Director : Ayan Mukerji
Dialogues : Hussain Dalal
Producer : Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta, Namit Malhotra, Ranbir Kapoor, Marijke Desouza, Ayan Mukerji
Starring : Amitabh Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Mouni Roy, Nagarjuna Akkineni etc
Cinematography : V. Manikandan, Pankaj Kumar, Sudeep Chatterjee, Vikash Nowlakha, Patrick Duroux
Editor : Prakash Kurup
Music director : Pritam
Music Score: Simon Franglen
Production companies : Star Studios, Dharma Productions, Prime Focus, Starlight Pictures
Release date : 9 September 2022

iQlik Movies Rating: 3/5

Ayan Mukerji's Brahmastra is a three-part trilogy and is one of the most anticipated films in recent times. The first part of the film titled, Brahmastra: Part One-Shiva, has hit the theatres today. Let us see how the movie is.

Story:
Story revolves around a man named Shiva (Ranbir Kapoor) who is a DJ, based in Mumbai but has some special powers related to fire. He's an orphan and comes across Isha (Alia Bhatt) and falls in love with her. One day he sees the evil Junoon (Mouni Roy) killing a scientist who wishes to gather three parts of Brahmastra to wake up Dev who in the past tried to destroy the world. Also, Shiva comes to know that Junoon is all set to target Anish ( Nagarjuna) next. Shiva decides to head to Varanasi to warn Anish of the impending danger. What happens next forms the crux.

Performances:
Ranbir has put his best foot forward imbibing Shiva's qualities and performed the role with ease. Alia looks pretty convincing as Isha. Together, Ranbir and Alia steal the show.

Mouni Roy is extraordinary in her role. She fits the best. From her appearance to makeup, she is perfect as an antagonist.

Nagarjuna Akkineni as Anish Shetty is good and provides eye-feast for the Tollywood audience. Meanwhile, Sharukh's presence is a great treat for Bollywood audiences and his screen presence is good. Amitabh Bachchan as Guru Ji stands outstanding as usual.

Technical Aspects:
Coming to technical aspects, the film's VFX stands out the best till date, even bigger than Baahubali. But the music of Brahmastra is strictly average, however BGM is top-notch. Kesariya/Kumkumala is the only song that stood out .

As far as director Ayan is considered, has made sure that Brahmastra is bigger and grand in every aspect. Production values are top notch and all the money spent is clearly visible in every scene which is quite grand.

The camerawork is extraordinary and few scenes are showcased in a spectacular manner. Editing would have been sharper and there are dragged and repetitive action episodes that test audience patience. Also, dialogues are below the mark.

Review:
Ayan Mukerji's story is unique and gripping, but the narration misses its charm.Screenplay is effective in several parts, especially in the first half but the second half totally misses to engage the audience as director's writing goes for a toss in the later half. Aso, many questions are kept unanswered, as they?ll be answered in the sequel. With that, the film remains incomplete and ends up disappointing viewers a bit. Hussain Dalal's dialogues are below the mark.

Many fights look unnecessary and repetitive. Mainly, the climax fight is stretched and could have been trimmed for a better impact. Though pre-climax attracts us, climax goes over the top and feels very dragged. Special mention to VFX effects, it stood as the heart and major plus point of the film. With such good VFX work, one would have hoped that they would have had something to do, especially in the second half, but nothing reaches our expectations.

Plus Points:
VFX effects
Performances
Nagarjuna and SRK Cameo

Minus Points:
Over-the-top action sequences
Editing
Second half

Verdict:
On the whole, BRAHMASTRA PART ONE: SHIVA had very good VFX, visuals, performances, and a terrific first half which was totally made up-side down with flawed writing. Simplified narration with good editing would have made the film great instead of boring. However, for the VFX and struggle of team for long three years, the film worth watch for one time on the screen.

Final Verdict: Worth a watch.