Abhishek Bachchan and Priyanka Chopra in a sword and sorcery movie from Bollywood? That's certainly something different for me, and having two leading stars in this movie definitely provided that additional boost to pick up the DVD for closer scrutiny. Alas for a fantasy film, there's nothing groundbreaking in its special effects, action sequences or story, and if some kind of benchmark was to be set, then this would likely be at the level of Krull, and even then, Krull had a more coherent and intriguing premises than Drona.In Goldie Behl's creation, Drona refers to the long lineage of kings entrusted to protect the Nectar of Immortality, which demigods of the universe had decided to hide on Earth, under the constant eye of their chosen protector. Adit (Abhishek Bachchan) is the latest descendant of Dronas, but is unaware of his innate ability as protector of the world. In what seemed to be some vast similarities to Harry Potter, he lives with mean relatives and becomes a punching bag for their bullying, until he's awakened by his protector of sorts, the woman-warrior Sonia (Priyanka Chopra).So it becomes a discovery of his lineage, abilities and destiny, but this development plods along so slowly, coupled with Bachchan's constant brooding as Drona, that it makes it really infuriating to follow, and not to mention countless of over-dramatic moments each time he discovers a little something about himself or his abilities, or even his wardrobe, sword and trusty super steed. And in order to push this Drona into action, it had taken the villainous wizard Riz Raizada (Kay Kay Menon) a diabolical scheme to freeze Drona's mom (Jaya Bachchan) into suspended animation, and thereafter some really convenient plot development that allows the audience to follow Drona around in a rescue mission of sorts.Drona's abilities actually don't come off as well-defined, and you would've wondered at the amazing ability of his to fight off his opponents through various wire-fu moves. Battle sequences on the whole were rather lacklustre, and the big train action sequence came off as rather clunky and clumsy, and strictly meant for the kids. Costumes were rather average, and I thought Priyanka had to endure some really ridiculous outfits that tried too hard to make her look sexy yet fearsome as a warrior. The rare saving graces in the film were the numerous graphical and animated stills that get juxtaposed with the live action scenes. Those were really gorgeous to gawk at, together with some of the really ambitious special effects used to jazz up scenes, but a pity that the same can't be said of the film proper. And of course, Kay Kay Menon seemed to have a field day with a villain with a penchant for monologues through puppetry, and the creation of countless of clones to do his evil bidding and fight battles on his behalf. For a villain he had some of the best moments in being always one step ahead of the hero, until of course the decisive moment in the finale which was a real disappointment.No doubt Drona tried hard to be a one of a kind film in a genre seldom seen from Bollywood, but it contains more misses than hits, and lacked that fundamental quality that it's always about the story first, then special effects and action second. But as they say, the only way to go from here for this genre in Bollywood, is up. Watch only if you have some children to entertain.

After Bachchan senior had starred in Bollywood's biggest flop till date which undoubtedly is Ram Gopal verma's Aag, it's now Abhishek's turn to better him with Drona, a localized blend of Harry Potter, The Matrix and some silly special effects stolen from Hollywood! Probably, the Bachchan family didn’t want to be left behind after Hrithik delivered kiddies hit Krrish. Surely, the fantasy trip of Drona is an absolute apology of a film.The story begins with a narrative of the origin of the vase of elixir that the gods left on earth under the safekeeping of a family of Royals who became ‘Drona’s. A morose Abhishek living, probably in Prague has a chance encounter with sorcerer Riz Raizada, a wasted Kay Kay Menon, leading to a chain of events that bring him to India and Queen Jayati (Jaya Bachchan) with Priyanka Chopra playing his bodyguard Sonia.While you ponder over the weird name of Riz Raizada for a villain or an overused name of Sonia for Chopra, the story drags through from Europe to Rajasthan. Songs appear out of nowhere destroying the flow of the narrative completely. A bored Jaya Bachchan breaks into lullabies as soon as she sees him. Yeah, we know she missed that chance in his infancy! The love track between Drona and Sonia seems rushed and lacks depth.Abhishek wears a single expression and is morose as ever. Kay Kay Menon is made to look like a clown, replete with puppets and a funny hairdo last seen in Ace Ventura. And we are expected to be scared by him! All my sympathies to the lead lady Priyanka Chopra, who though looks as stunning as ever and has earnestly done justice to her role will be left licking her wounds after earning herself a fourth straight flop this year.There is a lot here that has been picked up from Hollywood. The most obvious is the old man with a long white beard a la Gandalf of LOTR. And Sonia getting Aditya to realize that he is ‘Drona’ is distinctly reminds you of Trinity in the Matrix. The tiny tots in Razpur remind you of oompa loompas in Charlie and the Chocolate factory. Chase sequences picked from Hollywood are not bad, but the poor background score makes it seem silly.To sum it up in Matrix Lingo, A bored Adi/Anderson is made to realize his nature by Sonia/Trinity just as he needs to battle with Raizada, an Asura and his men who are like agents. The Queen is wise and passive, more like the Oracle. The search of doors in Razpur is similar to what Neo does finding the door to the source among many back-doors. Maybe, we’ll get to see a Morpheus and an Architect in a sleepy Sequel.

Aditya (Abhishek Bachchan) lives with his adoptive parents but is only cared for by his father, with his mother and brother treating him as a subordinate. Unbeknown to Aditya, he is actually part of a lineage of male warriors who protect the universe from demons, and each comes to be known as Drona. He discovers his true identity when he is rescued by Sonia (Priyanka Chopra) after he is attacked by forces from the Demon Riz Raizada (Key Key Menon).Drona shares may similarities to other films, such as the humble beginnings of Harry Potter, to Lord of the Rings, though most notably with Prince of Persia. With a few name changes and a title change, anyone could have been fooled into thinking Drona was the film adaption of the popular video game series. Nevertheless Drona is the first Bollywood film deal with the realm of fantasy on such a large scale. Earlier this year the science fiction genre got a first with love Story 2050, but where Love Story faltered in ever way, being only watchable due to the fact that it was a science fiction Bollywood film, Drona actually has some substance going for it. The plot is nothing amazing, and fairly simple. Luckily, it doesn't take Drona to the intermission to get into the fantasy realm, but does so rather soon in the film. Though what Drona lacks in story, it makes up for in mythos. The opening, which is done in a comic form, builds up potential for future films as it appears there is so much left to tell in the world of Drona. Regardless of whether you enjoy the film or not, there is definitely hinted at for potential sequels.The acting side of Drona is not as good as hoped. Jaya Bachchan is underused, and Priyanka Chopra is not entirely up to scratch, though her performance is thankfully better then that from love Story 2050. Abhishek starts off slowly and seems out of sync with his character. He gets better as the film progresses but seems more capable of the silent hero type than the normal everyday person. Whether this is indicative of how well his acting is, is difficult to gather from Drona, but its very possible that his acting skills won't be viewed greatly by the masses even though he definitely has the ability.Though it is Kay Kay Menon who steals the show: his role as the creepy, clownish, and somewhat nervous Riz Raizada is very fun to watch. His character is similar to the likes of Kefka from the popular video game Final Fantasy 6 - he is a villain who seems somewhat maniacal, and Menon plays the part well.Drona's weakest aspects is definitely its special effects and music. Beyond a few scenes, the CG looks either too cartoon like, or just not well textured. There are however a few gorgeous special effects spotted every once and a while, but for a big budget fantasy film like this, everyone once and a while just does not cut it. The music is also disappointing, though thankfully quite unique to the usual Bollywood selection. There are a select few tracks which are listenable, with the rest being on the forgettable side. One such track also happens to occur during one of the most boring parts of the film making it a very slow preliminary to the final arc of the story.No sex, nudity or language, Drona does depict some violent acts with a fairly decent amount of sword fighting involving stabbings. While none of the throat slitting occurs on screen the after effects are shown briefly, and blood does make an appearance.Drona 2 is apparently ready to roll when ever Goldie can get to it., Honestly,he should do a film or two before proceeding with the sequel. The biggest factor in Drona not being as good as it should be is because it is evident that Goldie is still trying to find his feet in the directing world. With some more experience, Drona 2 can shape up to be quite a worthwhile experience. He'll be able to rectify the music selection, special effects and even his own cinematography. It was not everything it was marketed to be, but Drona has created a decent enough mythos for potential sequels. It is not a bad film at all, and a great individual in a flood of clichéd romance offerings.

Yesterday even after being such a bad weather in UK, my 5 yr old daughter dragged me to Cinema to watch Drona. Me, having read the reviews already, wasn't expecting much but being a fan of Fantasy adventure deep inside, I let myself to be dragged to the cinema, paid price in UK Pounds and also victimised my innocent wife as well.What do we get in return, My favourite Abhishek, Priyanka and KK as actors and supposedly a fantasy adventure, Which could really have worked if handled properly by a worthy team and not by an amateur director who is Abhishek's childhood friend and suddenly he and Abhishek decide to make a film with sword fights etc (They actually said that in an TV Interview) and make the audience the actual scapegoat. If bollywood still thinks that Indian audience is just a bunch of dumb asses, Please think again and again ...So I was saying, What do we get in the movie, Abhishek, who looks completely disinterested, his eyes looks like he had just woken up and hadn't had a bath since his childhood avatar. Jaya ji, who doesn't look at all like a beaten up lonely widow woman but more like a plump and expressionless queen, Maybe Rakhi is perfect for such roles (Mere KAran Arjun aayenge type.). Then we get K K Menon, a Perfect actor, but what he is doing here. The character he was playing, Riz Rayzada, wasn't just the worst character he ever played but the worst villain as well that bollywood had produced. If anybody still remember Joginder, then even he was much better. Everything related to Riz Rayzada , may it be his looks, his antics or his kingdom, looks so bad, it actually creates a new definition of bad. We can say that only good thing was Priyanka Chopra, as she looks good and more confident and played her character well.Movie sets, may it be Raajpur or Villain's layer , they looks sooo cheap, that even TV serials are doing better these days. The quality of action is another thing to talk about. There was a complete lack of imagination. Except the last sword fight, all the other action sequences were so badly done and confusing, I hardly have any words to explain that. You just know that OK now action is happening but actually nothing great is happening on screen, even the train sequence, that looks good in trailers, was a big big let down. They flaunt about Indian martial arts etc in promos but actually you didn't get to see even a single fight showing clear martial art moves.Special effects were nothing great but they were OK for Indian standards as definitely we can't compare what we see in Hollywood movies with their mega budgets. But again, some of them could be better.Overall, It was a big joke of a movie, which make me now like Tashan, which at least have KAreena's bikini show. I would request Bachchans and producers that now Indian audience is not only Rikshaw wala, chai wala etc but now a big share of Indian audience is an educated lot, who knows the difference between good and bad. I think even I could have done a better script and direction, compared to what Goldie Bahl did. Please don't take Indian audience for granted and produce quality stuff and it will give you good results.