EKLAVYA ? THE ROYAL GUARD is an almost flawless product that should make every moviegoer euphoric. In the future, if you discuss qualitative movies that accorded Hindi cinema a certain dignity, you'd surely include EKLAVYA ? THE ROYAL GUARD in that magnificent list!

Contemporary India. A majestic fort. A royal dynasty that no longer rules. A king without a kingdom. Yet Eklavya [Amitabh Bachchan], their royal guard, lives in a time warp. He lives only to protect the fort, the dynasty and the king. For nine generations, Eklavya's family has protected Devigarh, a centuries old citadel in Rajasthan. Eklavya has spent his entire life serving the royals and closely guarding their secrets, but now he's getting old and increasingly blind. Unable to cope with the suffocating customs of his land, the heir, Prince Harshwardhan [Saif Ali Khan], has stayed away in London. But the sudden demise of the queen, Rani Suhasinidevi [Sharmila Tagore], forces the Prince back to the kingdom he had left behind.

The Prince's return brings a rush of joy into the moribund fort. His mentally challenged twin sister, Princess Nandini [Raima Sen] and his childhood love, Rajjo [Vidya Balan] are delighted to see him. But the joy of reunion is short-lived.

There is unrest in the kingdom: Farmers are being stripped of their lands. The king, Rana Jaywardhan [Boman Irani], influenced by his brother, Rana Jyotiwardhan [Jackie Shroff], supports the atrocities being forced upon the helpless peasants. The king receives a death threat over the phone. An irreverent police officer, Pannalal Chohar [Sanjay Dutt], is called in to investigate. But he might be too late. The fragile peace of the land is suddenly shattered by a barrage of bullets. And amidst the mayhem, the safely guarded secrets of the fort are unveiled.

With a running time of less than two hours, EKLAVYA ? THE ROYAL GUARD offers more drama and twists-n-turns than the usual Hindi film. The screenplay [writers: Vidhu Vinod Chopra and Abhijat Joshi] is cohesive, the plot doesn't veer into sub-plots, there's just one song [soulful; you don't feel the need for more songs] and there are enough moments to keep your attention arrested. ….read more

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