HomeEntertainment NewsSamrat Prithviraj movie review: Watch this Akshay Kumar film for Sanjay Dutt, Sonu Sood

Samrat Prithviraj movie review: Watch this Akshay Kumar film for Sanjay Dutt, Sonu Sood

Directed by Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi, Samrat Prithviraj stars Akshay Kumar in the titular role of the celebrated 12th-century king. It marks the Bollywood debut of former Miss World Manushi Chhillar and also features Sanjay Dutt and Sonu Sood in key roles. It is playing in a theatre near you.

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By Sneha Bengani  June 3, 2022, 6:10:43 PM IST (Published)

Samrat Prithviraj movie review: Watch this Akshay Kumar film for Sanjay Dutt, Sonu Sood
The latest addition in Akshay Kumar’s string of nationalistic films is a biopic on the legend of Rajput warrior-king Prithviraj Chauhan. It is helmed by Dr Chandraprakash Dwivedi, whose directorial credits include teleserial Chanakya

(1991-92) and films Pinjar
(2003) and Mohalla Assi (2018).

Produced by Aditya Chopra under his banner Yash Raj Films, Samrat Prithviraj has already been declared tax-free in three BJP-ruled states so far — Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttarakhand. Their chief ministers have hailed the film as glorious. The verdict is already out — it’s too important to miss. It’s a must-watch. When the government in power peddles films, do reviews matter anymore? Well. Based on Prithviraj Raso, an epic poem written in the praise of Chauhan’s valour and extraordinary life, Samrat Prithviraj focuses on the key moments of the emperor’s eventful reign — the first battle of Tarain in which he defeats Muhammad Ghori and makes the fatal mistake of letting him go, his coronation as the ruler of Delhi, his controversial union with Sanyogita, and the final battle with Ghori, resulting in his capture and assassination.

In telling the story of one of the most loved Indian rulers, Samrat Prithviraj gets a lot right. For instance, unlike Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s 2018 period drama Padmaavat, it resists the temptation to rob its villain of all humanity. Dwivedi’s Ghori, played with self-assured restraint by Manav Vij — is not Bhansali’s Alauddin Khalji, a flesh-devouring, whoring barbarian incapable of any good. Ghori’s intentions may not be noble, but Dwivedi imbues him with pride, tact, and courage, key characteristics of all magnificent monarchs.

Then there is the legendary friendship between Chauhan and his court poet, prophesier, and closest confidant Chand Bardai, played by a terrific Sonu Sood. The film offers rare, golden glimpses of their unshakable bond. Sood here is in top form. Fortunately for him, he has some of the best dialogue in the film along with Sanjay Dutt, who essays the character of Chauhan’s irreverent uncle, Kaka Kanha. As Kanha, Dutt is all heart, pumping life and vigour into every scene he is in. Both Dutt and Sood are so good, they make Kumar look wooden, jaded.

Samrat Prithviraj tells a remarkable tale from over 800 years ago, but it is written for the contemporary cinegoer. It tries to equip Sanyogita, the princess of Kannauj, and later the wife and reigning queen of Ajmer and Delhi, with her own distinct voice. However, Dwivedi needn’t have laboured so hard. For her actions and choices, radical for her time, speak volumes of her fearlessness of thought and spirit. But Dwivedi drones on nevertheless, explaining the evident, constructing scene after scene filled with clunky dialogue. The attempt to make her look empowered is so forced and misdirected that it falls flat.

Manushi Chhillar, who makes her big Bollywood debut with this film five years after winning Miss World, is sincere as Sanyogita but weak writing and sketchy direction fail her. Being cast opposite a seasoned actor 29 years her senior does her no favours either. She looks too raw, too young, despite the best efforts of YRF’s VFX team to de-age Kumar. Together, they just don’t work. Their chemistry is not ineffective. It is absent. They are uneasy around each other, especially in romantic scenes, where the discomfort is too palpable to ignore.

This could be why the film does not delve deep into their love story. Despite it being extraordinary, Samrat Prithviraj treats it as an aside. The main focus always is on Chauhan, his charisma, his towering greatness, his demi-godly goodness. Kumar, who has been playing the hero for 31 years now, plays it yet again with great smugness. He doesn’t look his age at all; he is incredibly fit and agile. He makes for a handsome Chauhan. But that is about it.

Sure, he brings in star power and has secured governmental support and tax exemptions few other actors could have as easily, but he is still horribly miscast. He dons the costume, mouths the lines, performs the fantastically choreographed action sequences, and goes through the entire drill, but fails to impress.

Ever since Bhansali stepped into the arena of period dramas, every filmmaker has tried to match up to his opulence — both visual and emotional. Visually, Samrat Prithviraj succeeds in most parts. Emotionally, not so much.

It is difficult to not draw comparisons since the maverick maestro made a film on an effervescent Rajput warrior queen only four years ago, stirring up a storm of controversies and success. However, this time around, the Karni Sena has made peace with a lot less. Days before the film’s release, they just got its name changed from Prithviraj to Samrat Prithviraj. No ruckus over Chiller’s midriff showing or her dancing every opportunity she gets, including moments before committing suicide en-masse by jumping into jauhar’s sacrificial fire.

My grandmother, who passed away yesterday a year ago, would have loved Samrat Prithviraj. She absolutely dug watching historical dramas on screen. She religiously followed every episode of Dharti Ka Veer Yodha Prithviraj Chauhan, the teleserial adaptation of Ajmer-Pati’s times and travails. It aired on Star Plus from 2006 to 2009, making child-actor Rajat Tokas, who played Chauhan with incredible spunk and spirit, a household star.

Despite her advanced age and frail health, my grandmother would have gone to the nearest theatre to watch Samrat Prithviraj. She would have stood up and applauded with joy when Chauhan, mercilessly blinded by Ghori’s men, releases that last arrow following Bardai’s spirited Mat chuko Chauhan. She would have shed tears when the fabled warrior finally lies to rest on a bed of arrows and Bardai drops dead at his feet. I did too. But it was more for the unshakable valour of the king that I have grown up reading about, not for the middling performance of the actor playing him. Chauhan’s story is memorable. This film is not.

Read other pieces by Sneha Bengani here.
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