Producer-Director Karan Johar’s highly ambitious film Brahmastra has been released today, September 9, 2022. The Ranbir Kapoor starter movie was released in 5019 Indian theatres on Friday. Additionally, it is set to release in 3894 screens internationally, making it one of the widest global releases for an Indian film.
The film, which stars Bollywood heavyweights such as Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Amitabh Bachchan, Nagarjuna, and even Shah Rukh Khan in a cameo role, and is said to have been made on a whopping Rs 410 crore budget, appears to have failed to make an impression on film critics and reviewers despite all of the hype surrounding it.
Well-known film critic Taran Adarsh took to Twitter Friday to review the movie. He completely wrote off the movie and called it a ‘king-sized disappointment’. Giving the Ayan Mukherjee directorial movie a two out of five-star rating, Adarsh said that the film was ‘low on content’. He opined that the movie was an ‘all gloss, no soul’.
“#OneWordReview… #Brahmāstra: DISAPPOINTING. #Brahmāstra is a king-sized disappointment… High on VFX, low on content [second half nosedives]… #Brahmāstra could’ve been a game changer, but, alas, it’s a missed opportunity… All gloss, no soul. #BrahmāstraReview,” read Taran Adarsh’s Tweet.
#OneWordReview…#Brahmāstra: DISAPPOINTING.
— taran adarsh (@taran_adarsh) September 9, 2022
Rating: ⭐⭐#Brahmāstra is a king-sized disappointment… High on VFX, low on content [second half nosedives]… #Brahmāstra could’ve been a game changer, but, alas, it’s a missed opportunity… All gloss, no soul. #BrahmāstraReview pic.twitter.com/5EOKJrtbiY
Taran Adarsh was not the only one who was unimpressed with the movie.
User @anshulksingh called the movie an ‘assault on all senses’. “My friend who watched #Brahmastra ignoring all my warnings said, “It is an assault on all senses. BGM is too loud & everything is so bloody red in d movie that your eyes start hurting after a point. It is a pointless film that has nothing to do with Hinduism.” #BrahmastraReview.”
My friend who watched #Brahmastra ignoring all my warnings said, “It is an assualt on all senses. BGM is too loud & everything is so bloody red in d movie that your eyes start hurting after a point. It is a pointless film that has nothing to do with Hinduism.” #BrahmastraReview
— Anshul Singh (@anshulksingh) September 8, 2022
Another critic going by the Twitter handle @umairsandu said that the movie was a big letdown. “#Brahmastra 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 !” read his Tweet, wherein he also rated the movie 2.5 out of 5.
#Brahmastra 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 !
— Umair Sandhu (@UmairSandu) September 5, 2022
Strictly AVERAGE! ⭐️⭐️1/2
Movie reviewer @bobbytalkcinema went on to compare Bollywood movies in general to movies from the South, solely to express his perspective on how Bollywood movie makers, rather than depending on good writing and stories, rely heavily on celebrity enigma/promotions. This, he claimed, is the major reason why Bollywood films ‘fail and brutally disappoint’.
#Brahmastra While South cinema chooses an interstng concpt & works hard on d writing part/script.
— Bobby Talks Cinema (@bobbytalkcinema) September 9, 2022
Bollywood just stops at d choice of sub & doesnt care about the writing/d script, largely relying upon its star enigma/promotions. And that’s where it fails & brutally disappoints.
Along with film reviewers and critics, many media houses also seemed to be disappointed with Karan Johar’s movie. Free Press Journal gave it a 2.5-star rating.
While Financial Express went on to take a dig at the movie by calling it a ‘film for kids’. “Brahmastra review: Ayan Mukherji’s Rs 410 crore grand vision ends up becoming a film for kids!”, read the headline of Financial Express’ report reviewing the big-budget movie.
Karan Johar’s Brahmastra faces boycott calls
For the unversed, Karan Johar’s Brahmastra has been facing trouble ever since its trailer premiered. It came under attack after its lead actress Alia Bhatt also told people that they were under no compulsion to watch her movie. Besides, a video of actor Ranbir Kapoor, who is playing the protagonist in the movie, surfaced where he said he was a beef-eating foodie. This too attracted a lot of criticism. To add fuel to the fire, the Hinduphobic tweets of Dharma Productions’ Development Executive Shreemi Verma also went viral on social media.
With the screenshots of her anti-Hindu tweets, netizens started to post on Twitter that she is associated with Dharma Productions, and linked to the upcoming movie Brahmastra. Netizens called for a boycott of the movie for its association with such a Hinduphobic person. She eventually deactivated her account to control the backlash of her remarks.
