Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva



Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva
Brahmastra Teaser.jpeg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byAyan Mukerji
Written byAyan Mukerji
Produced by
Starring
Cinematography
Edited byPrakash Kurup
Music byScore:
Tanuj Tiku
Songs:
Pritam
Distributed by
9 September 2022
168 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budgetest. ₹400 crore[8]
Box officeest. ₹431 crore[9]

Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva (pronounced [bɾəɦmaːstrə]) is a 2022 Indian Hindi-language fantasy action-adventure film[c] written and directed by Ayan Mukerji and produced by Karan Johar, Apoorva Mehta, Namit Malhotra, and Mukerji (in his debut production) – under Dharma Productions, Starlight Pictures, and Prime Focus in association with Star Studios, along with Ranbir Kapoor and Marijke DeSouza. The film serves as the first installment of a planned trilogy, which is itself planned to be part of a cinematic universe titled Astraverse, and stars Amitabh Bachchan, Ranbir Kapoor, Alia Bhatt, Mouni Roy, and Nagarjuna Akkineni in pivotal roles with Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone making cameo appearances within the film, the former credited and the latter uncredited. Drawing inspiration from tales in Hindu mythology, the story follows Shiva, an orphan with pyrokinetic powers who discovers that he is an astra, a weapon of enormous energy. He attempts to prevent the strongest of the astral, the Brahmāstra, from falling into the hands of dark forces that share a history with him.

The film was first conceived by Mukerji in 2011, with core elements being inspired by Indian history and stories he heard in his childhood. Its development was first revealed in July 2014 with a planned release for 2016, but its official announcement arrived in October 2017 revealing that the film would be titled Brahmāstra and would be a trilogy. Principal photography lasted from February 2018 to March 2022, with filming locations including Bulgaria, London, New York City, Edinburgh, Thailand, Manali, Mumbai, and Varanasi.[12] Production and release of the film were delayed multiple times, first due to production delays and monetary constraints, and later due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The film's songs are composed by Pritam, with soundtrack lyrics written by Amitabh Bhattacharya.

Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva was theatrically released on 9 September 2022 in standard formats, 3D and IMAX 3D by Star Studios in India, 20th Century Studios in North America, and Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures worldwide. It is the first product released under the Star Studios[d] name following the acquisition of 21st Century Fox by Disney. The film received mixed reviews[13] with praise for the visual effects, music, score, and action sequences while criticism was mostly directed toward the story, screenplay, writing, performances, and dialogue.[14] The film emerged as a commercial success,[15] with an estimated gross of over ₹431 crores (US$54 million) worldwide, making it ultimately the highest-grossing Hindi film of 2022, one of the highest-grossing Indian film of 2022, and the 20th highest-grossing Indian film of all time. Box Office India in their year-end report gave Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva a ‘‘hit’’ verdict.[15] Two sequels are being developed simultaneously.

At the 23rd IIFA Awards, Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva received leading 10 nominations, including Best Story (original) (Mukerji), Best Director (Mukerji), Best Supporting Actor (Khan), and Best Supporting Actress (Roy).[16]At Zee Cine Awards 2023, the film gets a nomination for Best Film, Kapoor for Best Actor, and Bhatt for Best Actress.[17]

Plot

In ancient India, a group of sages in the Himalayas collide with the energy Brahm-shakti, which produces many celestial weapons of great power called astral. The strongest among them, the Brahmāstra, has the capacity to destroy the world. The sages use their respective astras to tame the unstable Brahmāstra and become the Brahmānsh, a secret society to protect the world from the powers of astral.

In present-day Mumbai, Shiva, a disc jockey, falls in love at first sight with Isha Chatterjee, a London resident who is visiting India for the Durga Puja festival at her grandfather's pandal. 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 Delhi, scientist and Brahmānsh member Mohan Bhargav are attacked by Zor and Raftar for a piece of Brahmāstra he safeguards. Mohan fights back using the Vānarāstra but is ultimately subdued by Junoon, who works for the mysterious Dev. Under Junoon's possession, Mohan reveals that the second piece of Brahmāstra is protected by an artist and archaeologist named Anish Shetty in Kashi. Before he can reveal the current location and guru of the Brahmānsh (Āshram), Mohan throws himself out of a balcony.

Shiva has a vision of Mohan's encounter with Junoon. He and Isha head for Kashi to warn Anish but are interrupted by Raftar, who now wields Mohan's Vānarāstra. Anish defeats him using the Nandi Astra before escaping with Shiva and Isha. While going to Himachal Pradesh, where Āshram 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 Āshram where Shiva kills him using the Agnyāstra after he tried to kill Isha. At Āshram, they learn about other astras and Shiva is forced to join Brahmānsh by the guru 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 Brahmānsh members, Dev and Amrita. Dev actually awoke the Brahmāstra as he was the only person who was able to control multiple astray at once.

Amrita (pregnant with Dev's child), who wielded the Jalāstra, defeated him in a battle on a remote island and both of them seemingly perished from the battle. Amrita's boat was found in the ruins of the battle, brought back from the island, with two broken pieces of the Brahmāstra. The pieces of the Brahmāstra were given to both Mohan and Anish. The third piece was believed to be missing, with Raghu and Shiva concluding that they both survived the battle. The third piece of the Brahmāstra is in Amrita's Mayāstra disguised into a conch shell, which Raghu releases by dropping Shiva's blood on the conch. Junoon and her army arrive at Āshram for the Brahmāstra and hold everyone, hostage. Shiva defeats Junoon while also killing Zor, who wielded Nandi Astra, and releases everyone. But Junoon manages to take the third piece from Isha. She seemingly sacrifices herself to activate the Brahmāstra. The destruction starts to begin and Isha is in danger, but Shiva gains control over the Brahmāstra with newfound strength stemming from his protectiveness of Isha and reunites with her.

Before the credits, due to Junoon having activated the Brahmāstra, Dev, who was imprisoned as a statue on an unknown island, is released.

Cast

The character Dev also appears in the film, through special effects, though it is unclear who will play the character in later films.

Production

Development

The idea of Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva first came to Mukerji in 2011 while writing the script for his second film Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani (2013).[21] Mukerji first announced that he was working on a new project in July 2014.[22][23] In October 2017, Brahmāstra was officially announced by producer Karan Johar. Mukerji was signed as the director while Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt were set to star. Initially, the film's working title was Dragon but was officially titled Brahmāstra in 2017. Mukerji explained that the title Brahmāstra "resonates with the ancient wisdom, energies, and power."[24] Mukerji also revealed that it is a "contemporary film with ancient elements."[25] In 2017, Johar revealed his plan to make the film into a film trilogy.[26][27] The preparation for the film started in January 2018.[28]

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[29] and refuted rumors suggesting that it is a romantic superhero film. Instead, Kapoor confirmed that the film is a "romantic fairytale in a supernatural format". and that the film is not something that "doesn't have truth to it, or which is unbelievable".[29] Nagarjuna Akkineni also confirmed that he would be playing a "pivotal" role.[30] Mouni Roy revealed in an interview that she is the "only antagonist" in the film.[31][32]

In June 2022, Mukerji announced the film would be a part of a trilogy franchise – serving as the first installment – under the Astraverse, a cinematic universe centered around various mystical astray.[33][34] In August 2022, Roy confirmed Shah Rukh Khan had a cameo appearance in the film.[35] The role of Khan is a spin-off of the character from the film Swades.[36][37][38]

Pre-production

Ayan Mukherjee started work 9 years before the theatrical release. Pre-production work started in 2014 and filming began in 2018.[39] In February 2018, Bachchan and Kapoor did look tests in the presence of Mukerji.[40]

Themes

In July 2022, a video was released featuring Mukerji explaining the mystical universe of various astray.[41] He explained how from the Brahm-Shakti, astras were born, which compose all the different energies that are found in nature like Jalāstra (water), Pawanāstra (wind), and Agnyastra (fire). He also talked about astral that store the powers of different animals like the Vanarāstra, which can give the power of a "divine" monkey to the person who controls it, and the Nandiāstra, 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 āstras" – is explained to be one of the most powerful celestial weapons of gods (or Devas) in Hindu mythology, the Brahmāstra.[42] Mukerji stated that the core idea was inspired by stories of Hindu mythology he heard in his childhood from his grandfather.[43]

Characters

Mukerji revealed that the inspiration behind actor Kapoor's character came from Rumi who also inspired the first look of his character. Mukerji also drew inspiration from Rumi's work: "love is the bridge between you and everything", to build the foundation of the film. Later, he revealed that the Rumi-inspired look was scrapped and Kapoor had gotten a haircut instead.[44] 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".[45]

Filming

Principal photography 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 Bulgaria on 24 March 2018.[46] The second schedule of filming continued in said country and then in London on 8 July 2018,[47] in New York in late July,[48] and then back in Bulgaria by the end of the month.[49][50] Extensive shooting started on 1 February 2019 in Edinburgh, Scotland.[51] The 20-day schedule started in the Ramnagar Fort and Chet Singh Fort in Varanasi on 30 July 2019.[52] The filming was halted in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic,[53] and later resumed in November 2020.[54][55] Filming wrapped up on 29 March 2022 in Varanasi.[56] After S. S. Rajamouli's father, K.V. Vijayendra Prasad, proposed some changes in the film to Mukerji, reshoots were conducted for four days.[57]

It was reported that the production budget for the film ₹410 crores (US$51 million), which would make it one of the most expensive Indian films and the most expensive Hindi film ever at the time of its release.[58] However, the lead actor Ranbir Kapoor later clarified that the reported budget was for the production of all three main installments of the franchise, and the assets built during the production of the first film will be used in future installments.[59]

Post-production

In the post-production, it is estimated that 150 crore Indian rupees were spent on VFX by makers.[60] The VFX work of this film is done by DNEG- Prime focus company. Editing was supervised by Prakash Kurup. Jam8 music and sound design studio led by Pritam provided sound effects. VFX studio DNEG and ReDefine's foreign team created visual effects. Chiranjeevi gave the voice-over for the Telugu version.[61] Ranbir and Alia did their dubbing portion in September 2020 in a studio in Bandra.[62]

Music

Main article: Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva (soundtrack)

Pritam composed the soundtrack while composing the background score along with Prasad Shaste, Jim Satya, Meghdeep Bose, Tanuj Tiku & Ketan Sodha.[63], while the songs are produced and mixed by British musician Steel Banglez,[64] with songs written by Amitabh Bhattacharya.[65][66] The score was recorded at Synchron Stage Vienna.[67]

The film's titular soundtrack album was officially released on October 6 to streaming formats and digital retailers, coinciding with the occasion of Dussehra.

Marketing

Kapoor and Bhatt at the unveiling event of Kapoor's character, Shiva, in December 2021

Brahmāstra: Part One – Shiva was one of the most anticipated Hindi releases of 2022.[68] The title logo of the film was revealed on 4 March 2019.[69] The same day, it was unveiled on Maha Shivratri at Kumbh Mela; 150 drones were used to light the sky up to form it.[70] The official logo of Brahmāstra was released on 6 March 2019,[71] while SS Rajamouli – who serves as the film's presenter for its South Indian language versions[72] – and Dhanush presented it in the Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada versions on 12 March 2019.[73] A forty-second motion logo was also released, with Bachchan's voiceover in it.[74] Also on 12 March, a promotional behind-the-scenes video of the making of the music score for the motion logo, featuring the film's music composer Pritam, was released.[75][76] On 5 April 2019, a promotional behind-the-scenes video of the execution of the title logo's unveiling in the sky was released.[77][78] A motion poster featuring Kapoor's then-undisclosed character was released on 14 December 2021.[79] The following day, another motion poster featuring his character, Shiva, was released on 15 December 2021,[80] while a fan event in support of the poster launch was held some hours prior to it in New Delhi, and was broadcast live by the film's streaming partner, Disney+ Hotstar, on its platform and social media.[81][82][83][84] An event was held in Hyderabad to launch the Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Kannada versions of the motion poster, on 19 December 2021.[85][86] On 16 March 2022, a poster and the first prologue of Bhatt's character, Isha, was released.[87][88]

On 26 March 2022, Mukerji, Kapoor and Bhatt were featured in Byju's' "Cricket Live" segment as part of Star Sports' post cricket show during the inaugural IPL 2022 game between Chennai Super Kings and Kolkata Knight Riders while Kapoor appeared and announced the game in a television commercial.[89][90][91] A promotional announcement video commemorating the film's wrap was released on 29 March 2022.[92][93] On 10 April 2022, a motion poster featuring Kapoor and Bhatt's characters, and set to the song "Kesariya" – sung by Arijit Singh – was released, along with a still version.[94][95] The teaser of said song's Telugu version, titled "Kumkumala", sung by Sid Sriram, was released and presented by Rajamouli on 27 May 2022.[96][97] On 31 May 2022, the film's teaser trailer was released, which also unveiled the release date of the official trailer;[98][99] an event and fan "meet-and-greet" was held in Visakhapatnam in support of its release.[100][101][102] First look posters of Bachchan's character, Guru,[103] and Nagarjuna's character, Anish,[104] were released during the second week of June.[105][106] On 13 June 2022, an announcement video was released, revealing that actor Chiranjeevi will be lending his voice to Kapoor's character, Shiva, for the film's Telugu dubbed version.[107][108][109] A first look motion poster of Roy's character, Junoon, was released the following day.[110][111] On 15 June 2022, the film's official trailer was released,[112][113] with an event in support of it, that included a preview screening of the trailer being held a day prior to its release in Mumbai.[114][115][116][117] A 4K version of the trailer was released four days later.[118][119] On 13 July 2022, a promotional featurette titled "The Vision of Brahmāstra", featuring Mukerji explaining the mystical universe of various āstras named as Astraverse and the creative vision behind it, was released.[41][120] 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.[121][122] On 31 July 2022, an Instagram filter featuring visuals of various āstras, was released.[123][124] On 6 August 2022, a featurette was released featuring Mukerji sharing his complete journey and process till Part One – Shiva from the beginning of his vision for the Brahmāstra film trilogy.[125] A 3D 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.[126]

In the second week of August, hoardings of the film's songs were held up in New York City and LA, in collaboration with YouTube Premium, in promotion of an "afterparty" livestream that was announced to take place on 18 August on the service.[127] 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.[128] A day later, the previously teased "afterparty" livestream session took place exclusively via YouTube Premium – on Sony Music India'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.[129][130] A poster of Kapoor's character, featuring a snippet of the song's background music as well as teasing the music video, was released.[131][132] On 24 August 2022, a promotional event in support of the film was held in Chennai, led by Kapoor, Rajamouli, and Nagarjuna.[133] On 27 August 2022, a promotional summit as well as another "meet-and-greet" was held at IIT Bombay, with Kapoor and Bhatt.[134][135] A pre-release event was also announced, which scheduled to be held on 2 September 2022, at Ramoji Film City, Hyderabad, with actor Jr NTR as the special guest.[136][137][138] However, it was cancelled last-minute due to undisclosed reasons.[139][140] 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.[141] 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 lucky number.[142] Kapoor and Bhatt co-starred together in an advertisement campaign of Spotify India, which was released in association with the film, featuring two of the film's songs, "Kesariya" and "Dance Ka Bhoot".[143][144]

On 1 September 2022, Telugu, Tamil, and Kannada versions of the "Vision of Brahmāstra" featurette, featuring Rajamouli explaining the Astraverse's themes, were released.[145][146] The film's release countdown continued with a clip introducing the Vānarāstra, released the same day, with media outlets speculating it to be part of Shah Rukh Khan's confirmed cameo appearance.[147][148] 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.[149][150] On 4 September, a featurette of the film's action sequences and their filming and choreography was shared.[151] 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.[152][153][154] Tickets were available via PVR Cinemas' web store and sold out within minutes of the announcement.[155] A fan meet and press conference with Mukerji, Kapoor, and Bhatt was also held in New Delhi to promote the film.[156]