SHIVAAY: Ajay’s Family Entertainer is a visual treat!
With Diwali round the corner and two big releases this Friday the audience seem in a quandary. What makes Shivaay different from Ae Dil Hai Mushkil is Ajay Devgn’s first directorial venture and one of the most ambitious project is out now. Despite the audience being divided for the two, Shivaay will give a tough competition to the latter. Lets check out what Shivaay has for us.
Movie cast: Ajay Devgn, Sayyesha Saigal, Erika Kaar, Abigail Eames
Director: Ajay Devgn
Shivaay (Ajay Devgn) spends time guiding tourists on high-altitude treks when not proving his mountaineering skills atop snow-clad Himalayan peaks. On one of these treks, Shivaay falls in love with Olga (Erika Kaar). Olga speaks flawless Hindi, Shivaay speaks some English. The morning after Shivaay impresses Olga with his tattoos (yes, not kidding), the group is on the trek. They see an avalanche coming their way. Everyone crosses over to the opposite peak. While trying to save an extraordinarily scared person, Shivaay and Olga are unable to make it before the avalanche hits them and they end up hanging between the peaks… and the people inside realise that they have fallen in love, and go on to consummate their relationship. Kissing, making love, et al, right there, hanging in the air.
On returning to Bulgaria, Olga finds out that she is pregnant. She doesn’t want to have the child, but Shivaay wants his ‘adhi family’. So nine months later,the child is born. Olga goes back to Bulgaria and Shivaay climbs mountain peaks with his daughter Gaura. The story of Shivaay has more meanders than the river Nile. It starts off in the Himalayas, reaches half the world away in Bulgaria. While the location shifts only a few thousand miles, events in the story are light years away from any sense or logic.
On discovering that her mother is alive and in Bulgaria, they rush Bularia. They run into Anushka (Sayyesha) there, who, under the orders of her boss (Saurabh Shukla), decides to overturn mountains and find Olga. The rest of the story involves Ajay Devgn saving the children of Bulgaria from child trafficking, finding a sex worker’s lost father, fending off numerous goons single-handedly, being dragged through half of the country with barely a scratch on his jeans and what not.
For the music of Shivaay there are five songs out of which three has been composed by Mithoon and there is one additional song, which is a reprised version by Jasleen Royal. Let’s have a detailed look at Shivaay music review.
The album opens with the track “Bolo Har Har Har” by Mithoon. This song has been penned by Sandeep Shrivastava, and sung by the talented, Mohit Chauhan, Sukhwinder Singh, Megha Sriram Dalton and Anugrah. Though the lyrics were a bit difficult to comprehend, they spoke to the hearts of many music lovers. Baadshah has voiced the rap portions of this song, which fits well with the rest of the classical over tunes. The music and lyrics were in sync, making it a perfect title track. This is definitely a rare song which has become quite popular amongst the youths.
The next track in the album is “Darkhaast”, which seems to be a love track. A very romantic number sung by Arijit Singh and Sunidhi Chauhan, and worded by Sayeed Quadri, the combination of this duo voicing Quadri’s lyrics makes one want to listen to it on repeat. The beats and the music are timed well with the lyrics. The verses are slow and soothing which seem to easily flow after the chorus. It is enhanced by energizing beats and tunes from the guitar.
Moving on to the next song in the album, we have “Raatein” which is a rare addition to Bollywood’s list of songs. While we have many romantic and dance numbers, we don’t find many dedicated to the father-daughter bond. This song, which is composed and sung by the immensely talented Jasleen Royal, who rose to instant fame with her previous hit numbers from Baar Baar Dekho (2016), “Nachde Ne Saare” and “Kho Gayye Hum Kahaan”, is a refreshing change of pace. The lyrics were written by Aditya Sharma, and the music sets a rather pleasant mood for the listener.
“Tere Naal Ishqa”, by Kailash Kher, is the next song in the album. Mithoon has weaved Quadri’s lyrics to give a new song for all those who’ve loved and lost. Like every other one of Kher’s songs, this track also boasts of his own trademark voice. The music is a fusion of Indian and Western, and complements one another to set the intended mood.
The album comes to a close with the reprised version of Jasleen Royal’s “Raatein”, which is very different from the original. The absence of music in the beginning of the song, combined with Royal’s voice, sets a rather grim mood. As music sets in the song, however, the uninviting mood is only intensified. A very interesting number, this one’s a must listen for all the Jasleen Royal fans!
Performance wise, this one was an Ajay Devgan show all the way. The actor is present is almost every other scene, leaving little scope for others to perform. Erika could have stuck to speaking English rather than the heavily accented Hindi which sounded funny. Sayyeshaa marks a decent debut and shows spark and charm while Vir Das should stick to doing stand-up comedy rather than overacting in cameo appearances.The one aspect Shivaay wins in is the locations and the way they have been captured on camera. Both the Himalayas and Bulgaria are breathtaking; the scale of the film is mesmerising as are the action and chase sequences. Watch it out for Devgan’s first directorial venture!
Rating: 3/5
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