Storyline: Krishnavataram Part 1: The Heart is adapted from the Gujarati book ‘Satyabhama’ by Raam Mori. The film narrates quite a few important chapters from the life of Lord Krishna (Siddharth Gupta). It focuses on his life after he gets Mathura residents along with himself shifted to the west coast of India in Dwarka. The story basically follows the three women that enter at different stages in his life – Radha (Sushmitha Bhat), Satyabhama (Sanskruti Jayana) and Rukmini (Nivaashiyni Krishnan). Along with that, the film also depicts how Krishna fulfils his responsibility on earth as the eight avatar of Lord Vishnu.
Review: Krishnavataram is more like a celebration of Lord Krishna’s life. It gets you sucked and mesmerized into its world instantly with its striking and beautiful visuals. Chokkas Bhaardwaj’s production design is something we rarely see even in some of the most expensive films. Despite their grandeur and larger-then-life nature, the sets fall in the believable category. The same can be said about the grand costumes too. They are rich but never in-your-face.
Ayananka Bose’s camerawork enhances the visuals. Also, unlike various Hindi films, this one is impressive in the VFX department as well.
But the movie goes beyond the visuals through a solid script. Thankfully, the three women in Krishna’s life are not shown one after the other in an episodic form. The story of Satyabhama, who gets the maximum footage out of the three women, is finely mixed with that of Radha. Later on, the same is done when Rukmini enters Satyabhama’s life.
Plus, the narrative also includes the political developments and incidents of that era in between the stories of the three women. And it does that without any jerks in the screenplay. Achieving this smoothness is a triumph of the writing as well as the direction. The dialogues are poetic but not too filmy.
This is also a rare Hindi movie where all songs turn out to be impressive. This was important as it’s a musical. From the tracks composed by Prasad S, the ones that impress the most are ‘Prem Ki Leela’ and ‘Krishna Govinda’.
Playing Lord Krishna can be a daunting task for anyone. Siddharth Gupta passes that agni pariksha. Apart from living up to the image of God, he also impresses in scenes where he has to appear vulnerable. It is refreshing to see how the makers have humanized Krishna here. Sanskruti Jayana does exceedingly well while mostly playing a woman of a strong character. But she shines in the emotional sequences too. She is a talent to watch out for.
Sushmitha Bhat is believable and impressive as Radha, except on a few occasions when her accent sounds unusual. Nivaashiyni Krishnan, in the role of Rukimini, gives a mature performance despite limited screen time. Karthik Jayaram (Satrajit), Amonjot Singh (Balarama), Smrithi Srikanth (Subhadra) and others offer good support. Jackie Shroff is superb in a cameo.
The film comes with its share of minuses though. The writers have just assumed that everyone knows not only the whole life story of Krishna but also the parallel events of the Mahabharata. Those who are aware will surely get it and enjoy. But there are many who might not be. They are bound to face confusion and feel abruptness at various points, especially during the ending sequences in Dwarka. Also, the first half has too many songs. A couple of them could have been reduced.
Overall: Krishnavataram Part 1: The Heart is a divine spiritual entertainer. It is a treat for the followers and worshippers of Lord Krishna. Director Hardik Gajjar has highly succeeded in carrying out this tough responsibility.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5
Director: Hardik Gajjar
Producers: Creativeland Studios Entertainment and Athasrikantha Motion Pictures
Writers: Raam Mori (author of the novel Satyabhama), Sajan Raj Kurup, Shobha Sant, Poonam Shroff and Parth Gajjar
Cast: Siddharth Gupta, Sanskruti Jayana, Sushmitha Bhat and Nivaashiyni Krishnan
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