Brahmastra: Part One - Shiva

<p>In ancient India, a group of sages in the collide with the energy , which produces many celestial weapons of great power called . The strongest among them, the , has the capacity to destroy the world. The sages use their respective to tame the unstable and become the , a secret society to protect the world from the powers of . In present-day , , a , falls in love at first sight with Isha Chatterjee, a resident who is visiting India for the festival at her grandfather’s . Soon, Isha reciprocates and expresses her feelings for Shiva. Shiva tells her that he is an orphan who never knew his father, and that his mother died in a fire when he was a baby. Meanwhile, in , scientist and member Mohan Bhargav is attacked by Zor and Raftar for a piece of the he safeguards. Mohan fights back using the but is ultimately subdued by Junoon, who works for the mysterious evil named Dev. Under Junoon’s possession, who uses Vash Mukut, Mohan reveals that the second piece of is protected by artist and archaeologist Anish Shetty in . Before he can reveal the current location and of the (A ), Mohan throws himself out of a balcony. Shiva has a vision of Mohan’s encounter with Junoon, as he has a piece of Agneyāstra tied to his one hand, and Shiva is somehow connected to it. He and Isha head to Varanasi to warn Anish but are interrupted by Raftar, who now wields Mohan’s . Anish defeats him using the before escaping with Shiva and Isha. While going to , where A is located, they are chased by Junoon and Zor in a truck. Anish gives the second piece of the Brahmāstra to Shiva and stays to fight Junoon and Zor, only to be killed. Shiva and Isha are chased by Raftar to A where Shiva kills him using his power of fire after he tried to kill Isha. At A , they learn about other and Shiva is forced to join by the Raghu for information on his parents. He meets other new recruits Rani, Raveena, Sher and Tenzing, who are all trained by Raghu on how to use their respective astras and Shiva also gains control over fire. As Junoon gets closer to them, Raghu reveals that Shiva is the son of former members, Dev and Amrita. Dev actually awoke the as he was the only person who was able to control multiple ā at once. Dev’s wife Amrita (pregnant with Dev’s child), who wielded the , defeated Dev in a battle on a remote island and both of them seemingly perished in the battle. Amrita’s boat was found in the ruins of the battle, brought back from the island, with two broken pieces of the . The pieces of the were given to both Mohan and Anish, while the third piece was believed to be missing, with Raghu and Shiva concluding that they both survived the battle. The third piece of the is in Amrita’s disguised as a shell, which Raghu releases by dropping Shiva’s blood on the conch. Junoon and her army arrive at Ä€shram for the and hold everyone hostage. Shiva defeats Junoon while also killing Zor, who wielded Anish’s and releases everyone. But Junoon manages to take the third piece from Isha, and seemingly sacrifices herself to activate the . The destruction begins and Isha is in danger, but Shiva gains control over the with newfound strength stemming from his protectiveness and love of Isha and reunites with her. In the , due to Junoon having activated the Brahmāstra, Dev, who was imprisoned as a statue on an unknown island, is freed. The idea of first came to Mukerji in 2011 while writing the script for his second film (2013). Mukerji first announced that he was working on a new project in July 2014. In October 2017, was officially announced by producer . Mukerji was signed as the director while , and were set to star. Initially, the film’s working title was , but was officially titled as in 2017. Mukerji explained that the title “resonates with the ancient wisdom, energies and power.” Mukerji also revealed that it is a “contemporary film with ancient elements.” In 2017, Johar revealed his plan to make the film into a film trilogy. The preparation for the film started in January 2018. In an interview, Kapoor stated that Mukerji “has spent six years of his life working really hard to make an original story” and that the trilogy would be made over a period of 10 years and refuted rumours suggesting that it is a romantic superhero film. Instead, Kapoor confirmed that the film is a “romantic fairytale in a format” and that the film is not something which “doesn’t have truth to it, or which is unbelievable”. Telugu film actor also confirmed that he would be playing a “pivotal” role and it marked his return to after 19 years, following his appearance in 2003 film . revealed in an interview that she is the “only antagonist” in the film. In June 2022, Mukerji announced the film would be a part of a trilogy franchise – serving as the first instalment – under the , a cinematic universe centered around various mystical . In August 2022, Roy confirmed had a cameo appearance in the film. Khan reprises his character from the film (2004). Mukerji started work 9 years before the theatrical release. work started in 2014 and filming began in 2018. In February 2018, Bachchan and Kapoor did look tests in the presence of Mukerji. In July 2022, a video was released featuring Mukerji explaining the mystical universe of various . He explained how from the , were born, which compose all the different energies that are found in nature like (water), (wind), and (fire). He also talked about that store the powers of different animals like the , which can give the power of a “divine” monkey to the person who controls it, and the , which contains the power and strength of a thousand bulls, within itself. The last āstra to emerge from the universe, carrying the collective power of the Brahm-Shakti – called the “lord of all the “ – is explained to be one of the most powerful celestial weapons of gods (or ) in , the . Mukerji stated that the core idea was inspired by stories of Hindu mythology he heard in his childhood from his grandfather. Kapoor described the film as an action-adventure about a named Shiva and his journey with his ladylove Isha, and finally something that leads him to his destiny which is the Mukerji revealed that the inspiration behind actor Kapoor’s character came from ‘s phrase “love is the bridge between you and everything”, to build the foundation of the film. The character initially had long hair; later, he revealed that the look was scrapped and Kapoor had gotten a haircut instead. Kapoor revealed his experience with look tests for the film, expressing that it is a “tedious job: sticking, removing applying, de-applying, and applying again, until some decision is reached”. began in February 2018 with the commencement of the first schedule of the film on 24 February 2018. The first schedule of the film was wrapped up in on 24 March 2018. The second schedule of filming continued in said country and then on 8 July 2018, in in late July, and then back in Bulgaria by the end of the month. Extensive shooting started on 1 February 2019 at , . The 20-day schedule started in the and Chet Singh Fort in on 30 July 2019. The filming was halted in March 2020 due to the , and later resumed in November 2020. Filming on 29 March 2022 in . After ‘s father , proposed some changes in the film to Mukerji, reshoots were conducted for four days. It was reported that the production budget for the film was (US$48 million), which would make it one of the and the most expensive Hindi film ever at the time of its release. However, the lead actor Ranbir Kapoor later clarified that the reported budget was for production of all three main instalments of the franchise, and the assets built during the production of the first film will be used in future instalments. In the , it is estimated that 150 crore rupees were spent on by makers. The VFX work was done by DNEG-Prime focus company. was supervised by Prakash Kurup. music and sound design studio, led by Pritam, provided sound effects. DNEG and ReDefine’s foreign team created visual effects. did the for the Telugu version. Ranbir and Alia dubbed for their portions in September 2020 in a studio in . composed the soundtrack while composing the background score along with Prasad Shaste, Jim Satya, , Tanuj Tiku & Ketan Sodha, while the songs are produced and mixed by British musician , with lyrics written by . The score was recorded at . The song “Rasiya” was sung by singer . . The song was sung by singer . The film’s titular soundtrack album was officially released on 6 October to streaming formats and digital retailers, coinciding with the occasion of . was one of the most anticipated Hindi releases of 2022. The title logo of the film was revealed on 4 March 2019. The same day, it was unveiled on at ; 150 drones were used to light the sky up to form it. The official logo of was released on 6 March 2019, while – who serves as the film’s presenter for its South Indian language versions – and presented it in the , , and versions on 12 March 2019. A forty-second motion logo was also released, with Bachchan’s voiceover in it. Also on 12 March, a promotional video of the making of the music score for the motion logo, featuring the film’s music composer , was released. On 5 April 2019, a promotional behind-the-scenes video of the execution of the title logo’s unveiling in the sky was released. A featuring Kapoor’s then undisclosed character was released on 14 December 2021. The following day, another motion poster featuring his character, Shiva, was released on 15 December 2021, while a fan event in support of the poster launch was held some hours prior to it in , and was broadcast live by the film’s streaming partner, , on its platform and social media. An event was held in to launch the Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam and Kannada versions of the motion poster, on 19 December 2021. On 16 March 2022, a poster and the first of Bhatt’s character, Isha, was released. On 26 March 2022, Mukerji, Kapoor and Bhatt were featured in ‘ “Cricket Live” segment as part of ‘ post cricket show during the inaugural game between and while Kapoor appeared and announced the game in a . A promotional announcement video commemorating the film’s was released on 29 March 2022. On 10 April 2022, a motion poster featuring Kapoor and Bhatt’s characters, and set to the song ” “ – sung by – was released, along with a still version. The teaser of said song’s Telugu version, titled “Kumkumala”, sung by , was released and presented by Rajamouli on 27 May 2022. On 31 May 2022, the film’s was released, which also unveiled the release date of the official trailer; an event and fan “meet-and-greet” was held in in support of its release. First look posters of Bachchan’s character, Guru, and Nagarjuna’s character, Anish, were released during the second week of June. On 13 June 2022, an announcement video was released, revealing that actor will be lending his voice to Kapoor’s character, Shiva, for the film’s Telugu dubbed version. A first look motion poster of Roy’s character, Junoon, was released the following day. On 15 June 2022, the film’s official was released, with an event in support of it, that included a preview of the trailer being held a day prior to its release in . A version of the trailer was released four days later. On 13 July 2022, a promotional featurette titled “The Vision of “, featuring Mukerji explaining the mystical universe of various named as and the creative vision behind it, was released. On 17 July 2022, hours prior to its release, the song “Kesariya”, was unveiled in a livestream hosted by Bhatt and Mukerji on Instagram, in which they also discussed about the making of the track. On 31 July 2022, an featuring visuals of various , was released. On 6 August 2022, a featurette was released featuring Mukerji sharing his complete journey and process till from the beginning of his vision for the Brahmāstra film trilogy. A preview screening of the second song from the film’s soundtrack, “Deva Deva”, sung by Singh, was held in Mumbai that day as well, two days before the single’s release In the second week of August, hoardings of the film’s songs were held up in and , in collaboration with , in promotion of an “afterparty” livestream that was announced to take place on 18 August on the service. On 17 August 2022, a video was released, featuring Mukerji explain his inspirations behind the film, which dates back to anecdotes he heard as a child. A day later, the previously teased “afterparty” livestream session took place exclusively via YouTube Premium – on ‘s channel, in support of the film’s third song, “Dance Ka Bhoot” – with Mukerji, Kapoor and Bhatt interacting with fans and discussing the film’s music, production, and promotional campaign. A poster of Kapoor’s character, featuring a snippet of the song’s background music as well as teasing the music video, was released. On 24 August 2022, a promotional event in support of the film was held in Chennai, led by Kapoor, Rajamouli, and Nagarjuna. On 27 August 2022, a promotional summit as well as another “meet-and-greet” was held at , with Kapoor and Bhatt. A pre-release event was also announced, which scheduled to be held on 2 September 2022, at , , with actor as the special guest. However, it was cancelled last-minute due to undisclosed reasons. On 30 August 2022, a clip featuring an excerpts of Kapoor’s character, Shiva, from the film was shared, as part of a ten-day countdown – which ran from 30 August to 8 September – to the film’s release. Another clip was released as part of the countdown, featuring Bachchan’s character, Guru, the following day, with Mukerji stating he chose 9 September 2022 as the release date as he believes nine is his . Kapoor and Bhatt co-starred together in an advertisement campaign of , which was released in association with the film, featuring two of the film’s songs, “Kesariya” and “Dance Ka Bhoot”. On 1 September 2022, Telugu, Tamil and Kannada versions of the “Vision of ” featurette, featuring Rajamouli explain the ‘s themes, were released. The film’s release countdown continued with a clip introducing the , released the same day, with media outlets speculating it to be part of ‘s confirmed cameo appearance. On 3 September 2022, a pre-release promo was released in Hindi, Telugu and Tamil to announce the opening of advance bookings for tickets in theatres. On 4 September, a featurette of the film’s action sequences and their filming and choreography, was shared. On 6 September 2022, a 3D exclusive fan preview screening of the film was announced, which was held in Mumbai the day before the film’s release, on 8 September with Kapoor, Bhatt, and Mukerji. Tickets were available via ‘ web store, and sold out within minutes of the announcement. A fan-meet and press conference with Mukerji, Kapoor, and Bhatt was also held in to promote the film. was released on 9 September 2022, in standard formats, , 3D, and 3D. The film was released by in India in Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada languages, with Telugu film director presenting the dubbed versions in the latter four South Indian languages. It is the first film released under the Star Studios name following the and rebranding of Fox Star Studios. The film was also released in North America by and worldwide on the same day by . It was shown in 5000 screens in India and 3000 overseas, for a worldwide total of 8000 screens, the widest for an Indian film. The film had planned paid previews in the United States on 8 September 2022, a day before its release. The film was originally planned to release on 23 December 2016 but was delayed by several years owing to production delays and monetary constraints, and later due to the . In October 2017, the film was announced for a 15 August 2019 release; was pushed to 2019 and then to the summer of 2020 due to pending work on the film’s visual effects and music. In February 2020, its release date was announced as 4 December 2020. However, due to the , the release was delayed indefinitely. In December 2021, a final release date of 9 September 2022 was announced. On 2 September 2022, the , under an , restrained eighteen websites from illegally streaming the film on the Internet, following a lawsuit filed by . Before its release, there were calls for boycotting the film by right-wing who were opposed to all films from Bollywood, alleging that were prevalent in the industry. An old interview of Kapoor where he had mentioned that he likes eating beef regained traction on social media platforms; . Consequently, Kapoor and Bhatt were stopped from entering the in by members of the , a Hindu nationalist organisation. On 17 September 2022, Rebecca Campbell, Chairman of International Content and Operations for Disney, confirmed while speaking with about the success of that the film will be streaming on in the US, in Latin America and internationally. The film digitally premiered on Hulu in the U.S. and Disney+ Hotstar in India and overall Asia on 4 November 2022. An English of the film was also released on the former the same day. The film, alongside its English dub, was released on Disney+ on 7 December 2022. In the English dubbed version, actress lent her voice to ‘s character. has grossed (US$38 million) in India and (US$13 million) overseas, for a worldwide gross of (US$51 million). In the United States and Canada, the film made US$4.5 million from 810 theatres in its opening weekend. With earnings of 189 crore in Hindi and 213 crore overall worldwide in its first weekend, the film emerged as the highest-grossing Hindi film overseas since the COVID-19 pandemic. It also had the highest domestic weekend for an original Hindi film, and the second-highest for a film with screenings in Hindi after . in their year-end report gave a ‘‘hit’’ verdict. received mixed reviews from critics with praise for the , direction, performances of the starcast, soundtrack, background score and action sequences while the dialogues received criticism. On the website , 49% of 35 critics’ reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.7/10. The website’s consensus reads: “Ambitious yet uneven, Brahmastra Part One: Shiva offers definite pleasures for Bollywood fans, although the incessant spectacle may ultimately overwhelm many viewers.” , which uses a , assigned the film a score of 57 out of 100, based on 6 critics, indicating “mixed or average” reviews. Avinash Lohana of rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote ” is a classic example of ambition meeting vision and an immersive experience that promises entertainment”. Amandeep Narang of rated the film 4 out of 5 stars and wrote ” deserves its due respect and place in Indian cinematic history”. Rachana Dubey of rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote ” borrows from Indian mythology and folk tales, which is fantastic. The effort and passion invested in creating the universe in this film, replete with minute detailing, are worthy of appreciation”. Tushar Joshi of rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and called the film “a solid effort as the first chapter in this trilogy”, remarking that the “can take on the “. Sonil Dedhia of rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars, calling it “a solid and satisfying watch, a well-crafted film”, and appreciated Mukerji’s vision, saying that it “needs to applauded”. Fengyen Chiu of rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote ” is a complete visual feast rooted deep with Indian mythology. Ayan Mukerji has created a landmark moment in Indian cinema with the state-of-the art VFX”. Sonal Verma of rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and wrote “The screenplay is filled with love, light, magic, ancient mysticism and mythology. The film has many surprises that will definitely make you go wow”. Devesh Sharma of rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and encouraged readers to watch for “its visual appeal” and for “the burning chemistry” between Bhatt and Kapoor. of rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and called it “ambitious and entertaining”, further stating it “has the makings of a blockbuster of the sort that Bollywood has been desperately seeking for a while”. Sukanya Verma of rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and stated it as “a work of star-struck ambition and high-octane energy whose razzle-dazzle hits many happy notes”. Nandini Ramnath of rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote, ” gets the pyrotechnics right but fumbles in creating an emotionally involving alternate reality”. Sowmya Rajendran of rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote ” constantly tries to make your jaw drop to the floor with the visual effects, but since we never empathize with the characters on screen, it remains a distant spectacle”. Rohit Vats of rated the film 3 out of 5 stars, stating that ” tries hard to present itself as the revelation of deeper truths of humankind but doesn’t exactly get there where it wanted to be”, and said the film is “grand and has all the tropes of mega Bollywood projects, and is enthralling”. Stutee Ghosh of rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote ” grabs us in parts. If the unnecessary parts about love and lovers could have been avoided the impact would have been stronger. For now, the sound and light show should suffice”. Monika Rawal Kukreja of stated, “Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt are electric in this Ayan Mukerji spectacle. The film is a treat for long-waiting fans of Hindi cinema.” Anuj Kumar of stated “Despite the presence of Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt and Amitabh Bachchan, the film’s writing turns out to be its biggest drawback with all the hype over Indian mythology just being a cosmetic cover”. Reputed film critic rated the film 2 out of 5 stars and wrote ” is a king-sized disappointment High on VFX, low on content [second half nosedives]. could’ve been a game changer, but, alas, it is a missed opportunity. All gloss, no soul.” Rohit Bhatnagar of rated the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and stated “a so-called critique-proof film might have a larger-than-life scale, grandeur, and visual spectacle but nothing more to this run-of-the-mill good v/s evil story.” Writing for , Vivek M. V. gave a rating of 2.5 out of 5 and wrote that the film has “tame and silly dialogues. This further dents the weakly-written love story, which is the film’s biggest problem”. of rated the film 2 out of 5 stars, finding its story “weak” and the romance between the leads “unconvincing”. Rayan Sayyed of also criticised the romance between the film’s leads and wrote that “the mythology and its computer-generated portrayals are the only reasons to watch this film.” of rated the film 1.5 out of 5 stars, panning it: “Despite all those non-stop computer graphics, the opulence of the sets, the starry array, the film’s commitment to its subject, we never really buy into it completely”. Ishita Bhargav of found the film to be cliché and criticised the dialogue, stating that the “grand vision ends up becoming a film for kids.” Pooja Biraia Jaiswal of rated the film 1 out of 5 stars and said Mukerji “has wasted the skills and popularity of Shah Rukh Khan, Nagarjuna, and of course, Amitabh Bachchan”. A critic of panned the film by stating “the story lacks vitality, momentum, and intrigue. The film is devoid of genuine joy. Characters and settings come at you all the time, as if you’ve entered a lunch buffet on a full stomach.” American audiences polled by gave the film a 70% overall positive score, with 60% saying they would definitely recommend it. Simon Abrams of the commented that the film plays out as exceedingly familiar superhero fantasy but somehow hasn’t nailed the genre. Courtney Howard of called the film “a wildly entertaining jump start to a planned trilogy” and was appreciative of Mukerji’s direction: “He smashes up genre conventions as Western cinematic influences readily co-mingle with pure Bollywood razzle-dazzle.” Conversely, Scott Mendelson from rated the film 4 out of 10 and commented that “despite strong production values and the expected larger-than-life razzle-dazzle, this first entry in India’s first original cinematic universe repeats the same mistake that doomed Universal’s and most other post- attempts at a cinematic universe.” Mike McCahill of rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote “Mukerji brings a peppy, wide-eyed spirit to the superhero-movie model, adorning tried-and-tested arcs and beats with workable Pritam songs, ravishing colours and gorgeous people”. rated the film C+ in a mixed review criticising the cast and performances, calling them “bloated” and concluded by stating it as an admirable attempt and unmissable theatrical experience for any Bollywood fan. is intended to serve as the first instalment of a planned trilogy, which is itself planned to be part of an extended cinematic universe titled . Media outlets noted the title of the film’s sequel that is unveiled after its ending, , serving as the second and penultimate instalment of the trilogy. It is slated to release in December 2026. Pre-production work on the second part had started during the COVID-19 pandemic. After that, will be serving as the third and final instalment of the trilogy. It is slated to release in December 2027. Both sequels will be shot simultaneously. Mukerji revealed Disney had sent him to as an attendee for an international studio summit in May 2022, where he presented , and discussed plans regarding the film’s potential cinematic universe with American producer . Mukerji further revealed his vision to develop a streaming television series in the , as well as theatrical projects, in a similar vein to the . He also called the a “large-scale mainstream experiment”, saying that he wishes to expand it to gaming, , , and the , in the future. Mukerji revealed a spin-off film based around Shah Rukh Khan’s character was in consideration, which would serve as an origin story about how he wielded .</p>