Eklavya: The Royal Guard

<p>Contemporary India. A majestic fort. A royal dynasty that no longer rules. A king without a kingdom. Yet Eklavya ( ), their royal guard, lives in a time warp. He lives only to protect the fort, the dynasty, and the king. For nine generations, Eklavya’s family has protected Devigarh, a centuries-old citadel in Rajasthan. His marksmanship is the stuff of legends. His unflinching loyalty inspires ballads. Eklavya has spent his entire life serving the royals and closely guarding their secrets, but now he’s getting old and increasingly blind. Unable to cope with the suffocating customs of his land, the heir, Prince Harshwardhan ( ), has stayed away in . But the sudden demise of the queen, Rani Suhasinidevi ( ), forces the prince back to the kingdom he had left behind. The queen leaves a letter for her son in which she tells him that his biological father is actually Eklavya. The prince’s return brings a rush of joy into the moribund fort. His mentally challenged twin sister, Princess Nandini ( ), and his childhood love, Rajjo ( ), are delighted to see him. But the joy of reunion is short-lived. There is unrest in the kingdom: farmers are being stripped of their lands. The king, Rana Jaywardhan ( ), influenced by his brother, Rana Jyotiwardhan ( ), supports the atrocities being forced upon the helpless peasants. The king receives a death threat over the phone. An irreverent police officer, Pannalal Chohar ( ), is called in to investigate. But he might be too late. The fragile peace of the land is suddenly shattered by a barrage of bullets. Jaywardhan instructs his brother to kill Eklavya in a fit of rage, but his brother betrays him and kills him and his driver (Rajjo’s father). And amidst the mayhem, the safely guarded secrets of the fort are revealed. Eklavya suspects Jyotiwardhan and his son, Udaywardhan ( ), are responsible for Jaywardhan’s death. He kills Udaywardhan and leads Jyotiwardhan to Udaywardhan’s body, intending to kill him and fulfill his oath, whereupon Jyotiwardhan reveals to Eklavya that it was the prince who ordered the murder of the king. Shouting in denial, Eklavya kills Jyotiwardhan, knowing he must face the young prince, his son, to finally fulfill his . Harshwardhan, overcome with guilt, reveals his hand in the murder of Jaywardhan to Rajjo, who leaves him because his actions also caused the death of her father. When Eklavya comes to the palace to kill the prince, he explains why he killed the king. The King had murdered the Queen when she, in her semi-conscious state, kept saying Eklavya’s name. Eklavya finally fulfills his dharma by sparing his son’s life and declaring the original Eklavya wrong. Rajjo eventually forgives Harshwardhan because she believes that he is truly sorry for his actions, and Pannalal finds a suicide note saying that Udaywardhan and Jyotiwardhan, afraid that they were about to be caught, jumped in front of a train. Harshwardhan finally reveals Eklavya to be his true father in front of the entire village. was originally titled . Production began in early 2005. The principal shooting of the film was completed in November 2005. The primary location for shooting was in , at and in . According to the official website, shooting took place inside the living quarters of the Jaipur Royal Family. Prince and Subarna Rai Chaudhari designed the costumes for the film. Eklavya’s cottage was built from scratch. The action sequences were to take place in but were shot near . 600 camels were used in the shoot. , who was the music director of (2005), composed the music for the film. The global distributor for the film is Eros International. The soundtrack to was released on 15 February 2007. There was a controversy regarding selecting the film as India’s official entry to the Academy award. , the director of (2007), accused The Indian selection committee ( ) and claimed that her film was rejected in favor of (2007) because of the personal connections of the latter film’s director and producer.</p>