Shivaay- Ashdoc’s movie review

Ajay Devgan plays Shivaay who is a mountaineer capable of extreme skills; no wonder, because he is virtually the modern incarnation of the Hindu God Shiva- with long hair and trishul (trident—Shiva’s weapon) tattooed on his body. He shows his flair for extreme mountaineering in some fabulously photographed scenes in the beginning of the movie- all shots of white snowcapped mountains taken from several long range and close out angles.

I was laughing however when some firangee girls who came for mountaineering said that Shivaay looks so hot and sexy; Ajay Devgan is ugly enough for a laugh at such statements. He openly flirts with one of them (Bulgarian heroine) who looks good with roses and milk pink complexion. While saving her from an avalanche they make passionate love in a tent that is hanging in a crevasse- another ridiculously unbelievable scene.

But she wants to go back to her native Bulgaria and does go back after reluctantly giving birth to an unwanted love child- wanted by him because he is in love with her and wants a memory of his moments with her, but unwanted by her. But when the girl child (who is dumb but not deaf) grows up, she wants to meet the mother who did not even want to see her face and the father agrees under pressure from the daughter to take her to Bulgaria.

Until now the movie was actually going well with some real story and sentiments and emotion; I was engrossed. Even though the movie has been marketed as an action movie, it is actually in the emotional and tender moments that Ajay Devgan has excelled in direction and he should have stuck to that. Because when he turns to action which is supposedly his forte, it is then that the movie unravels. The actions scenes are nothing special and they are far too prolonged.

While photography continues to be good, I found the action not so entertaining. It is hampered by the permanent expression of distress that Ajay has on his face. The action itself seems to be veering on tragedy all the time. The punches and kicks that Ajay throws seem too tired in their execution. Shiva (Shivaay) has opened his third eye, but where is the smoulder in the look and the fire in the soul ? Instead it is just a tired looking and distressed Devgan.

In Bulgaria the daughter gets kidnapped by human traffickers and Shivaay moves heaven and earth to get her back from the hell she is in. And mayhem does ensue. He is helped by an Indian embassy girl . And Shivaay has such divine powers that hundreds of bullets fired from a helicopter fail to hurt him for they fall all around him but don’t hurt his body or his daughter’s body while they are on the run—how? Only God Shiva knows.

The villains are the Russian mafia but there is no Indian villain-another mistake on Ajay’s part. For with no famous Indian actor as villain and no famous Indian actress as heroine, Ajay has to carry the entire film on his shoulders. And he is no superstar to do that. Especially when the competition is ‘Ae dil hain mushkil’ with Aishwarya Rai , Ranbir Kapoor and Anushka Sharma.

On the other hand music is good and some songs are really hummable and worth listening to again. Acting by everyone is okay but nothing great. The Bulgarian mother and daughter look cute in their roles.

Verdict- Average

Two stars