The editing for a while settles down into a rhythm and it feels that that film will take the “Taken” way to the climax. Once alone, Ajay comes back to his elements and exudes some dynamic heroism that he is better known for. The action is well choreographed and the chase sequences are especially great to look at. The story moves briskly and even though there isn’t a shred of believability to the proceedings, they are light on your senses. Once the girl is kidnapped and Ajay goes all Singham-y to trace her down, the proceedings become enjoyable. The audience doesn’t forge a connect with her character and hence the portions involving the father and daughter chemistry falters too. Abigail Eames is not a good actress and her interpretation of a mute girl is shrill and irritating. The arrival of a kid generally lifts matters. In some sequences, the speed drops suddenly making you feel restless while some others just whiz past at a speed that leaves you dazed.

The editing also doesn’t help matters as the film jumps from portion to portion in such abrupt cuts that you feel exasperated. They are so mismatched and look so not in love that the whole portion feels like an endless drag. The love story between Ajay and Erika is puke-inducing. The screenplay is lazy and is so cliché that it will make you feel like throwing up. The initial half an hour of the film is terribly boring. There is also an ethical hacker, Wahab ( Vir Das) who plays an important role in tracking down Gaura. Helping him in his endeavors is Anushka ( Sayesha Saigal), who at first thinks little of him but then gradually understands his madness to get his daughter back. Shivaay goes all the way trying to rescue his daughter but not in Liam Neeson style but in the most Bollywoodish manner conceivable. Shivaay and Gaura travel to Bulgaria where on their first night in a hotel, Shivaay saves a kid from a pedophile and unknowingly invites the wrath of a gang of human traffickers who kidnap his daughter soon after. Shivaay brings up the girl alone and when she is eight years old, she learns of her mother and goes berserk to meet her once. The mother has other pressing issues on her hand so she gives birth and departs without even looking at the daughter.

The two meet during a climb of the Himalayas, face an avalanche and end up on a hanging tent where they make out and voila! Gaura is conceived. However, before the film lies back on the screenplay of Taken, there is almost an hour of Bollywood-ish melodrama that unfolds between Ajay Devgn’s Shivaay and Erika Kaar ‘s Olga. The similarities are so obvious and blatant that anyone who has seen “Taken” will see the similarities and can actually put his/her fingers on almost every scene. The story is lifted from the Liam Neeson starrer “Taken”. Through the course of this review, I will try to put forth my pros and cons of this film into perspective and try to unlock the reasons behind its failure as a film. If someone asks, which of the two I feel more? I guess the answer will be “bitter”. Now having finally seen it, I must say that my reactions are bittersweet. The Diwali festivities further delayed me from watching this film. However, the extreme criticism that the film received from one and all really put me off to a great extent. The trailer and promotion of the film was superb and I was really looking forward to it. It is his second directorial venture after U, Me Aur Hum which, incidentally, was panned too.

Ajay Devgn’s Shivaay has been crucified by critics upon its release.

Shivaay 2016 movie release date