Hindi Film Review
Saaho
By: Shaheen Raaj
“Saaho is a sheer waste of time money & energy”
Banner: UV Creations & T-Series
Producers: Vamsi Krishna Reddy, Pramod Uppalapati & Bhushan Kumar
Director: SujeethStar Cast: Prabhas, Shraddha Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Chunky Panday, Vennela Kishore, Murali Sharmsa, Arun Vijay, Prakash Belwadi, Evelyn Sharma Supreeth, Lal, Mndira Bedi, Mahesh Manjrekar, Tinnu Anand, Sasha Chettri, Girish Garladinne, Damini Chopra, Kumar Raja Venati, Naveen Varma Ganapathiraju, Aaditya Aaditya Srivasav, Sivakrishna & Jacqueline Fernandez
Music: Tanishk Bagchi, Guru Radhawa, Badshaah, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy & Ghibran
Sometimes, one film is enough to turn an actor into a nationwide star. Baahubali – The Beginning was one such film. It made Prabhas from a regional star to a pan-India sensation & its sequel Baahubali 2 – The Conclusion cemented his position as a superstar. Almost 2 ½ years later, this macho actor is now back with Saaho. While Baahubali was a period drama, Saaho is a modern-day actioner with a bit of a futuristic setup. The hype is tremendous from East to West, North to South.
So the scripted scenario of Saaho reveals the story of a mysterious man on a mission. The foreign city of Waaji is ruled by gangsters & criminals & the biggest of them is Roy (Jackie Shroff). He cleverly manages to get the approval of an Indian minister, Ramaswamy (Tanikella Bharani) for a hydro project in India. He then reaches Mumbai & this is where he’s killed in a road accident. His son Vishwank (Arun Vijay) then takes over, which angers Devraj (Chunky Panday) as he wants to sit on Roy’s throne. Meanwhile the Mumbai crime branch is investigating the death of Roy & other related crimes. The case is handed over to Ashok Chakravarthy (Prabhas), a macho & extremely intelligent officer. He insists that Amritha Nair (Shraddha Kapoor) is also made a part of his team after he gets smitten by her photograph. While scanning the CCTV footage, they come across a mysterious person (Neil Nitin Mukesh) who they believe is a suspect. In the absence of evidence though, he can’t be arrested. Ashok however manages to speak to him & finds out that he’s hunting for a black box which can be used to access the wealth left by Roy in Waaji. Not just this chap but even Vishwank is trying to find the black box, which is hidden in Mumbai. He sends his associate Kalki (Mandira Bedi) who for some reason secures the box but instead of taking it to Waaji, she deposits it in a bank. When the mysterious person comes to get it, the cops who are already on his trial to arrest him. However, the cops get a shock of their lives at this point when they realize they have a mole in their team. The mole runs away with the black box & this baffles not just the police force but also the gangsters of Waaji.
Director Sujeeth’s story is strictly okay but it could have been made for an exciting actioner if the screenplay & direction were upto the mark. Sujeeth’s screenplay however spoils the show. Till the 1st ever half, it is captivating but then the screenplay is all over the place in the post-interval portions. There are so many villains & moreover, there are so many people double-crossing each other that it gets confusing for viewers to remember the twists. Abbas Dalal & Hussain Dalal’s dialogues are simple but a few one-liners are powerful.
Director Sujeeth’s direction is quite weak & it is one of the big reasons why this film fails. A film like Saaho, mounted on such a huge scale, required the execution by an expert & experienced filmmaker. Sujeeth sadly fails to do the justice. The plot is weak but still, the film could have been saved with the execution. Sujeeth fails to do so overall. On the positive side, a few scenes are handled very well. These are mainly in the 1st ever half like the entry scenes of Vishwank & Ashok, Devraj threatening his father Prithviraj & of course, the interval point. In the 2nd half, he does very well in a brief part of the climax where 3 scenes are running parallel, one of Ashok, one of Amrutha & one of Kalki. If he had wisely directed the rest of the film, Saaho would have been on another level.
Saaho has an average beginning. Too much information is laid out & it takes a while to process it all. The film gets a bit better with Ashok’s entry. The investigation carried out by Ashok & his team is quite engaging. Also, the politics played out in Waaji among the warring factions makes for a nice watch. The best is however reserved for the pre-interval. The sequence where Kalki’s car gets attacked is good. The intermission point comes as a jolt. A part of it is predictable but there are too many twists here & hence, it works since viewers won’t be able to guess all the unexpected developments. Post-interval, one expects the film to go on another level but sadly the opposite happens. There is too much chaos, visually & otherwise too & the film ceases to make sense. Yes, the action scenes are spectacular but after a point, the audiences get tired of the overdose. There are more twists in the climax but this time, the viewers don’t get very impressed.
Music is also very average. “Psycho Saiyaan”(changed to “Kaiko Saiyaan”) is the best song of the lot & well shot & choreographed. “Enni Soni” & “Baby Won’t You Tell Me”are forced in the narrative. “Bad Boy”is visually quite stunning. Ghibran’s background score is a bit loud. In a few places, it overpowers the dialogues. Raju Sundaram & Vaibhavi Merchant’s choreography is 1st rate.
Madhie’s cinematography is captivating. A few scenes are captured upside down & make for a great watch. The lensman has also captured Mumbai’s birds-eye view beautifully. Kenny Bates, Peng Zhang, Bob Brown, Stefan Richter, Dhilip Shubbarayan, Ram Lakshman, Stunt Silva, Parvez Shaikh & Stunt Jashwa’s action is excellent when seen individually. But in the film, a few of them seem needless. A few scenes that work well are Mumbai traffic scuffle (by Stunt Silva), Prabhas’ entry (by Peng Zhang) & chase sequence in pre-climax (by Kenny Bates).
Sabu Cyril’s production design is ambitious & larger than life, especially the Waaji city portions. But it doesn’t seem authentic. R C Kamalakannan’s VFX could have helped in making it look real but it fails at places. Thota Vijay Shankar & Leepakshi Ellawadi’s costumes are appealing, especially the ones worn by Prabhas, Shraddha Kapoor & Jacqueline Fernandez in the songs. A Sreekar Prasad’s editing adds to the chaos & could have been simpler.
Performances wise, Prabhas puts up a great show. As per his character, he performs well & would be loved by the masses. His dialogue delivery in Hindi however is a bit weak. Moreover, his character sketch is also a bit flawed, throughout the film, his character is always winning & ahead of his enemies too. Initially, it works but then it becomes unconvincing. Shraddha Kapoor is quite lovely & suits the part of the no-nonsense officer very well. She is great in action scenes. Jackie Shroff makes a huge impact in his cameo. Neil Nitin Mukesh is dependable & looks quite dashing. Chunky Panday steps into the villain zone once again after Begum Jaan & is appropriate. Arun Vijay oozes fear very well & is apt for the part. Murali Sharma (David) has a crucial part & is decent. Mandira Bedi gives a memorable performance. Tinnu Anand doesn’t mouth a single dialogue & yet delivers a fine performance. Mahesh Manjrekar as Prince, Prakash Belawadi as Shinde & Goswamy as Venella Kishore are okay. Evelyn Sharma as Aisha suits her part but her character doesn’t have much to do. Jacqueline Fernandez is sizzling in the special song.
Tail Piece: On the whole, Saaho suffers from a lackadaisical script & a vacuous screenplay.
At the box-office, it is bound to have a huge start & a good extended weekend due to the tremendous hype & the fan following of the lead cast but will face obstacles post the weekend.
