Saaho Review {3.0}: Prabhas is in Yet Another Super Human Avtaar
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When you order for Bhelpuri, you will be served Bhelpuri and not Murgh mussallam with Shahi Tukra….period. In short, if you are going to hunt for screenplay, storyline or logic in a masala potboiler than you are at a wrong place.
With production cost pegging at 350 cr, SAAHO is a lavishly mounted film consisting of high end VFX effects, adrenaline pumping stunts with international crew and mind-blowing shoot locations. The film bargains hard to exchange content with style, swag and sophistication. And that explains ‘Bahubali’ Prabhas’s extreme makeover. From elaborate dhotis, he jumps straight into ultra-glamorous leather jackets and tight camos…golden chariots are replaced with sleek black beauties gliding on smooth streets while humble bow and arrow have turned into menacing rockets and rifles.
So, we have these bunch of grown up boys playing with their expensive ’toys’ in a fictional city of Waaji a la Gotham from BATMAN. Name of the game is gang war over a precious ‘black box’ left behind by a dead Mafioso, Jacky Shroff. Black Box is the source of unimaginable wealth. Obviously, anyone and everyone is on a treasure hunt to stake the first claim. At heart, SAAHO is a simplistic cop and crime drama peppered with extreme action sequences, song & dance at dream destinations and a larger- than- life hero to boot.
Well, all is going good and no one’s complaining till undercover police officer, Ashok opens his mouth to drawl…..and all action comes to a grinding halt. Prabhas’s slo-mo dialogue delivery in awkward Hindi feels like someone trying to talk while suppressing a yawn. Director, Sujeeth, may have had ambitious plans to cash on Prabhas’s ‘Bahubali’ glory by releasing SAAHO in 4 languages simultaneously but reality is something else.
The best part of the film is talented supportive cast of established actors. Jacky Shroff, Mahesh Manjrekar, Niel Nitin Mukesh, Arun Vijay, Mandira Bedi and Shraddha Kappor, to name a few. And the worst part is none of them get a fair chance to act or leave an impact. As if all that matters to the director is the stylised packaging of the whole film that banks heavily on the superstardom of charismatic Prabhas.
Maybe SAHO’s shrill background score and loud acts by one and all with juvenile lines will not align with North India sensibilities but then that’s how southern fan base enjoys a film 😊 So what if an ostrich is walking in the middle of the streets of Mumbai or a black panther playing around a house like a pet dog or tankers, cars, buses, motorcycles crashing onto each other every nano second….well, that also breaks Rohit Shetty’s record of car bashing !!!… But everything is fair in a masala entertainer 😊
Especially the superbike chase can give us enough goose bumps and chipped nails. I mean, if Tom Cruise can do in MISSION IMPOSSIBLE , so can our Prabhas in SAAHO…Yesss 😊😊 In addition ,we also have Jaqueline Fernandes gyrating to sultry moves in case our super cop is bored of bursting cars and breaking gadgets.
Shraddha Kapoor, his junior on duty, is the most gullible cry baby one can ever witness. When not totting guns, she is in charge of seducing Officer Prabhas over hills, lakes, meadows, ice lands and dance bars with Psycho Saiyya song. Wearing super tight jeans and pencil skirts over silk blouses, Shraddha manages to run, slide and duck bullets fearlessly. But all she gets in return for her brave act are some snide remarks and lustful looks from her hero. …nothing to cheer about ☹
By interval, all the devils in disguises are getting jittery over each other’s chances of laying hands on the booty. Briefly, director Sujeeth excels in providing unexpected twists and turns to the story but midway through the pace drops drastically. In between some silly dances, asthama attacks and lip locks, SAAHO moves forward for the final kill.
Prabhas ‘s efforts to break into Bollywood bastion with a bang are laudable but much needs to be improvised beyond pure action. Filling up the screen with his impressive physique and good looks, Prabhas will continue to rule the hearts of Venus beauties. Now only if he could stop drawling and start speaking in comprehensible Hindi…..
Shraddha Kapoor might have given up on quite a few Bolly films to accommodate SAAHO but will the gamble pay off is debatable. She tries hard to give in her best but is caged inside the walls of a poorly sketched out character.
Chunky Pandey and rest of the crooks try to finish off rattling their dialogues before a car or bullet comes their way. Poor baddies hardly get time to develop their villains.
Towards climax, I genuinely agree with the director’ notion that you have to be a ‘die hard fan ‘and not just a ‘fan’ to tolerate SAAHO. By the way, I am still figuring out the meaning of the word Saaho even as end credits roll 😊 😊
