Eklavya: The Royal Guard
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- For the character from The Mahabharata, see Ekalavya
| Eklavya: The Royal Guard | |
|---|---|
 Movie poster for Eklavya: The Royal Guard |
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| Directed by | Vidhu Vinod Chopra |
| Produced by | Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Vir Chopra Anil Davda |
| Written by | Abhijat Joshi, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Swanand Kirkire |
| Starring | Amitabh Bachchan, Sharmila Tagore, Sanjay Dutt, Saif Ali Khan, Vidya Balan, Raima Sen, Jackie Shroff, Jimmy Shergill, Boman Irani Parikshat Sahni |
| Music by | Shantanu Moitra |
| Cinematography | Nataraja Subramanian |
| Editing by | Raviranjan Maitra |
| Distributed by | Vinod Chopra Productions |
| Release date(s) | 16 February 2007 |
| Running time | 105 min |
| Country |  India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Official website | |
| IMDb profile | |
Eklavya: The Royal Guard is a Bollywood film directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra which was released in India, the Netherlands, the United States, and the United Kingdom on 16 February 2007 [1].
It stars Amitabh Bachchan,Saif Ali Khan, Sharmila Tagore, Sanjay Dutt, Vidya Balan, Raima Sen, Jackie Shroff, Jimmy Shergill and Boman Irani. The film marks Vidhu Vinod Chopra's return to directing after seven years.
Contents |
[edit] Production
Eklavya: The Royal Guard was originally titled Yagna [2]. Production began in early 2005. The principal shooting of the film was completed in November 2005 [3]. The primary location for shooting was in Rajasthan. Shooting also took place in Devigarh and Jaipur. According to the official website, shooting took place inside the living quarters of the Jaipur Royal Family. Prince Raghavendra Rathore and Subarna Rai Chaudhari designed the costumes for the film [4]. Eklavya's cottage was built from scratch.
The action sequences were to take place in Egypt but the sequences took place near Bikaner. 600 camels were involved in the shoot [5].
Shantanu Moitra who was the music director of Parineeta (2005) composed the music for the film [6]. The global distributor for the film are Eros International [7].
The first teaser trailers were released featuring Amitabh Bachchan with a release date of Summer 2006. The release date was to be 15 December 2006 but this was pushed back to January 2007 and finally February 2007 [8]
[edit] Synopsis
The film is set in contemporary India. For nine generations Eklavya's (Amitabh Bachchan) family has guarded the Kings of Devigarh. He has only one purpose: to protect the Devigarh dynasty, the fort and the king. Eklavya has vowed to himself that whatever secrets he knows of the family will die with him on his funeral pyre. Having served the royal family all his life, he is getting old and blind.
The heir of the throne, Prince Harshwardhan (Saif Ali Khan) tired of the unfair customs ruling the land escaped to London but reluctantly returns for the funeral of his mother Queen Suhasinidevi (Sharmila Tagore). The kingdom is overjoyed with his return as is his mentally challenged twin sister, Princess Nandini (Raima Sen) and his childhood sweetheart Rajjo (Vidya Balan).
However the kingdom is torn because the farmers are being stripped of their lands. King Rana Jaywardhan (Boman Irani) along with his brother Rana Jyotiwardhan (Jackie Shroff) support the injustice to the farmers. The king receives a death threat over the phone. Pannalal Chohaar (Sanjay Dutt) investigates the threat to the king but with the kingdom already in turmoil his help may be too late. As carnage breaks the secrets of the Devigarh dynasty are revealed...
[edit] Cast
- Amitabh Bachchan ... Eklavya
- Sanjay Dutt ... Pannalal Chohaar
- Saif Ali Khan ... Prince Harshwardhan
- Vidya Balan ... Rajeshwari "Rajjo"
- Jackie Shroff ... Rana Jyotiwardhan
- Jimmy Shergill ... Udaywardhan
- Boman Irani ... King Rana Jaywardhan
- Raima Sen ... Princess Nandini
- Sharmila Tagore ... Queen Suhasinidevi
- Parikshat Sahni ... Omkar Singh
[edit] Characters
- Eklavya - Eklavya was named by his mother after his father's death. He comes from a long line of royal bodyguards and is entrusted with his father's dagger. He lives for one thing only- to protect the Rana family at all costs. However with old age he is getting blind, will he be able to protect the family?
- Harshwardhan - He is the only son of King Rana Jaywardhan and Queen Suhasinidevi. Having escaped the traditions of the land he returns for his mother's funeral. At his mother's request he fulfills her final wish and remains in the heavily guarded Devigarh fort. He must deal with the deception and lies that surround him with the help of his sister Nandini and his love Rajeshwari.
- Pannalal Chohaar - Pannalal comes from a low caste family, he has worked to get to the high ranks of society. He is asked to investigate a death threat that was made towards the king and is quickly drawn into a dangerous conspiracy.
- Rajeshwari - Rajeshwari is the daughter of the royal chauffeur, though she is seen as a close confidente of the queen. Her closest friends are Nandini and Harshwardhan who she harbours a secret love for. The queen entrusts her with a letter only to be given to Harshwardhan. It is not long before she is dragged into the madness that unfolds.
- Jyotiwardhan - He is the younger brother of the king and also his chief advisor. He slowly influences his elder brother to the point where the land is in turmoil. Everything is happening for his own purpose which is to overthrow the king.
- Rana Jaywardhan - He is the ruling king of the country. Haunted by his own failures he has one purpose- to get rid of the nobles and more importantly Eklavya.
- Udaywardhan - He is the son of Jyotiwardhan and joins his father in the plot to overthrow the king. He hates the fact that he is a minor royal and that Harshwardhan has a much higher status then him. This leads him to deeply resent his cousin.
- Nandini - Nandini is the mentally challenged daughter of the king and queen. Her closest friends and allies are her brother Harshwardhan and Rajeshwari. Nandini witnesses a brutal murder but will she be heard?
- Suhasinidevi - loved by all, her sudden and mysterious death plunges the country into darkness.
- Omkar Singh - the Royal chauffeur who, unbeknownst, is Rajeshwari's father.
[edit] Music
The soundtrack to Eklavya: The Royal Guard was released in 15 February 2006 [9].
| Eklavya: The Royal Guard | ||
 |
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| Soundtrack by Shantanu Moitra | ||
| Released |
15 February 2006 (India)
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| Recorded | Unknown | |
| Genre | Film soundtrack | |
| Label | ||
| Producer(s) | Vinod Chopra Productions | |
| Shantanu Moitra chronology | ||
|---|---|---|
| Parineeta (2005) |
Eklavya: The Royal Guard (2007) |
Khoya Khoya Chand (2007) |
| # | Title | Singer | Time | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Revelation | Pranab Biswas, Ravindra Sathe | 3:25 | |
| 2 | Chanda Re (The Moon Song) | Hamsika Iyer | 4:36 | |
| 3 | The Gayatri Mantra Theme | Ravindra Sathe | 2:27 | |
| 4 | Jaanu Na | Sonu Nigam, Swanand Kirkire | 4:29 | |
| 5 | The Killing | Sunidhi Chauhan, Pranab Biswas | 4:33 | |
| 6 | The Theme Of Eklavya | Pranab Biswas | 4:28 | |
| 7 | The Love Theme | Hamsika Iyer | 2:26 | |
| 8 | Suno Kahani (The Legend Of Eklavya) | Swanand Kirkire | 3:22 |
[edit] Response
[edit] Reviews
The first reviews of the film have been positive. The lead cast have been given good reviews. Taran Adarsh said Every actor in Eklavya: The Royal Guard stands out for terrific portrayal [10]. Bachchan and Khan have especially been applauded for their performances [11].
[edit] Box office
Despite a huge star cast the film opened to a poor response. In the second week of the film's release the film dropped nearly 75%, boxofficeindia.com has declared the film a flop [1].
[edit] Trivia
- In the film, Queen Suhasinidevi is the mother of Prince Harshwardhan. The actress who portrays the queen, Sharmila Tagore, is the mother of the actor who portrays the prince, Saif Ali Khan. They will share screen space for the first time since Aashiq Awara. This relationship was also alluded to in Parineeta through the train sequence.[12].
- Vidhu Vinod Chopra frequently uses the same actors. This film reunited a number of the cast from Parineeta: Saif Ali Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Vidya Balan, Raima Sen and Amitabh Bachchan. In addition to Dutt, the film also reunited members of Lage Raho Munna Bhai: Boman Irani, Jimmy Shergill, and Parikshat Sahni. Jackie Shroff starred in a number of other Chopra films, including Parinda, a clip of which is included in Eklavya.
[edit] References
- ^ glamsham.com. Release date for Eklavya: The Royal Guad confirmed. Retrieved on June 30, 2007.
- ^ indiafm.com. Yagna to Eklavya: The Royal Guard. Retrieved on June 30, 2007.
- ^ indiafm.com. Eklavya shooting is complete. Retrieved on January 27, 2007.
- ^ eklavya-movie.com. Royalty designs for the cast of Eklavya. Retrieved on January 27, 2007.
- ^ eklavya-movie.com. 800 camels used for action sequence. Retrieved on January 27, 2007.
- ^ indiaglitz.com. Shantanu Moitra back for Eklavya. Retrieved on January 27, 2007.
- ^ indiafm.com. Eros to distribute Vidhu Vinod Chopra's next. Retrieved on January 27, 2007.
- ^ indiafm.com. Release date for Eklavya pushed back. Retrieved on January 27, 2007.
- ^ http://www.audiorec.co.uk/prdtls.asp?id=2454&curr=0
- ^ indiafm.com. Performances stand out. Retrieved on February 16, 2007.
- ^ naachgaana.com. Eklavya: A visual treat. Retrieved on February 16, 2007.
- ^ http://in.rediff.com/movies/2004/dec/23saif.htm
[edit] External links
Directed: An Encounter with Faces • Sazaye Maut • Khamosh • Parinda • 1942: A Love Story • Kareeb • Mission Kashmir • Eklavya: The Royal Guard
Produced: Khamosh • Parinda • 1942: A Love Story • Kareeb • Mission Kashmir • Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. • Parineeta • Lage Raho Munna Bhai • Eklavya: The Royal Guard • Munna Bhai Chale Amerika
