Sahoo

 probably already know the answer to the above question, but writer-director Sujeeth takes you through a maze of twists and turns before he gets there – none of them engaging. Pegged as India’s biggest action thriller, Saaho gets into the action mode pretty early on. The film begins with signature wide angles of massive structures and grim looking men who mean serious business. All through the first half, the film travels through cities trying to connect high stake robberies in Mumbai and the search for a missing black box that holds the key to a fortune. But by the time the ‘interval bang’ rolls around, you kind of already know where this is heading, thanks to on-the-nose dialogues.

Then there’s Prabhas, with an entry so subtle it quickly takes a turn, leading to a loud, high-octane fight scene that sets the stage for many more such confrontations. While he does fit the bill perfectly for the larger-than-life role, his dialogue delivery is deliberately slow, almost like a drawl, and doesn’t always work. His one-liners and humour falls flat, none of the jokes somehow land. However, the way his character unfolds does keep the viewer guessing. Shraddha Kapoor looks glamorous but delivers a lifeless and expressionless performance for a character that’s poorly sketched to begin with. Introduced as a tough-talking cop, it doesn’t take long before she’s turned into a damsel-in-distress who often needs saving. She always seems to be the last one to know what’s up. Even the chemistry between the lead pair is a touch and go with even the hyped up ‘romantic fight scene’ not working completely.

Among the many villains, Chunkey Pandey as Devraj stands out with a very convincing portrayal of his character. He oozes menace and seethes with anger, if only he had gotten better lines to match that acting prowess. The rest, despite being stupendous actors, somehow come off as mere caricatures who fail to make an impact. The way Mandira Bedi’s character develops is laughable. The songs are so oddly placed in the narrative; they only manage to add on to an already long runtime and add to a choppy narrative.

Saaho surely delivers well as an action extravaganza with a climax that attempts to compensate for its many flaws. The film’s second half picks up pace, but is marred by a weak narrative that needs constant suspension of disbelief. The hyped up special effects and CGI too lack finesse for a film mounted on such a grand scale.
Sujeeth attempts at a potboiler that fires in any and all directions to entertain the audience. You can also see how the story, despite being predictable, might have sounded good on paper, but the many twists and turns just leave you exhausted than excited. Saaho is an attempt at reinventing a story as old as time, if only the numerous ‘bangs’ managed to land.