Drona
is
a
big
film
in
all
respects
--
big
stars,
big
canvas,
big
expenditure
on
SFX,
big
ad
spend,
big
expectations.
Sadly,
it's
a
big,
big,
big
letdown
as
well.
Fantasy/adventure
films
are
a
rarity
in
Bollywood.
Actually,
you
want
to
laud
Goldie
Behl
for
being
courageous,
for
venturing
into
a
lane
that's
rarely
visited
by
dream
merchants
here.
But
the
screenplay
is
a
complete
mess.
In
fact,
if
at
all
there
would
be
Razzies
in
Bollywood,
the
three
writers
of
Drona
--
Jaydeep
Sarkar,
Rohini
Killough
and
Goldie
Behl
--
should
be
nominated
proto
for
coming
up
with
a
sloppy
and
slipshod
screenplay.
What
saddens
your
heart
is
the
fact
that
the
Lullas
of
Eros
and
Shrishti
Arya,
the
producers
of
Drona,
have
spared
no
efforts
in
giving
Drona
a
spectacular
look.
The
vision
is
perfect,
but
how
about
narrating
an
absorbing
and
attention-grabbing
story?
You
remember
Drona
for
its
striking
visuals,
not
storyline.
It's
like
embellishing
priceless
and
precious
jewels
on
a
mannequin.
What's
wrong?
Goldie
Behl
and
his
writers
can't
decide
if
Drona
is
a
superhero
film
or
fantasy.
Although
the
makers
have
been
maintaining
all
along
that
it's
not
about
a
superhero,
the
fact
is,
it
is.
In
Drona,
the
protagonist
does
everything
that
a
superhero
does.
However,
the
lead
character
would
only
look
more
powerful
if
the
anti-hero
is
equally
authoritative.
Surprisingly,
the
negative
force
here
[Kay
Kay
Menon]
is
more
of
a
buffoon
than
a
villain.
More
minusses!
Dhruv
Ghanekar's
music
is
a
big
yawn.
The
tunes
are
listless
and
the
placement
of
songs
is
equally
jarring.
Also,
the
length
is
a
problem.
You
wouldn't
mind
a
3-hour
film
even
today,
provided
it
has
the
power
to
keep
you
glued
to
the
screen.
In
this
case,
the
2
+
hours
seem
never-ending.
The
film
goes
on
and
on
and
after
a
point,
you
actually
want
to
scream,
'Enough!'.
In
a
nutshell,
Drona
disappoints
and
how!
Little
Aditya
has
never
known
love.
Brought
up
by
a
foster
family,
all
he
knows
is
taunts
and
humiliations.
Aditya
[Abhishek
Bachchan]
grows
up.
Enter
an
evil
sorcerer
Riz
Raizada
[Kay
Kay
Menon],
a
descendant
of
the
Asuras.
He
is
desperate
for
a
precious
secret
--
the
amrit.
But
to
lay
his
hands
on
the
amrit,
he
will
have
to
defeat
Drona.
Problem
is
he
doesn't
know
who
Drona
is.
One
fateful
day,
Aditya
and
Riz
come
face
to
face.
Riz
notices
the
kada
that
Aditya
is
wearing
and
recognizes
him
as
Drona.
Riz's
men
chase
him,
but
he's
saved
by
Sonia
[Priyanka
Chopra],
who
makes
Aditya
realize
his
true
identity.
Sonia
takes
Aditya
to
his
birthplace,
to
his
mother,
Queen
Jayati
Devi
[Jaya
Bachchan].
Aditya
gets
to
know
his
roots,
but
Riz
and
his
army
catch
up
with
him.
Thus
begins
Drona's
journey...
Given
the
fact
that
Drona
rests
on
a
thin
plot,
there's
not
much
that
director
Goldie
Behl
can
do
to
salvage
the
show.
Yet,
Goldie
has
executed
two
sequences
with
style.
In
fact,
these
two
sequences
stand
out
like
an
oasis
in
a
desert.
The
first,
when
Kay
Kay
turns
Jaya
Bachchan
into
a
statue.
The
second,
the
train
sequence.
Awe-inspiring
sequences!
Drona
is
also
high
on
VFX
and
a
couple
of
sequences
are
well
implemented.
Note
the
petal
storm
towards
the
latter
part
and
also
the
one
when
Kay
Kay
drags
Priyanka
into
his
yacht.
Sameer
Arya's
cinematography
is,
quite
surprisingly,
inconsistent
this
time.
The
lighting
is
too
dark
at
places.
The
production
design
[Tania
R.
Behl]
is
innovative.
Jaya
Bachchan
is
grace
personified.
The
only
regret
is,
she
gets
less
footage.
Abhishek
does
very
well.
He
plays
his
part
most
convincingly.
Priyanka's
introduction
is
fantastic,
but
her
'Babuji
kehte
hain'
dialogue
gets
on
your
nerves
after
a
point.
Kay
Kay
fails
to
impress.
Navneet
Nishan
hams.
On
the
whole,
Drona
lacks
soul.
At
the
box-office,
the
publicity
blitzkrieg
might
ensure
good
returns
in
its
opening
4-day
weekend,
but
the
cracks
should
start
appearing
sooner
than
expected,
since
the
film
fails
to
keep
you
hooked.
Its
fall
is
imminent!