MOHENJO DARO MOVIE REVIEW
The Jodhaa Akbar trio of Ashutosh Gowariker, Hrithik Roshan and A.R.Rahman joining hands for yet another periodical made scintillating news especially after the success of their previous endeavour. Mohenjo Daro comprises of Pooja Hegde, Arunoday Singh, Kabir Bedi, Suhasini Mulay, Nitish Bharadwaj and Manish Choudhary as part of the main cast. The film’s music has been scored by the maestro, A.R.Rahman, with cinematography by C.K.Muraleedharan and editing by Sandeep Francis.
What is it about?
The movie tries to explore the Indus Valley civilization through a plot comprising of the protagonist, Sarman (Hrithik), a farmer who travels to Mohenjo Daro, attracted by the city’s charm. But the people of Mohenjo Daro, he finds, are not living happily. And since he feels a distant connection to the city, he is not able to tolerate the injustice being done to the people. Kabir Bedi plays the role of an evil politician named Maham, who governs Mohenjo Daro. Along with his son Moonja (Arunoday Singh), he tries to seize power over the people and accumulate riches by putting all people in danger. Pooja plays the role of the city priest's daughter named Chaani, who is also ‘the chosen one’ to perform duties to the Goddess Sindhu Ma. Soon she also becomes the chosen one for Sarman, who falls in love with her. Why does Sarman feel a strange connection to the city? Will he win the hand of Chaani? And more importantly, does he bring justice to the people of the city is what the movie is all about.
What makes up the film?
Ashutosh Gowariker is known for his finesse in creating movies such as Lagaan and Jodhaa Akbar, which are filled with a command over the historical knowledge of the period in which they were set upon. Since very little is known of the Indus Valley Civilization, very little information in the film is factual. The director has tried to recreate the city of Mohenjo Daro highlighting the division of people based on caste, the flourishing trade scenario that prevailed then and the religious practices of those people. The film also tries to comment upon the calamity that brought about the end of the civilization.
What didn’t work?
The plot. The movie had ample scope since it was centred upon a civilization based on which very few have created a motion picture. But still, it chose to follow a story whose knot could be found too similar to those ‘Raja – Rani’ stories narrated to little children. Thus, probably a major setback to the movie is it’s engagement. The movie also failed to show us something new in terms of art and architecture.
The people of the civilization were mostly dressed like any poor farmer of 2016 AD. Even a last bencher of those boring history classes will be able to find it odd that even in 2016 BC people used to wear intricately designed gold ornaments. The movie’s sets lacked grandeur and were largely backed by C.G, which is evident and eroding the film’s finesse. Some amount of artificiality could be seen in the cast performances including that of Pooja Hegde's - in a scene where she is mourning her father’s demise. Rahman’s music seemed to have been used sparsely when compared to Jodha Akbar.
What works?
Hrithik Roshan can be seen desperately trying to save not only the people of Mohenjo Daro but also the film’s engagement through his acting. Pooja Hegde’s charm did its trick in most of the scenes. The songs Tu Hai and Mohenjo Daro were well choreographed and could easily be said as some of the highlights of the movie. C.G. work in the climax deserves applause for taking the engagement factor up a tad.
Well?
Overall, Mohenjo Daro didn’t live up to the expectations the title had propagated. A lot more could have been done in terms of story and artwork, considering the immense scope the topic beholds. The story seemed out of template and the movie’s engagement see-sawed upon the finesse of its music and cast.
