The fate of Maha Samudram was sealed on the second day itself. On the all-important festival day, it didn’t grow and instead fell flat. It was clear that it was going nowhere. We see a lot is written on the movie’s lead, Sharwanand, but more than him, it is a big unexpected shock to the director Ajay Bhupati.
If one recollects all the events lined up before the release of Maha Samudram, it is none other than the director Ajay Bhupati who sounded the most confident. In fact, at the pre-release event, he said that the ‘blockbuster’ posters were ready. He was that confident.
The performance of Maha Samudram must be a wake-up call for him. The director has an excellent eye for visuals and a good sense of music, but the story and screenplay are faltering. The former is often inspired by old movies (routine in other words), whereas the latter is getting too heavy, boring with predictable elements in the second half.
RX100 lucked out with the blockbuster music and the undertone of love (a combo that connected with youth and masses), but it also didn’t receive any emphatic reviews. In fact, if one were to look at its strengths and weakness and compare with Maha Samudram, they would be similar (barring the music). It suggests the director hasn’t learned anything.
Sometimes the blockbusters also teach a lesson if one is cued into it. If they are not, we get unexpected shocks like Maha Samudram. It is the hard truth of the industry.
