Saaho movie review: High on action, weak on content

It really hurts when one of the most awaited films of the year turns out to be one of the disappointing films of the year. The makers of Saaho promised India’s biggest action entertainer, well it is quite good when it comes to action (still not the biggest action film), but the content and the entertainment factor is not up to the mark.

Saaho tells the story of Ashok (Prabhas), an undercover cop who comes to Mumbai to solve a robbery case. Soon, that robbery case is connected to the underworld of Wazi and of course a Black Box which can make people billionaire. Just before the interval, a twist takes place and then a twist in the climax. But believe us; we had guessed the twist of the interval as well as the climax even before it happened.

The movie is mounted on a huge scale and visually it is stunning. DOP R. Madhi has done great work here. But looks like writer-director Sujeeth just concentrated on making a huge film which is high on action, stylish like a Hollywood film and has some long chase sequences. Action is good and chase sequences are very well choreographed, but the problem is that they are very long. It just goes on and on. The runtime of the film is 174 minutes and it could have easily been cut short.

Also, the biggest disappointing factor is Shraddha Kapoor’s character and the actress herself. Talking about his female characters, Sujeeth had earlier stated, “It is an important role for the female character. Shraddha drives the film to the end. It was a conscious decision to make my female characters strong.” Well, giving a bit spoiler here, I would like to say that Shraddha also plays a cop in the film, but whenever she is in a problem, she requires Prabhas to save her. We wonder what Sujeeth actually meant with ‘strong female characters’.

Coming to actors, Prabhas looks hot and has acted very well. The film is a treat for his fans. Shraddha Kapoor doesn’t have a strong character and she has also performed badly. While she plays a cop, her hair and make-up look like she has just come out of a parlour. Also, Shraddha and Prabhas are not looking good as a jodi. Chunky Panday is amazing in the film and leaves a strong impact with his negative role. Arun Vijay is looking damn handsome in the movie and has performed very well. He impresses us a lot. Mandira Bedi, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Tinu Anand, Mahesh Manjrekar and Evelyn Sharma are wasted. Jackie Shroff is good in his cameo.

Talking about music, the songs in the film are good and the background score is also impressive. Well, looks like CBFC has converted Saiyaan Psycho to Saiyaan Kaiko…

Overall, Saaho is good when it comes to being a stylish action flick, but content-wise it disappoints.

Ratings: 2.5/5

P.S. At a point I felt I am watching an Abbas-Mustan directorial. By the way, the makers could have easily made it as Race 4.

Watch the trailer here…