By now, the period drama genre has become quite common and borderline unexciting for a 2022 Indian film. A creator would battle to provide a refreshing viewing experience to the audience. It’s not just the writing, but even the technical aspects of such a film struggle to excite the audience due to the lack of novelty in it. The trailer of Akshay Kumar’s latest Samrat Prithviraj proves all of it right and gives us a reason to refrain from watching the film. I was pleasantly surprised with the film because it worked for me despite finding all my preconceived notions in it.
Samrat Prithviraj is based on a poem Prithviraj Raso penned by Chand Vardai. From a perspective of a feature film, the screenplay of Samrat Prithviraj is quite dull. The narrative structure is outdated. The film plays in one flashback where the reason to be curious is to find the reason behind everything we witness in the first scene. The love story isn’t very interesting. The angle of the hero and heroine’s father being at loggerheads doesn’t excite us in any manner. The king/ruler going on battles and winning most of them and losing a few is something we expect the least from a film like Samrat Prithviraj. Fighting for equal rights for women is the only refreshing aspect of the writing of the film. It is surprising to see the weak writing not affecting our overall viewing experience.
Samrat Prithviraj is a technically sound film. The various technical aspects of the film keep us invested in it throughout. As mentioned earlier, nothing is new in the film, but the creators have ensured that the viewers stay far away from any disappointments while watching the film. The background score that sounds blaring in the trailer becomes noteworthy in the film. Sanchit Balhara and Ankit Balhara create a perfectly rousing score that helps us enjoy the moment to the fullest. The difference a background score is making in the scene is quite evident. Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy has composed some immortal melodies in the past. The songs of Samrat Prithviraj are nowhere close to them, but they work just fine in the capacity of the film. They succeed in satisfying us momentarily, and we have no complaints about them.
The great grandeur of Samrat Prithviraj makes the film worth our time, energy and money. The extravaganza in the film is in appropriate proportions because of which the film does not look obsolete at any point. The costumes, production design and the locations may not make the film look extraordinary, but the way all of it is captured grabs our attention. Some thought has been put behind capturing them differently and experimented with camera angles. The long shots that capture the crowd in a particular moment and enhance the visual beauty of the songs make the efforts of the creators evident. The VFX is also surprisingly good. The film does not allow us to take our eyes off the screen, even for a moment. We somehow enjoy watching this mundane affair.
The real Prithviraj Chauhan died at the age of twenty-five or twenty-six. There is no chance that the fifty-four years old Akshay Kumar will look half his age without any special make-up or technology. In Samrat Prithviraj, though he isn’t fully convincing, he manages to become the character he is playing. We need to appreciate his efforts. Considering the character debutante Manushi Chhillar is playing in the film, she isn’t as expressive as one would expect her to be, but her confidence is quite impressive. She also impresses us with her dancing skills. Sanjay Dutt, Sonu Sood and Ashutosh Rana are effective in their respective roles, but we can’t stop ourselves from expecting more from such talent. Manav Vij’s potential also remains untapped. He could have easily been more menacing than what we see in the film.
The most tricky aspect of Samrat Prithviraj is its editing. Aarif Sheikh has done a fabulous job by ensuring zero distraction throughout the film. We feel like a lot is happening in the film, and the reason behind it is the crisp duration of the film. Our mind is happily occupied throughout the film. The film doesn’t allow us to indulge in any moment more than required. While feeling satisfied with the editing of the film, and the fast pace not taking away anything from our overall viewing experience, we feel that a film like this deserves a more moderate or slower pace to justify the genre and nature of the story.
Samrat Prithviraj engages us right from its first frame, which is the beautifully done opening credits. It keeps us attentive till the final frame. The film isn’t perfect or extraordinary in its genre, but the effort put in by the creators to make it engaging to their best possible capacity can’t be ignored.
meri maaa, CINEMAAA 