 "Shivaay: All scenes, no substance")
A Diwali release has, in the past, proven to be lucky for Ajay Devgn. And he would hope that the ambitious Shivaay too would carry that luck.
Right in the beginning of the film, we are introduced to Shivaay (Devgn), an expert mountaineer. During one of his treks to a height of 20,000 feet, he accompanies a group of students, which includes Olga (Erika Kaar), a Bulgarian who had studied at Delhi University and speaks Hindi reasonably well. No sooner do they reach the peak than an avalanche hits them. While the rest in the group manage to save one another, Shivaay and Olga take refuge in a tent that gets blown away. Then the usual happens - the two fall in love and Olga becomes pregnant, following which there is an argument between the two on who will take care of the child.
And then, we are introduced to their mute daughter, Gaura (Abigail Eames), who is being taught mountain-climbing in one of her opening scenes. Her mother, it turns out, had left her and returned to Bulgaria after giving birth to her. She has been brought up singlehandedly by her father. One day, she chances upon a letter her mother had left behind, which mentions that she is somewhere in Bulgaria. After much persuasion, Gaura convinces her father to take her there and reunite with her mother.
The story is as simple as that. Even so, the first half of the movie holds and the scenes between Devgn and Kaar, and then the father-daughter relationship are captured well. It is after the intermission that the film slips - badly. In a bizarre turn of events, Gaura is kidnapped by the flesh trade mafia in Bulgaria. With that, we are fed to a liberal dose of the activities of the country's flesh trade, child trafficking and prostitution mafia and the size of its business. Disconnected pieces of a jigsaw puzzle are thrown at the audience, sometimes in the form of the bad guys played by foreigners.
The movie undoubtedly scores visually, with scenes in the mountains and later in Mussoorie and Bulgaria. Rohit Shetty's Dilwale last year too was shot in Bulgaria, but Shivaay beats it hands down when it comes to capturing the country.
But great scenery and exotic locations cannot salvage a flimsy plot or a senseless storyline. And that's precisely the case with Shivaay. There is also a limit to how much one can enjoy high-octane action sequences in the absence of substance on which they ought to ride. The movie is also let down by some terribly amateurish dialogues.
Shivaay is an out and out Devgn vehicle. He is not just the movie's lead actor, but also its director and producer, and while this is not his first directorial venture, it is without doubt his most ambitious. From the first frame to the last, the movie belongs to him, with really no scope for anyone else to do anything substantial.
Eames, as his mute daughter, tries hard to make an impact, though even there it seems Devgn towers over her. Kaar and Sayyesha Saigal, who both make their Bollywood debut with this movie, get equal screen time and neither really leaves an impact. Given all this, one really wonders why an impeccable actor like Girish Karnad agreed to be a part of this one-man show.
Yes, the movie will find its takers. Devgn, after all, has a strong fan base. He also has five Rs 100-crore films under his belt. This could well be another one, given that it is a Diwali release. But, it's an effort to sit through it.
