Brahmastra is a landmark movie in Bollywood. This proved to be hit-and-miss in many aspects. The visual effects take the cake.
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Series: Astraverse #1
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Amitabh Bachchan, Mouni Roy, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Genre: Urban Fantasy
IMDB Rating: 5.6/10
Rotten Tomatometer: 52%/100%
My Rating: 6.5/10
Brahmastra is a story of Shiva who is discovering love and going through life when his power starts to manifest. Fire can’t burn him but he is unaware of why. He comes across a secret society of protectors of the most powerful weapon in the universe, Brahmastra. They are gearing up for a fight for the existence of humanity. Meanwhile, a dark force is also looking for the pieces of Brahmastra and Shiva is key to finding it. Shiva with his love Isha is discovering the truth and getting up to speed on the fight.
The richness of Indian Mythology inspires the world of Brahmastra. This story of Gods and Goddesses is presented in an urban setting. The potential of this world is limitless.
The visual effects of the movie are awesome and on par with Hollywood mega-budget movies. It’s not there fully yet, but the feat the makers have managed to achieve with a mere $80 million budget is commendable.
For a fantasy romance story, romance is lacking in many ways. The instant love between Shiva and Isha has failed to capture the intensity of the romance. I see no reason for Isha to fall in love with Shiva this deeply in mere days. In fact, the 3-minute flashback about Dev’s story was more romantic than the two and half hours of Shiva & Isha’s romance.
Shiva is a young man on a path of self-discovery. He falls head over heels for Isha and goes on an epic journey in the world of Astras. Shiva’s character comes across as too naive for this world even after being an orphan and fending for himself for years. His childlike outlook on life is amplified by the childish dialogues. But his character shines whenever his powers erupt unintentionally. His fear of this power is brilliantly shown by Ranbir Kapoor and his acting.
Isha is a character that is too good to be true. She is extremely loyal and in love with Shiva instantly. Her character is too bland. A celebrated actor like Alia Bhatt was wasted on so few scenes to shine. She has nothing to do in the story except being Shiva’s love interest.
Junoon is a worthy villain of Brahmastra. Mouni Roy absolutely outperformed everybody in the movie as Junoon. Whenever she is on screen, she means business. I wished her motivation to be more clear. But being a devotee of Dev is a good enough reason for me. She got a lot of hate for looking similar to Wanda from the trailers of the movie. But she didn’t feel like Wanda to me in the movie. Her character can stand on her own.
Guru Ji is a wise mentor figure to Shiva. He is underdeveloped but that doesn't impact the story much. His name is never said in the movie. The most annoying part of his scenes was his withholding important information only to reveal it at the last moment. Amitabh Bachchan playing this character saved it. His voice lends perfectly to the theme of his character and the story.
Anish, played by Nagarjuna is there for two key scenes only. His scenes were beautiful. The visual effects come alive in his scenes.
Overall, Brahmastra is a fun-watch. Everybody should watch it at least once. The world Ayan Mukerji made is interesting and has a lot of potential. I am extremely excited about the second part of this movie. It did its job well by kickstarting a successful franchise and creating a good buzz for the next installment.
After watching the trailer of Adipurush my appreciation for the visual effects of this movie magnified 10 fold. They really put effort into making this movie as spectacular as possible, although the writing could be better.
Alia Bhatt’s character Isha had significantly less to do. The performance by Alia Bhatt felt like Alia from years ago. After her breathtaking performance in Gangubai Kathiawadi, this one was a disappointment. Still, there are 2 more movies to develop her character further. I hope makers utilize her acting skills more in later movies.
Brahmastra needs to work on the dialogues. Since Ayan Mukerji addressed this issue in his interviews, I am hopeful and positive that the dialogue will be better in later movies.
Overall Brahmastra successfully created the hype for the next part despite not having a strong story. They have managed to capture the attention of viewers who were craving something that presents Indian mythology in an interesting way. I am so excited to see what’s in store for part 2.
The tease of Amrita and Dev being in love and turning against one another is making me giddy with excitement. Amrita is the protector of Jal Astra and is going to be played by Deepika Padukone for sure. Deepika will look absolutely perfect. I love this trope in romance the most.
Shah Rukh Khan, the legend himself has played this role. His death at the start of the movie triggers the plot. I loved him in this role. He played a scientist. The things he can do by combining science and the power of his Astra! I will love it if Ayan Mukerji makes something with him and his adventures. Shah Rukh Khan is always a win for me.
Other Astras could be explored more in spin-offs. But I don't want it to be like the main franchise. It would be awesome if the Astras are vastly different in power. I would love it if there is an internal conflict in the society of Brahmansh and if people started turning on each other. Some Brahmansh members should be the villain.
There is a theory going around among fans who picked up on Isha wearing the same ring Dev wore in the flashback scene with Amrita. We absolutely know nothing about Isha’s background. Her back story is not given in the movie. She seems too good to be true and her falling in love instantly with Shiva is suspicious. In a recent interview discussing theories, Ayan Mukerji confirms he didn’t intend Isha to be dubious. But he likes the idea and is open to tweaking Isha’s character. I personally think this turn in her character will fill in the plot holes and give more depth to her character. I am all for it.
Even if there are no official announcements on Dev’s casting, fans are almost sure that Ranveer Singh will be the most suitable for Dev’s role. Personally, I don’t want to see Ranveer Singh and Deepika together playing another tragic love story. It's too obvious. It’s almost confirmed from the silhouette of Shiva’s mother’s flashback that Amrita is played by Deepika. Hrithik Roshan is also being fan cast for Dev. I don’t know why but I want to see Emran Hashmi playing Dev.
When Shiva encircles himself and Isha in the fire to fend off an attack from Junoon, Junoon activates her power of Water aka Jalastra. And who also has this power? Amrita. Shiva inherits Dev’s fire and Junoon her mother’s water. Junoon is strangely devoted to Dev’s cause and we don’t know why. It might be because she is trying to free her father.
Why did Amrita not return after trapping Dev in stone? Why did she hide one piece of the Brahmastra from the secret society of Brahmansh? It felt like Amrita was running from something or someone. I think Dev was the one who figured out Guru Ji’s ultimate plan and tried to secure Brahmastra by wielding it first. Guru Ji then turned everybody including Amrita against him. Just before getting trapped Dev might have convinced Amrita and made her suspicious of Guru Ji. That’s why she broke Brahmastra into 3 pieces and hid just in case Dev was right. But Dev is back now and is set on revenge.
