When Twitter is inundated with GOM reviews, not just from regular people but also from politicians, you know something fishy is going on. Why are so many states trying to make the movie tax free? Is it because of its huge production costs, or because of the production company YRF, or is there some political agenda behind the movie?

After the terrible and lackluster first trailer of Prithviraj, the production house tried to do damage control by releasing the second, but still there was not much enthusiasm for many viewers to shell out their hard-earned money for this ‘Akki’ movie. Neither was it comedy, nor action. Not even some kind of small social movie, which Akki is known for these days.

A period movie based upon the life of emperor Prithviraj might entice Dehli and Mumbai inhabitants, but not everyone. Even the execution and sets of the movie seem to be inspired by Bahubaali and the color palette from Jodha Akbar.

The movie, directed by Chanakya-fame, Chandraprakash Dwivedi, tries to incorporate too many things within the runtime of two and a half hours. Definitely, the life of Prithviraj has many facets to be told, but instead of trying to incorporate everything, the movie could have focused mainly upon his wartime affairs only. Unfortunately, as a commercial pot boiler, the movie has his childhood story, his courtship with Sanyogita, his war with Muhammad Ghori, his preaching about feminism, faithfulness and friendship, etc. The director tried to ape “Bahubaali” but failed miserably.

Here are the major drawbacks which I found while watching the movie:

Akshay Kumar is a good actor and has grown by many folds since his debut in 1991 in Saugangh, but he is still made for modern day socio-commercial movies, not for larger than life biopics. You can never feel the character “Prithviraj” is on the screen, but it’s always Akshay Kumar who is playing the role of Prithviraj on the screen. One of the worst decisions made by the casting director As in all of his other movies, he is just sleep walking. Don’T get me wrong its not the bad acting, but acting without any conviction or not getting into the skin of character is major problem. Makers should now accept Akshay is not Dangal’s Aamir Khan, nor is he Sanju’s Ranbir Kapoor.

Manushi Chillar as the better half of Prithviraj has a long way to go in terms of acting. She looks fine in the stills and dances, but when it comes to emoting, she has a blank, wooden face. Needs a proper course in acting and reacting.

Definitely, production design and CGI are top notch in the movie, but morphing Sanjay Dutt’s face over a fit and young body is clearly odd. His aged facial expression never matches the physique that has been superimposed. Even Sonu Sood has been reduced to an “okay man” kind of role.

For any period war drama, we need a strong antagonist, be it “Kalke” in Baahubaali-The Beginning or “Khilji” in Padmavaat, but Prithviraj lacks to bring out “menacing character” from Manav Vij as Muhammad Ghori. There is no doubt he is a good actor, but for any movie larger than life, you need actors who fit the bill or live the character, like Ranveer as “Khilji” in Padmavaat. Only actors who shined in the movie were Ashutosh Rana & Sakshi Tanwar to some extent.

Another major drawback, which most films released this year have, is poor and forgettable music. It looks like music and movies are now two separate parts. YRF movies are always known for their good music, be it in even mediocre romantic movies like ‘Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi’ or even hardcore masala movies like the ‘Dhoom‘ franchise. Even Bollywood’s large scale period dramas like Jodha Akbar and Padmaavat boasts of nice and memorable music. Even placement of songs in the movie was wrong, which spoils the pace and mood of the story.

The only good things that I found in the movie were its cinematography, production design, and CGI. YRF should have opted to make a four-to-six-hour web series spanning around ten episodes with some new actors. That would have worked a charm as each facet of Prithviraj could have been explored properly, but trying to cram everything within two and a half hours with commercial actors spoiled the movie.

Not unbearable, but not worth a time.