Review: 'Rashtra Kavach Om' is one of the worst films ever that assaults our senses

Rashtra Kavach Om

It pains me to think that this breed of films is still seemingly termed as 'massy' cinema. The idea of such films being 'mass entertainers' is so misunderstood and hence some people continue to make one bad film after another. It is fascinating and heartbreaking how Bollywood has now presented 3 to 4 ridiculously bad films in the past three months and somehow, the latest one keeps getting worse than the previous one.

Having had the chance to see Rashtra Kavach OM, here's what I thought of it-

The Sheer Absurdity

The first and foremost thought, while watching the entirety of Rashtra Kavach OM - is that just how absurd can this giant Bollywood wagon get. For whatever reason, producer Ahmed Khan, director Kapil Verma and a few others continue to have unabashed faith in the nonsensical plotlines and present them time and again. From the get-go, Rashtra Kavach OM is immensely absurd in what it is trying to convey. There is no suspension of disbelief here and instead there is just one moment of headache after another. Even in the most pathetic films, there is a sense of understanding of the story but there is barely anything in OM that makes you willing to invest in for one bit.

The Story & Screenplay

I don't know how but I can try making some sense of the balderdash of a plot that OM had. Paramilitary commando Om (Aditya Roy Kapur) has a Jason Bourne-esque moment while on an operation to locate the mission 'kavach'. Having lost all his memory (I wish I did after watching this), Om only remembers one thing - how his father Dev (Jackie Shroff) was killed by 'baddies.'

The film then ventures into Race-like childish twists which include flipping shades when you think yes positive but he's negative, oh but he's positive again!

Om now has to 'save' everyone and capture the shield (kavach) with the help of his even stupider team that includes Kavya (Sanjana Sanghi), Rohit (Vicky Arora) and others.

I feel I have written this better than the actual screenplay and story writers wrote themselves. The shield in question is nothing else but a mega soap-bubble thing that is accentuated with even worse CGI. Nothing works.

The Joke is on Us

While making these big-budget action thrillers, the core team somehow resorts to juvenile humor almost constantly. See Heropanti 2, Nikamma and others for example.

The humor quotient is frustratingly low and you're not laughing at the intended joke, instead you're laughing at the writer who thought of it. A stereotypical Gujarati doctor with an accent, jarring one-liners and low level toilet humor is used to convey laughs and it is nothing but infuriating.

But hey, the joke's on us. We were invited to a media screening in Gaiety Galaxy, Bandra (Mumbai) which is where the whistling and cheering crowds go to with common viewers. I kid you not! Even in a moment of Roy Kapur's OM having kheer (sweet dish) on-screen, there were hoots and cheers! - Which led me to believe - anything and everything works here for whatever reason!

The Lack of Everything

Usually, bad films lack a lot of things and barely anything is good enough to mention. The unfortunate thing about Rashtra Kavach OM is that it basically lacks everything and literally nothing about it is good enough to mention. The nitpicking good parts about OM can be a couple of decent action moments (not scenes, moments) and the legendary Ashutosh Rana trying to be the only actor in the entire cast to put in an earnest performance.

That is what is worse about Rashtra Kavach OM (even more than Heropanti 2). Even the large scale action sequences that should be the film's forte are entirely forgettable. Nothing in the film is novel enough to hold any attention. Except for the outlandish stopping helicopter with upper-body strength exhibited by Om, there is nothing to remember or be happy about in the film.

The Performances

Aditya Roy Kapur

Aah man! As the leading man, Aditya Roy Kapur looks his fabulous best. He is a handsome man with a tall presence and his ripped physique only adds to his sex appeal. But that is it. As OM, Kapur doesn't bring anything new to the role in any way and inspite of seeming like he is taking an effort, it is huge miss.

Sanjana Sanghi

Sanjana Sanghi qualifies to be a poker face even though she is given better role than Tara Sutaria in Heropanti 2, Disha Patani in Baaghi 2 and such actresses had in such films. She legit mouths dialogues without any emotion but is decent in a couple of scenes of action.

Prakash Raj, Ashutosh Rana and Jackie Shroff

Such a sad state to see veterans like Jackie Shroff and Prakash Raj perform in such a hammy manner. Especially, Prakash Raj seemed to have been given special briefing from the director to do as much over-acting as possible because, he is just straight up bad.

The Verdict

Nothing about Rashtra Kavach OM works and there is absolutely no reason to go and watch it. The only reason might be the climax but that is to witness the stupidest manner in which Roy Kapur gets shirtless and then the interested people can ogle at his physicality.

Rating - * (1/5)