Chennai: Whenever movies with heavy budget are made, expectations are high. Reportedly made with a budget of Rs 350 crores, Saaho made our eyes pop out in delight with its stunts and action sequences when its trailer was released.
However, it has fallen flat. Directed by Sujeeth, the film has a ensemble of stars, with Prabhas, Shraddha Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Neil Nitin Mukesh, Arun Vijay, Chunky Pandey and Mandira Bedi in lead roles.
The movie is about infighting within a powerful gang, the Roy Group, which owns a conglomerate of industries and wealth in its fold. The cops use this situation to their benefit by destabilizing their dominance. The story is set in a futuristic Indian city called Waahi, which has towering skyscrapers, and it reminds us of a video game-like atmosphere.
What primarily staggers Saaho is its screenplay. It is muddled with too many underdeveloped characters and several backstories that fail to connect each other. There are moments when certain scenes do not lead to the next. For example, the romantic relationship between Saaho (Prabhas) and Amritha (Shraddha) seems strained, and there is no depth. It is underdeveloped and rushes treble fold.
The first half introduces several characters, and the plot keeps turning complex with each passing minute. It primarily focuses on the investigation of a bank heist. It drags on and on with plenty of logic-defying stunts and car-chasing sequences. It then ends with a twist and what follows the rest of the plot is Saaho’s race against time to steal a ‘black box,’ which is the key to a ton load of money.
The music does its best to pump thrilling moments, but yet again as the plot don’t make much sense, it fails to please. Also, the songs appear at the wrong time, unfortunately dragging the pace of the plot longer. The stunts to an extent, in certain sequence, are watchable and so is the cinematography. But with a big budget, the movie’s VFX is bland. This proves that without a proper screenplay, no matter how many bucks the producer can rake in, a movie will fail to entertain.