Akshay continues to struggle with his another latest release - Ram Setu
Rating- 2/ 5
Director - Abhishek Sharma
Writer - Abhishek Sharma
Dialogues - Abhishek Sharma, Chandraprakash Dwivedi
Producer - Aruna Bhatia, Vikram Malhotra
Cinematography- Aseem Mishra
Editor - Rameshwar S. Bhagat
Music-Daniel B. George, Ajay–Atul, Vikram Montrose, Ved Sharma, Dr. Zeus
Duration - 143 minutes/ UA
Starring -
Akshay Kumar (Dr. Aryan Kulshrestha, an archaeologist)
Jacqueline Fernandez (Dr. Sandra Rebello)
Nushrratt Bharuccha (Professor Gayatri Kulshrestha, Aryan's wife)
Satyadev Kancharana (associate producer), Nassar
Filmography: Some important film's
Akshay Kumar
1) Saugandh (1992)
2) Laxmi (2020)
3) Bell Bottom (2021)
4) Sooryavanshi (2021)
5) Atrangi Re (2021)
6) Bachchhan Paandey (2022)
7) Samrat Prithviraj (2022)
8) Rakshabandhan (2022)
9) Cuttputlli (2022)
Jacqueline Fernandez
1) Aladin (2009)
2) Drive (2019)
3) Mrs. Serial killer (2020)
4) Bhoot Police (2021)
5) Bachchhan Paandey (2022)
6) Attack (2022)
7) Vikrant Rona (2022)
Nushrratt Bharuccha
1) Kal Kisne dekha (2009)
2) Pyaar Ka Punchnama (2011)
3) Sonu ke Titu Ki Sweety (2018)
4) Dream Girl (2019)
5) Chhalaang (2020)
6) Ajeeb Daastaans (2021)
7) Chhorri (2021)
8) Hurdang (2022)
9) Janhit mein Jaari (2022)
Abhishek Sharma (Director)
1) Tere Bin Laden (2010)
2) Parmanu : The Story of Pokhram
3) The Zoya Factor ( 2019)
4) Suraj pe Mangal Bhari (2020)
Story
An atheist archaeologist turned believer must race against time to prove the true existence of the legendary Ram Setu before evil forces destroy the pillar of India's heritage.
Plus points:
1) Acting
Akshay Kumar has done a good job. He’s quite impressive as an archaeologist. But surprisingly, he kept his old-looking white beard throughout. Why couldn’t the director give him a good look?
Among other star cast, Satyadev Kancharana stands out. Nassar is okayish.
Jacqueline Fernandez still need to learn the ABCD of acting despite being in the film industry for 14+ years (aisa lagta hai jaise wo Ram Setu aur Ravan ko dhundhne nahi picnic pe gayi hai). How she manage to get all big films? Probably because of her bonding with top makers and actors.
Nushrratt Bharuccha has been wasted in an insignificant role.
2) Production design is of top standards.
Locations of Rameshwar Jafna and others are beautifully exploited. DOP is of international standards. Film is rich in action and all other technical departments.
3) Courtroom drama is excellently shot in the climax. Those who believe in Lord Ram ideology, would love this fictional drama.
Minus points:
1) Story, Screenplay and Dialogues
Story is a pure work of fiction, except the existence of Ram Setu (proved by Google). Screenplay is okay in the first half while it has zero twist, turns, thrill or adventure in the second half. Dialogues are pretty ordinary (many are in English).
2) Direction
Director Abhishek Sharma fails to connect the masses into the drama. He should have made a 45 minutes documentary instead of a 143 minutes feature film.
He concentrates on the existence of Ram Setu made by Lord Ram in the first half but diverts the story to prove the existence of Ravan in Sri Lanka (Jafna) in the second half which is absurd.
Film’s second half is infernally slow because of his poor writing and fails to connect from mythological point of view.
3) Editing
It has many loose ends in the first half and keeps dragging, dragging and dragging in the later part.
4) Music
No chartbuster song. "Jai Shree Ram" song should have been played at one go instead of reappearing on different occasions.
5) Film lacks entertainment (romance or comedy).
Box office:
Opening was very very poor. Audience have no excitement. The content plays a big role here as it's always ‘family entertainment’ films that usually work during Diwali (and not action).
So during last Diwali, Akshay Kumar with his film Sooryavanshi got a good opening of ₹ 26 crore but his Ram Setu will struggle to get a decent opening. Also shockingly, there’s no support from any political parties or those who believe that Ram Setu was made by Shri Lord Ram.
This film failed to make setu (bridge) between the audience and theatres.
It’s Akshay Kumar’s bad luck that his last 6 films flopped. And now this one will also be added to that list.