Drona Bollywood movie review

Title: Drona

Director: Goldie Behl

Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Priyanka Chopra, Kay Kay Menon, and Jaya Bachchan.

Synopsis: The story of ‘Drona’ takes place centuries after Sagar Manthan (Churning of the Sea). The ocean was churned and many magical things came out including 14 ratnas. One of the ratnas named ‘Amrit’ was hidden in earth. The Amrit had the power to make people immortal. A Maharishi (saint) was appointed to protect the Amrit. Soon the demons came to know about the Amrit and started attacking the Maharishi. The Maharishi sought protection of Maharaja Virbhadra Singh, King of Pratapgarh. Maharishi said that the Amrit was kept in a special vessel named Dron. Since Maharaja Virbhadra was protecting the Amrit, he will be called ‘Drona’ and all his descendants would be called by the same name. Aditya (Abhishek Bachchan) was brought up by foster parents. He did not know that he was the descendant of King Virbhadra. Every night, Aditya used to have this nightmare which woke him up and he started to cry. After waking up from sleep, he found a blue petal wafting in the air. Every time he woke up crying, he saw the petal and it brought smile on his face.

In far away corner of the world, an evil magician, Riz Raizada (Kay Kay Menon), descendant of the Asuras, is planning to take over the world. There is only one person who can stop him and he is ‘Drona.’ Riz Raizada searches for ‘Drona.’ One day, Riz Raizada and Aditya come face to face and instantly Riz understands that Aditya is ‘Drona.’ When Riz sends his henchmen to kill Aditya, he is saved by Sonia, a female warrior. Sonia’s forefathers served as bodyguards to the King of Pratapgarh. She is the leader of her cult and they believe that Drona will free them from evil. Sonia then takes Aditya to meet his mother, Queen Jayati. Before they could reach there, Riz Raizada catches them. Aditya then rises up to the occasion and becomes ‘Drona,’ the warrior.

For a Hindi movie, ‘Drona’ comes with some exceptional quality special effects. The movie is inspired from graphic novels. Though the story is predictable, viewers would enjoy the special effects-How Aditya turns ‘Drona,’ the legendary warrior. However, this movie is not made for adults. It will be more enjoyed more by the children. Buzz18.com says:

Vague clues written in incomprehensible Hindi and Sanskrit, leading Drona to his goal, the complete lack of information about what exactly are his strengths, (by simply lifting his sword and chanting a random mantra Drona gets new sets of powers during the course of every fight) are just some of the many questions that are left unanswered.

The fight sequences are not so good. Abhishek Bachchan as ‘Drona’ does not fight much. His female bodyguard Sonia (Priyanka Chopra) does all the fighting. Riz Raizada’s character resembles more with Spy Kids villain.

Taran Adarsh says that ‘Drona’ lacks soul. Though Eros Entertainment and producer Srishti Arya did not spare any cost to make ‘Drona’ a spectacular movie, it lacks a good story. It lacks soul. Another big flaw is, director Goldie Behl and his writers could not determine what kind of movie should ‘Drona’ be? Should it be a fantasy movie or a super-hero movie? Though Goldie Behl and others say that it is not a superhero movie, all the actions of Abhishek Bachchan make him look like a superhero. Moreover, such a movie requires a strong antagonist but Riz Raizada did not look so strong and devilish.

More minusses! Dhruv Ghanekar’s music is a big yawn. The tunes are listless and the placement of songs is equally jarring. Also, the length is a problem. You wouldn’t mind a 3-hour film even today, provided it has the power to keep you glued to the screen. In this case, the 2 + hours seem never-ending. The film goes on and on and after a point, you actually want to scream, ‘Enough!’.

indcine.com says that ‘Drona’ was made into a two hour movie for no reason. Some scenes do not make any sense. For example, Drona and his bodyguard, Sonia, are in a vast desert and then suddenly she is pulled into a huge sea. What is the logic behind such a scene? Goldie Behl said that they found a place where desert meets the ocean and Abhishek Bachchan was stunned to see such a location. Goldie Behl said that the story of the movie does not happen either in past or future it happens in present but the scenes do not really match with present all the time. The place of Riz Raizada in the desert looks old like palaces of Kings in ancient times. It further says:

Drona is warned, open the door, you’ll meet death. He opens and voila out comes a ferocious and filthy looking monster. One punch from our absolutely unfit-for-a-superhero-role Abhishek, down goes the monster!

Jaya Bachchan (Drona’s mother) is mummified, yet tears trickle from her eyes!

If Love Story 2050 had the butterfly which magically assisted Harman Baweja to find a way when in trouble. Drona has a blue flower petal!

realbollywood.com says:

Performance wise too none of the actors have delivered in compared to their caliber. It can be rated as one of the worst flick Kay Kay has ever done. With his tummy, Mr. Abhishek doesn’t at all fit into the costume of a superhero. Again it’s only Priyanka who stands out of them all and that too only due to her sensuality and glamorous look. Jaya Bachchan has a very small role.

In terms of acting, Abhishek Bachchan gave his best but the main problem is his costume and overall physique does not make him a convincing superhero like Hrithik Roshan. Hrithik Roshan has a very well built body but Abhishek Bachchan does not have it. He tries hard to fit into the role but it does not work that way.

Kay Kay Menon is a talented actor. His Riz Raizada is a mishmash between Riddler (played by Jim Carrey) of Batman Forever(1995) and The Joker (played by Heath Ledger) of The Dark Knight (2005). Unfortunately, Riz Raizada looks more like a clown.

Priyanka Chopra as a warrior does fabulous but her costume could have been better. The main problem is her character changes after Aditya becomes Drona. She becomes Drona’s “arm candy.” Another thing is that she repeats the dialogue “Babuji kehte hain.” After sometimes, it becomes irritating.

Jaya Bachchan played the role of Aditya aka ‘Drona’s mother. The scene of reunion between mother and son does not evoke too much emotion. Jaya Bachchan looks graceful in her role but she does not have much screen presence.

Overall, ‘Drona’ does not live up to its expectation. Even if you manage to see the movie from start to finish, you would never want to see it again.

Useful links:

http://www.buzz18.com/reviews/movies/review-drona-nanah/86101/0

http://www.rediff.com/movies/drona08.html

http://www.indicine.com/movies/bollywood/drona-review-drona-movie-review/

http://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movies/review/13371/index.html

http://www.realbollywood.com/news/2008/10/drona-review.html