Mohenjo Daro
- Director
- Ashutosh Gowariker
- Studio
- UTV Motion Pictures
- Release Date
- 11 August 2016
- Running Time
- 169 min
- Language
- Hindi
- Country
- India
- Budget
- ₹100.00 Cr
- Box Office
- ₹107.80 Cr
Review
Ashutosh Gowariker's "Mohenjo Daro" reaches for something ambitious—a period drama rooted in the mystique of an ancient civilization—but stumbles under the weight of its own earnestness. The film constructs an elaborate world around Sarman's journey from village to city, and there's genuine effort in the production design and the attempt to weave historical intrigue with personal stakes. Hrithik Roshan carries the narrative with committed physicality, and the romance with Chaani adds an emotional thread, though the chemistry between leads feels more dutiful than electrifying. What undermines the endeavor, however, is a script that privileges spectacle and melodrama over coherence; the unicorn symbolism, the mysterious priest, the peasant uprising—these elements never quite coalesce into a compelling whole. The film wants to be both intimate character study and sweeping historical epic, but ends up satisfying neither impulse fully.
The direction, while technically competent, lacks the narrative precision needed to justify the film's two-hour-plus runtime. Gowariker has always favored grandeur over subtlety, and here that tendency works against the story's internal logic. Supporting performances feel underutilized, relegated to broad strokes of villainy or virtue, and several plot threads—particularly around the priest's knowledge of Sarman's origins—dangle unresolved or feel artificially resolved. That said, there's craft on display: certain sequences crackle with energy, the
Storyline
So basically, this guy named Sarman comes from a small village and he's actually pretty brave—he kills this massive crocodile that's been giving all the fishermen a hard time. He really wants to travel to this ancient city called Mohenjo Daro to do some trading, and even though his uncle is hesitant at first, he eventually lets Sarman go. Before he leaves, his uncle gives him this special seal with a unicorn engraved on it and tells him to only use it if things get really desperate, which is kind of mysterious if you ask me.
When Sarman arrives in Mohenjo Daro, he immediately realizes something feels off about the place. The city is basically controlled by this really corrupt leader and his awful son who are constantly trying to squeeze more money out of the poor farmers. Sarman can't just stand by and watch this happen, so he rallies the farmers together to fight against these unfair taxes. Interestingly, he keeps having these dreams about a unicorn, and when he gets there, he discovers that's actually the city's symbol.
Things get even more interesting when Sarman sneaks into the fancy upper part of the city using that seal his uncle gave him. There he meets this absolutely stunning girl named Chaani, who happens to be the head priest's daughter, and he falls head over heels for her. The priest gives Sarman this weird look like he knows something about him that he shouldn't, which makes you wonder what's really going on. Meanwhile, Chaani tells Sarman about some forced engagement situation she's trapped in, which sets up all sorts of conflict.
