There are positive reviews, but the criticisms all point to the same problems....film is too long, too patchy, too "filmy", drags a lot many areas, lack of suspense, inconsistent, loose... There are lots of 4/5s, but also lots of 3/5s and some 2/5s.
Today's flim goers don't do well with movies that drag and bore. I'm very worried about the BO results. Although I haven't seen the film yet, I know I'm going to like it simply for the music, historical opulance, visuals, acting, dramatic sequences, and action scenes. I'm pretty tolerant to slow paced movies. I'm hopeful that despite the shortcomings in terms of lack of tightness and drawn out, sluggish and non gripping parts, the visuals, the chemistry between Ash and Hrithik, the music, the drama will be enough to please the average person. If, however, most people think the movie is too drawn out, long, non gripping, and cannot grasp the movie as a whole, then the movie is in trouble. I really want to see the film badly and I know it will be appreciated by many. Kudos to Ashu and his team for attempting such an epic film with so much investment and work. I just hope their hard work pays off. IT takes guts to make such a film in today's world. I think some of the criticisms are a bit too crticial, but, the real test will be the numbers in terms of BO. I just wish Ashu could have learned his lesson from Swades to make the plot a bit more tight and concise based on what I am hearing from others. I really want the film to succeed and become a blockbuster for everyone's sake involved in the film, but esp. for Rahman. I want people beyond his fans to recognize and love the brilliance of this soundtrack.
