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Mohenjo Daro backdrop
11 August 2016Hindi176 min

Mohenjo Daro

4.637 reviews
CriticsUnfavorable

Bayesian avg · 37 critic reviews

7.5+ Exceptional · 6.5 Recommended · 5.0 Mixed

5.023 ratings
UsersUnfavorable

User Score · avg of 23 ratings

8.0+ Exceptional · 7.0 Recommended · 5.5 Mixed

During the Indus valley civilization, an Indigo farmer strives for the justice and protection of the city of Mohenjo-Daro and its civilians from an evil politician.

Critic Consensus

Critical reception for Mohenjo Daro was largely negative, with the majority of reviewers finding the film's screenplay weak, its storytelling formulaic, and its pacing painfully slow. Where praise did emerge, it was directed at the film's visual scale and the ambition of its period recreation, with several critics acknowledging the effort to bring the Indus Valley Civilisation to screen. Hrithik Roshan's screen presence and physicality were also cited by a handful of reviewers as partial saving graces. The most consistent criticisms centred on a clichéd, half-baked script, poor execution, and a sense that the film fails both as a historical work and as engaging drama.

37 reviews · 4 positive · 19 mixed · 6 negative

Praised: Visual scale and period recreationCriticised: Weak, clichéd screenplay and pacing

AI-generated summary of 37 critic reviews · may contain errors

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Critic Reviews (37)

Saibal ChatterjeeTop Critic· NDTV
4.0
"Mohenjo Daro is stuck in the past and not just in terms of its substance. What the film clearly says is that both director Gowariker and Hrithik need to move on and reinvent themselves."
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Shubhra GuptaTop Critic· Indian Express
3.0
"Hrithik Roshan can't rescue this film. Ashutosh Gowariker makes it bigger but not better. Pooja Hegde needs a better debut. Mohenjo Daro is a plod."
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Raja SenTop Critic· Rediff
3.0
"The film doesn't have much to offer. Historical accuracy be darned, Gowariker has served up a severely amateurish production with a weak script and an abundance of cliche."
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Subhash K Jha· SKJBollywoodNews
8.0
"See the film for its sincerity and passion the the dedication to recreate an era and aura long gone and irretrievable."
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Srijana Mitra Das· Times Of India
7.0
"Mohenjo Daro should've had many more grand moments. As it is, it's less Ben Hur and more Amrapali - sans the sex appeal of Vyjanthimala's bustiers. However, its scale and imagination make it an interesting watch - as does the intriguing notion of Hrithik as India's first pratham sevak. That's epic enough."
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IANS· Sify
7.0
"Overall, Mohenjo Daro lights up the screen but only if it was crisp and thrilling."
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Ritika Handoo· Zee News
6.0
"Overall, do watch 'Mohenjo Daro' for Hrithik Roshan only. But keep your history textbooks miles away from it!"
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Sarita Tanwar· DNA India
5.0
"Watch it if you're a Hrithik Roshan fan. The rest of Mohenjo Daro belongs to a bygone era."
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Rachit Gupta· Filmfare
5.0
"With its story and characters crumbling under its cinematic ambition, the only thing that makes Mohenjo Daro a sweeping cinematic experience is its visuals. To see the glorious legends of the Indus Valley Civilisation comes to life is a bargain worth the price of an admission ticket. Hrithik Roshan's charisma adds a nice bonus to the deal. But this historic saga is also peppered with a lot of mumbo jumbo filmmaking antics that steal its thunder. Mohenjo Daro is a well-made film, just not very well thought out."
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Bollywood Hungama News Network· Bollywood Hungama
5.0
"...comes across as a grand historical fictional tale which appeals only in parts. The lack of engaging and relatable drama act as spoilsport in the narrative. From the Box Office perspective, competition from RUSTOM and lack of crucial narrative will act as a major hindrance."
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Sweta Kaushal· Hindustan Times
5.0
"Watch the film if Hrithik's physique, dancing skills and flexibility are enough to attract you but you can totally avoid it if a grandeur does not make up for the lack of substance, facts and logic."
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Mumbai Mirror Reviewer· Mumbai Mirror
5.0
"It's strange to find Gowariker, whose zenith was the Oscar-nominated Lagaan 15 years ago, burying himself into an faux-archaeological nadir of his own making with this tacky rendition of a bygone era. But then again, reminiscing past glories — national or personal — is a Bollywood pastime."
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5.0
"Mohenjo Daro presents the age-old story of good versus bad in times so alien to all of us. Despite having a spectacular set, the film doesn't give any great insights into history or the civilisation. There is hard work for sure. Full points to the team for recreating that era. I felt transported to that era, bought into their stories also but I feel sorry that the film didn't cut much ice with me. Watch it for the sheer magnificence, the sheer scale."
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5.0
"Mohenjo Daro is no history lesson...Put aside questions about the story and you might enjoy Ashutosh Gowariker's visual spectacle."
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Vinod D'souza· FilmiBeat
5.0
"A must watch! These kind of movies come rarely in Bollywood and Mohenjo Daro should never be missed at any cost. There is love, drama, action, romance and to top it all, there is an ancient civilization shown so perfectly that you'll end up falling in love with it."
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FullyHyd Team· Fully Hyderabad
4.0
"Mohenjo Daro is too boring to be a "time-pass" film, and takes facts too trivially to be a "serious" history film. Watch it for the cast and the art direction, maybe the VFX. Better still, don't watch it at all."
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Pinkvilla Team· PinkVilla
4.0
"Gowariker's flaccid screenplay makes the film pointless. There is so much happening but the shaky execution makes it look meaningless. The dialogues are lame. A word of caution for the climax which is so shakily done that it made me wonder if the director is the same man who walked the red carpet of Oscars."
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Stutee Ghosh· TheQuint
4.0
"The film will not only test your patience but also your loyalty towards Hrithik Roshan. Go for it at your own risk!"
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Manisha Lakhe· NowRunning
4.0
"It starts out to be an interesting journey, but rapidly rolls towards a disaster (literally and figuratively) to a bedraggled end."
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Sreeju Sudhakaran· Bollywood Life
4.0
"This is no Lagaan. This is no Jodha Akbar. Mohenjo Daro may be better that Ashutosh's What's Your Raashee? (actually anything is better than that bore), but the film is a let down on several counts. Watch it only if you want to satiate your curiosity about that era (even that won't help much) or for Hrithik Roshan. If you want to see a film that lets you learn more about the Indus Valley civilization, forget the idea and open your third standard history books."
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"PAINFULLY BORING!...You would rather want to go back to school and attend a History class quite merrily!"
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Devarsi Ghosh· India Today
4.0
"Ashutosh Gowariker does not make historical films, let's get that clear. He is great at making spectacles using historical stories as a crutch. Sadly, this time, he picked the wrong story."
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Shomini Sen· IBNLive
4.0
"Even if we ignored the factual inaccuracies- and those are plenty- the film doesn't really give us anything new. It's not a film based on history, it's not a full-fledged love story, neither a political drama- it remains a half-baked story – a story that we are all very familiar with."
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Rohit Bhatnagar· Deccan Chronicle
4.0
"It doesn't help, however, that the movie is clichéd. Telling a story of 2016 BCE in the present day can be problematic if it's not made well, and that's Mohenjo Daro's downfall. Watch 'Mohenjo Daro' if you're still stuck in the '80s or '90s, or just enjoy a steaming mug of coffee in the rains instead."
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Mayank Shekhar· Mid-Day
4.0
"There isn't as much wrong with this film as the fact that you wonder what's good about it. By the end of the film, you will be spectacularly bored by this humourless spectacle. And the question in your head is less likely to be: 'What is going on?' and more likely to be, 'Why is this going on forever?'"
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R.M. Vijayakar· IndiaWest
3.0
"The film is a humongous gamble on pushing a terribly bad product on the shoulders of Roshan, who should make sure that he is never conned again in this way. Despite both the artifice and triteness innately present in the role, he lives Sarman, is sincere, looks like a demi-god for his women fans even when shabby and disheveled, and tries to salvage this humongous, no, make that historic waste of resources."
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3.0
"Mohenjo Daro is a major failure in terms of both history and execution..."
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Vishal Verma· Glamsham
3.0
"After BAAHUBALI, we all asked why did Kattapa killed BAAHUBALI? It won't be a surprise if the world starts asking who survived after watching MOHENJO DARO? Watch it at your own risk."
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IndiaGlitz· India Glitz
2.0
"...is the worst film of director Ashutosh Gowarikar. One does appreciate the hard work and efforts behind this film. But at the end of the day, it's on the lines of all those historical T.V serials with bad C.G.I work and overstretched love saga ruining the history and facts."
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"Even though Hrithik Roshan appears in almost every frame and brings his natural screen presence to the film, he is a shadow of his normal self, bogged down by a weak script, terrible production values and a lack of vision from the man who once made some of Bollywood's grandest movies."
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Sneha May Francis· Emirates247
"When a filmmaker of Ashutosh Gowariker's repute decides to make a movie on Mohenjo Daro, the biggest settlement of Indus valley civilisation, you would expect him to be historically accurate yet retain his worth as a storyteller. However, his 'Mohenjo Daro' fails on both accounts."
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Udita Jhunjhunwala· Firstpost
"What Gowariker lacks in story and SFX, he makes up for with scale and action. There's an extravagantly mounted song and dance routine extolling the grandeur and fame of Mohenjo Daro and the creation of this legendary land is commendable and the fight scenes are well executed."
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Uday Bhatia· LiveMint
"Though this is the shortest film he's made in years, Gowariker isn't—and probably will never be—an efficient film-maker. What other directors convey in two lines, he does in seven. Long after scenes have revealed their purpose, he allows them to continue, lest the audience miss out on some imaginary subtlety."
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BookMyShow Team· BookMyShow
"Making a period movie works for Ashutosh Gowariker as this is his third attempt to go back in time. This is the second time he has based his story on love. If we ignore the historical inaccuracies (he never claimed it was accurate anyway), the story is certainly intriguing."
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Nandini Ramnath· Scroll.in
"...is a costume party with food for thought. Mohenjo Daro is far from perfect, but it's also far more than the sum of its memes."
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Komal Nahta· Komal Nahta's Blog
"...is a box-office disaster and will be rejected by the paying public. It will entail back-breaking losses to its producers and distributors and to everyone associated with the film and will, therefore, go down in film history as a colossal flop."
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Namrata Joshi· The Hindu
"The very straight, simple and oft-repeated tale of foster parents, mistaken identity, good vs evil is just another fantasy, a mishmash of many such larger than life epics."
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Cast & Crew

Details

Release Date
11 August 2016
Runtime
176 min
Language
Hindi

User Ratings & Reviews

Users5.023 ratings

23 ratings from the community

Community Reviews (14)

MAAug 2016

Wow pleasure to watch this movie and relive the history

It is complete entertainment better than cliche Saman khan movies

RAAug 2016

Must Watch, Waise mene nahi Delhi ????

ABAug 2016

5 stars for hrithik performance.

TEAug 2016

Ashutosh Gowariker has again come up with an interesting theme, but too bad, the execution falls through.<br /> <br /> Sarman (Roshan) is an inquisitive farmer-cum-merchant who travels to the city of Mohenjo Daro to sell his yields against the wishes of his well-wishers. He is an outspoken and courageous fellow who enters the city, sells his first batch, and immediately falls in love with Chaani (Hegde), a princess of some kind who is widely known in the city to be a ray of hope for the citizens. Chaani reciprocates and Sarman pledges his alliance of love. However, Chaani's hand in marriage has already been given to Moonja (Singh), heir of the crown which is currently held by the dark-eyed, evil Maham (Bedi). Soon Sarman gets embroiled in the city's merchant market and becomes the voice of the poor against Maham and Moonja, the evidently autocratic rulers. His love for Chaani gives him power and helps him avenge a hidden truth and save the entire civilization from an inevitable flood.<br /> <br /> The story is clichéd, no doubt about it. But, even the arcs that take the running time to about 150 minutes, are muddled with clichés and usualness. What an average viewer would expect from a theme like this is some novel insights into how the civilization worked, its market, its people, its culture. But, all we see is mockery of the civilization; introducing a unicorn and basing your cultural dance on it is not the way to go for a historical film. I personally do not know much about the city other than what my grade X history books taught me, but I was expecting something else - not 21st century AD in the disguise of 21st century BC.<br /> <br /> The reason I rate this a 5 is because of the action sequences, the production setup, and an average execution. It's very clear that the writers did less-to-no research for this film, or they purposely tried to mix fictional romance into a topic held sacred by so many. Otherwise, it would have been a much interesting watch.<br /> <br /> Roshan and Bedi perform well among the cast. Hegde should take more acting lessons. Music is not exhilarating and neither is the CGI. That's it; not much to talk about.<br /> <br /> BOTTOM LINE: Ashutosh Gowariker's Mohenjo Daro is a disappointment; but we were warned, were we Wait for TV premiere.<br /> <br /> Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES

ASAug 2016

A highly entertaining movie with excellent climax scene,superb vfx works & with a hrithik roshan.The most highlighted point in this movie is that hrithik roshan has given his career best performance & the duo ashu & hrithik take this historical adventure to the next level.This movie has high pack action sequences, romance& good idea of 2016 bc era.The duo has done a great job & they did lots of hard workle So my last word is it is a great family entertainer,go & watch it & don't listen to fools who spread negativity about this grandeur.

Mohenjo Daro, a spectacular film by Ashutosh Gowarikar, is a fictional take. I did not view this film as the one conveying the facts about Indus Valley Civilization, Mohenjo Daro or Harappa. Throughout the film, I felt that Ashutosh is conveying a story of love, power battles, treachery keeping one of the greatest city of Indus Valley Civilization, Mohenjo Daro, as the pretext. In one of the earlier interviews, Ashutosh had mentioned that his biggest challenge was recreating an era about which very little is known. Very little information is available on how people lived, what they ate, how they felt during those times. He has weaved a love story set in this Ancient India. It may be unfair to judge this film on the basis of historical accuracy or inaccuracy, but it has to be treated as a piece of art depicting the director's imagination and school of thought. Set in 2016 BC, the film begins with Sarman's (Hrithik Roshan) overpowering dangerous crocodile, and killing it. Sarman stays with his Kaka-Kaki (uncle-aunty played) in Amri and they are into indigo farming. He frequently dreams of Unicorn, a beast with a large pointed spiraling horn projecting from its forehead. Whenever he listens to his Kaki humming a particular song, though it sounds familiar to him, he is unable to figure out how and why. He also feels the strong urge to travel to Mohenjo Daro for business. But Kaka-Kaki are always afraid to send him there. Ultimately they pay heed to Sarman's request. Kaka permits him to go with a warning that Mohenjo Daro is full of fake people, treachery, challenges. While doing business there, he must take care of not undervaluing his brand. Kaka also gives him a coin which has the emblem of Unicorn and Sindhu Goddess. Sarman is excited to go to Mohenjo Daro, his friend also accompanies him. Sarman gets fascinated to see Mohenjo Daro, the buildings over there. He also was astonished to see a world other than his, where he found people from different parts of the world coming there for trade, different animals like horse etc. Sarman also feels that he is able to identify with the city, he feels a sense of ownership towards it. He feels as if he knows this city. Very soon he learns that what his Kaka conveyed regarding the land about the bad elements was absolutely true. He wanted to go back, but that is when he encounters a beautiful girl Channi (Pooja Hegde), daughter of the priest (Manish Choudhary). It was instant attraction at the first sight itself. Channi is supposed to be showered with special blessings of Goddess Sindhu. Sarman decides to stay back and continue with the business there. Mohenjo Daro is ruled by Maham (Kabir Bedi). People at Mohenjo Daro are terrified with Maham as well as his son Moonja (Arunoday Singh). Maham does not forgive people who raise their voice against him. The film does share the story of this ruler who is power hungry, gives false hopes of development of the city. His vested interests to rule the city, his greed for gold etc. are also shown. Sarman steals opportunities to meet Channi and love blossoms between them. But yes, challenges begin for Sarman and Channi. Moonja who wants to get married to Channi, can not let Sarman connect to Channi. Sarman has to earn and win Channi's love, for which challenges are thrown in front of him by Maham and Moonja. Maham's wife Laashi (Suhasini Mulay) does warn both father and the son, but they don't even give any ears to her. How the story moves further? What is the connection of Sarman with the City Mohenjo Daro ? What is the secret of his dreams of Unicorn ? Why does the tune hummed by his Kaki seems familiar to him? What all challenges are thrown in front of Sarman by Maham and Moonja ? Does the city accept their newly emerging hero Sarman ? In History, it is written that this city of Mohenjo Daro is believed to have been destroyed by the raging Indus river flooded over. So, in this film, what fate awaits Mohenjo Daro ? Watch the film to know all these. Hrithik Roshan as Sarman has given extremely good performance. Pooja Hegde is looking good on screen. Nitish Bhardwaj as Sarman's Kaka has small screen time. Kabir Bedi and Arunodaya Singh as the antagonist father-son are good. Digant Hazarika as Lothar and Manish Choudhary as Priest have also give good performances. Rest of the cast are also good. Music by AR Rahman is good and fresh to ears. Choreography is kept very simple. Cinematography is awesome. The climax scene is breathtaking. Mohenjo Daro is visually spectacular, packed with Hrithik's powerful performance. This love story set in the pretext of Mohenjo Daro may seem familiar, but kudos to Ashutosh Gowarikar for painting the story on a large canvas.

DEAug 2016

Ok. One day I was walking in the park late in the middle of the night and saw these 2 guys kissing each other. One guy grabbed the other guys butt and squeezed it. They went on kissing for hours and they left the park for the back of the first guys car then they began to take their clothes off then do each other. I swear to god That was the gayest thing I had ever seen....until I saw this movie.

ANAug 2016

Mohenjodaro is one of the biggest Hrithik Roshan films of an archaic genre that is somewhat related to the Indus Valley Civilisation. But just forget completely history and come to romance and vindictiveness and entertainment which one will surely see after having watched this film. So the film is about a farmer Sarman(Hrithik), who goes to Mohenjodaro for selling his products. He there sees plutocracy, fights for it. But then is stopped. He decides to return. But he sees Chaani(Pooja), a devi's gift to Mohenjodaro who charmingly arouses his interest. He falls for her and decides to stays there only. And till the intermission their love story continues and keeps on inflaming one's anticipations and adrenaline both. Post the 1st half the film picks and from then on the viewer can with much ease engage himself since it is shown that Sarman is the Real prince of Mohenjodaro since his father was the King before but was killed by Mahim, the present ruler of Mohenjodaro and was falsely blamed to be a betrayer for the people. Sarman is then desirous for revenge and with a vengeance succeds. Hrithik and Pooja as Sarman and Chani respectively do fully recognize the worth of their characters and do justice to their roles. But somewhere terribly they impact marginally just tepid in their performances. The film is more annihilated due to its lengthy runtime cum romance and plot. Not a mandatory watch since it is poorly executed, sharply irritable and insatiates one. I'm going with 4 stars for this Mega Mediocrity.

LAAug 2016

A typical bollywood film. Nothing new and most importantly Mahenjodaro could not brought us a real picture of the place. Weak story, very much common yet predictable. Costume designing is good rest are very poor.

On the eve of our Independence day, I would like to request to my fellow Indians that let us all strive to make our nation better with our rightful thoughts & actions rather than always point fingers at the Government. I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate our Dipa Karmarkar for her brilliant performance at Rio. After a day of disappointments, her performance brought smiles to many of us & gave me the interest for some entertainment in the form of "Mohenjo Daro". So will Ashutosh Gowariker's effort strike gold at the box office??? The Indus Valley civilization was considered as the cradle of the early civilization in the Old World & Mohenjo Daro was one of its prominent settlements apart from Harappa. The film unfolds in 2016 BC where we are introduced to Sarman (Hrithik Roshan) who with his brave acts is shown to be the darling of his village. Though he led a contented life with his uncle & aunt, he had a recurring dream of a unicorn (not exactly..seemed like some other animal) as well as making a visit to the famed Mohenjo Daro. Finally after much coaxing, he is allowed to make the trip & as expected, it turned out to be life changing. Prior to the start of the movie, there is a disclaimer which states that the makers doesnt support or dispute any interpretation of the Indus Valley civilization. Well I do accept that it is pretty difficult to vouch for the authenticity, but attention was barely given to that aspect as it was all about a typical Bollywood hero who had come as a messiah as well as for vengeance. The movie could have been named Harappa & we wouldnt have noticed any difference to be frank as Ashutosh's script was downright ordinary. C K Muraleedharan has done a decent job with the cinematography while Rahman's music was impressive though it fails to linger due to the trite screenplay. The art direction manages to catch the eye but the costumes & computer graphics were mediocre. Coming to performances, it's been a while since we have seen Hrithik on the big screen but this role barely challenged him & he does try his best to carry the movie but is let down by the weak script. Pooja Hegde is attractive for sure, however she has a long way to go before being addressed as an actress. Kabir Bedi was an ideal choice as the evil chieftain while the rest were just about average at best. Verdict: This film has been in the news for quite a while primarily because of the people involved i.e Hrithik & Ashutosh. If the audience is expecting an encore of "Jodha Akbar", then they are bound to be disappointed as this cuts a sorry figure in comparison. In short, it would struggle at the box-office & if you ask me, it wont hurt to give it a miss. Rating: 2/5 Regards...Ben

SHJan 2017

How much you end up liking Mohenjo Daro will invariably be a function of what your threshold for historical inaccuracy is. For this is a film in which a chieftain wears bull horns (even in 2016 BC, that must have ranked as a serious fashion faux-pas), a farmer sports six-pack abs even as he rushes to rescue a city in distress (Snap Fitness must have inaugurated their Mohenjo Daro outlet by then), and probably most outrageously, horses remain suspended in mid-air even as they politely wait for our hero to rescue his damsel in distress. Needless to say, there is a plethora of things this film gets wrong. But here's the deal – I found myself in a willing mood to forgive all this theatrical lunacy, and for one simple reason: I never got bored. Say what you will about Ashutosh Gowariker – the man has got a penchant for telling a story with ostentatious flair. It's inarguably the reason why both Lagaan and Jodhaa Akbar have come to be regarded by many as two of the greatest films to have been churned out by Bollywood since the turn of the millenium – a view I incidentally subscribe to. Gowariker directs the film with a slow-burning intensity that reaches its peak in a memorable climax that left me gasping on the edge of my seat. Hrithik Roshan is an abundantly gifted actor blessed with undeniable screen presence and oodles of charisma – he is a major reason why this film works. The same, tragically, cannot be said of newbie Pooja Hegde – I couldn't help being reminded of Nargis Fakhri's painfully wooden performance in Rockstar and the way it affected the film as a whole. Mohenjo Daro is sure to have its fair share of detractors – but I found myself succumbing to the seductive power of Gowariker's storytelling for the umpteenth time. Unlike its moniker that quite literally translates to "Mound of the Dead", this film manages to stay alive with a unique beating pulse of its own- even if it probably deserved to be buried in a grave itself.

RAJan 2017

boring film with bad vfx and story I have that 1 just for harthik

Had it stayed a history lesson, or Aashutosh Gowariker's familiar arc of a 'cinematic historian', I would have still considered Mohenjo Daro as a mildly frustrating, entirely watchable kind of a film. But the consistencies wear out so rapidly and the performances of the able cast are so badly blended into a nothing type script that it comes into a special category close to everyone's heart, "You know, it's so bad that it's good". That only makes 'Mohenjo Daro' a must NOT watch. Please skip it, or take a capsule of disprin if you must. It's a whole barrel of frustrating romances or bad headgear.

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