action was finished in one song & same with War Drama Prithviraj, where war is finished in 5 minutes & rest is drama. It's not that his performance is getting bad, because recently, the penultimate 10 minutes of Atrangi Re are still better than the career of some of his contemporari, but it's really disheartening to see an actor of his caliber wasting himself like this. Talking about his performance in Prithviraj, he gives his best in the final 10 minutes, but sadly, that's it.
Conclusion
After reading this whole article you must be thinking that Prithviraj must be a very bad movie, believe me, nothing's like that. Prithviraj is a goodome time watch and if you are a sucker for historical films, then it's a must watch for you. It's just that I had much more sky high expectations & this article is just a small reflection of my disappointment
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