Eklavya - The Royal Guard

The brilliance of this film lies in the simplicity with which the director, Vidhu Vinod Chopra has conveyed the story. A lot is said without using words. It takes a while to realize how simply the story has been told and how small things like the letters Eklavya (Amitabh Bacchan) writes to his son (Saif Ali Khan) (whom he cannot openly communicate with) are used to twist the story. Surely there are times in the movie when you can get impatient if you are expecting the regular hindi masala movie speed and comedy bursts in between. The movie is very subtle and every character has a role to play. Inspector Pannalal (Sanjay Dutt) does provide some comic relief to the overall dramatic and serious story. Also the royal behaviours might seem to be a bit irritable to the logical mind, but one has to go along with the flow on this one.

On the visual side, the locations, set and clothes of all the characters are truly royal and authentically Rajasthani. Overall, worth a watch if someone likes serious movies, it has to be watched with an artsy eye.