Mohenjo Daro (2016) Review!!

Synopsis – In 2016 BC, a kind farmer leads an uprising in the city of Mohenjo Daro.

My Take – Director Ashutosh Gowariker has an eye for films based in the past, a fact he has proven in films such as Lagaan, Jodha Akbar & woefully under rated Khelein Hum Jee Jaan Sey. Returning here again with frequent collaborator music director A.R. Rahman & his Jodhaa Akbar star Hrithik Roshan, Gowariker goes back about 4000 years ago into the Indian history at the time of Mohenjo Daro and Harappa Civilization. The good news is the film isn’t the disaster everyone was expecting due to its constant run of mediocre teasers on the television. Ashutosh Gowariker is known for his command over the historical knowledge of the period in which his films are 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. But unfortunately this history epic gets bogged down by tacky sets and a singularly one-toned film that never manages to create enough drama or entertainment.

The sword-and-dhotis epic includes familiar features of the historical genre – the evocation of a key period through a handful of individuals, the role of predestination in guiding the narrative, a romance that challenges the ruling powers, and a larger-than-life hero – as well as elements from Gowariker’s back catalogue. The lead’s ardour for the girl echoes Roshan’s longing for Aishwarya Rai in Jodhaa Akbar, while the resistance he cobbles together against the antagonist is not unlike the unity displayed by the ragtag villagers against the British in Lagaan. The story follows Sarman (Hrithik Roshan), a brave farm boy who lives with his uncle (Nitish Bhardwaj) and aunt (Kishori Shahane) on a humble farm. Drawn to the to the far-off land of Mohenjo Daro, upon arriving Sarman’s world is split wide open with fascination. Somehow he feels at home here, and is upset by the fact that the land is devoid of most natural resources and run by the tyrannical chief Maham (Kabir Bedi), who is determined to mine all the gold in his kingdom to buy weapons. While searching for answers to his past, Sarman falls in love with Chaani (Pooja Hegde), the doe-eyed daughter of the chief priest (Manish Chaudhury). And upon finding out that she is betrothed to Maham’s son Moonja (Arunoday Singh), Sarman decides that putting an end to Maham’s reign of terror is the only way to get his lady-love and free the land. From the start, and in the least subtle way imaginable, the film impresses upon us that Sarman isn’t your average reptile-wrestling Indus Valley farmer. It’s obvious what his dreams of the city and CGI unicorn like goats will lead to, but this is a Gowariker film, so it’s an hour and a half before the narrative catches up with the audience. That time is spent in getting Sarman from his village to the big city. His guardians give him a seal with the same animal on it for protection: another heavy-handed piece of foreshadowing, but strangely resonant because of its use of an actual Indus Valley seal. From here, anyone watching Hindi costume dramas and stunt films since the ‘50s and ‘60s and big films since the ‘70s will guess the basic plot. Of course, that will still not mean expecting the post-climactic ordeal, which is not even related to the plot and is meant to represent a chunk of history. For good measure, there are references to Harappa too! The narrative plays out predictably, plodding from one contrived plot point to the other. What makes it worse is that the production values and CGI budget in this film are scraping the bottom of the barrel.

The opening battle between man and beast foreshadows Sarman’s future as well as the strengths and failings of the production: it is convincingly shot and directed but let down by poorly executed computer-generated imagery. Well-written sequences, including the climax featuring a great flood that threatens the city, are similarly undermined by chintzy computer work. The rest of the production spares no expense in bringing the Indus Valley Civilization to life and represents a major achievement for the production design and costume teams, but the tacky visual effects are an eyesore. Throughout its 155-minute runtime, the film looks and feels like an 80s film mistakenly released in 2016. For a film that aimed to recreate one of the oldest and biggest civilizations on earth, the film lacks scale and vision. S S Rajamouli’s Bahubali didn’t have a very original story, but where it delivered was in terms of the look and feel. The film had ample scope since it was centered 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 its engagement. The film 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. Gowariker‘s loose screenplay makes the film pointless. There is so much happening but the shaky execution makes it look meaningless. A word of caution for the climax which is so shakily done that it made me wonder if the director is the same man who walked the red carpet of Oscars. Rahman’s music seemed to have been used sparsely when compared to Jodha Akbar. Despite all this, the film manages to stay afloat mildly thanks to Hrithik Roshan. Mr Roshan, who is the ideal actor for a film like this. In fact, this may be the only sort of role he’s naturally suited for. All the effort and concentration and jaw-clenching that mark a Roshan performance have a viable outlet here; the setting is expansive and ancient enough to accommodate his un ironically heroic persona. Kabir Bedi too is excellently cast—and costumed—as the scheming vizier. The gorgeous Pooja Hedge makes a confident debut and shares dazzling chemistry with Hrithik. Arunoday Singh hams. On the whole, ‘Mohenjo Daro’ is a historical disappointment which despite Hrithik’s finesee is bogged down by a weak script, terrible production values and a lack of vision from the man who once made some of Bollywood’s grandest movies.