HildaCorley2963 at 11:58, 3 March 2026

2026-03-03T11:58:21Z

New page

{{For|the character from ''The Mahabharata''|Ekalavya}}
{{See also|Ekalavya (disambiguation)}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2022}}
{{Infobox film
| name = Eklavya: The Royal Guard
| image = Eklavya.jpg
| caption = Theatrical release poster
| director = [[Vidhu Vinod Chopra]]
| writer = '''Story & Screenplay:''' [[Abhijat Joshi]] Vidhu Vinod Chopra '''Dialogues:''' [[Swanand Kirkire]]
| producer = Vidhu Vinod Chopra Abhijat Joshi
| starring = [[Amitabh Bachchan]] [[Sanjay Dutt]] [[Saif Ali Khan]] [[Vidya Balan]] [[Jackie Shroff]] [[Jimmy Sheirgill]] [[Boman Irani]] [[Raima Sen]]
| cinematography = [[Natty Subramaniam]]
| editing = Raibiranjan Maitra
| music = [[Shantanu Moitra]]
| studio = [[Vinod Chopra Films]]
| distributor = [[Eros International]]
| released = {{Film date|2007|02|16|df=y}}
| runtime = 109 min
| country = India
| language = [[Hindi]]
| budget = {{INR}} 30 [[crore]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=346|title=Eklavya – the Royal Guard – Movie |publisher=Box Office India}}</ref>
| gross = {{INR}} 38 crore<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=346|title=Eklavya – the Royal Guard – Movie |publisher=Box Office India}}</ref>
}}
'''''Eklavya: The Royal Guard''''' is a 2007 Indian [[crime drama film]] directed by [[Vidhu Vinod Chopra]]. It stars [[Amitabh Bachchan]], [[Saif Ali Khan]], [[Sharmila Tagore]], [[Sanjay Dutt]], [[Vidya Balan]], [[Raima Sen]], [[Jackie Shroff]], [[Jimmy Sheirgill]] and [[Boman Irani]]. The film marks Vidhu Vinod Chopra's return to directing after seven years.

''Eklavya: The Royal Guard'' was theatrically released on 16 February 2007.<ref name="release date">{{cite web | title=glamsham.com| work=Release date for Eklavya: The Royal Guad confirmed | url=http://www.glamsham.com/movies/scoops/06/dec/22_eklavya_vidhu_vinod_chopra_amitabh_saif.asp| access-date=30 June 2006}}</ref> It was a major [[Box-office bomb|box office disappointment]] as per the distributors and exhibitors.<ref>{{cite web|title=EKLAVYA is a major box-office disappointment", say the film's distributors and exhibitors|url=http://www.glamsham.com/movies/news/07/feb/26_eklavya_amitabh_bachchan_vindo_chopra.asp#|website=glamsham.com|access-date=25 June 2016}}</ref> Despite this, the film was chosen as [[List of India's official entries to the Oscars|India's official entry to the Oscars]] to be considered for nomination in the [[Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film|Best Foreign Film]] category for the year 2007.<ref name="oscar entry">{{cite web| title=sheetudeep.com| work=Eklavya: India's Official Entry for Oscar Award| url=http://www.sheetudeep.com/blog/entertainment/eklavya-indias-official-entry-for-oscars| access-date=28 September 2007| archive-date=13 January 2016| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113121632/http://www.sheetudeep.com/blog/entertainment/eklavya-indias-official-entry-for-oscars/| url-status=dead}}</ref>

== Plot ==
Contemporary India. A majestic fort. A royal dynasty that no longer rules. A king without a kingdom. Yet Eklavya ([[Amitabh Bachchan]]), their royal guard, lives in a time warp. He lives only to protect the fort, the dynasty, and the king. For nine generations, Eklavya's family has protected Devigarh, a centuries-old citadel in Rajasthan. His marksmanship is the stuff of legends. His unflinching loyalty inspires ballads. Eklavya has spent his entire life serving the royals and closely guarding their secrets, but now he's getting old and increasingly blind. Unable to cope with the suffocating customs of his land, the heir, Prince Harshwardhan ([[Saif Ali Khan]]), has stayed away in [[London]]. But the sudden demise of the queen, Rani Suhasinidevi ([[Sharmila Tagore]]), forces the prince back to the kingdom he had left behind. The queen leaves a letter for her son in which she tells him that his biological father is actually Eklavya.

The prince's return brings a rush of joy into the moribund fort. His mentally challenged twin sister, Princess Nandini ([[Raima Sen]]), and his childhood love, Rajjo ([[Vidya Balan]]), are delighted to see him. But the joy of reunion is short-lived.

There is unrest in the kingdom: farmers are being stripped of their lands. The king, Rana Jaywardhan ([[Boman Irani]]), influenced by his brother, Rana Jyotiwardhan ([[Jackie Shroff]]), supports the atrocities being forced upon the helpless peasants. The king receives a death threat over the phone. An irreverent police officer, Pannalal Chohar ([[Sanjay Dutt]]), is called in to investigate. But he might be too late. The fragile peace of the land is suddenly shattered by a barrage of bullets. Jaywardhan ([[Boman Irani]]) instructs his brother to kill Eklavya ([[Amitabh Bachchan|Bacchan]]) in a fit of rage, but his brother ([[Jackie Shroff|Shroff]]) betrays him and kills him and his driver (Rajjo's father). And amidst the mayhem, the safely guarded secrets of the fort are revealed.

Eklavya suspects Jyotiwardhan and his son, Udaywardhan ([[Jimmy Sheirgill]]), are responsible for Jaywardhan's ([[Boman Irani]]) death. He kills Udaywardhan and leads Jyotiwardhan to Udaywardhan's body, intending to kill him and fulfill his oath, whereupon Jyotiwardhan reveals to Eklavya that it was the prince who ordered the murder of the king. Shouting in denial, Eklavya kills Jyotiwardhan, knowing he must face the young prince, his son, to finally fulfill his [[dharma]].

Harshwardhan ([[Saif Ali Khan]]), overcome with guilt, reveals his hand in the murder of Jaywardhan to Rajjo, who leaves him because his actions also caused the death of her father. When Eklavya comes to the palace to kill the prince, he explains why he killed the king. The King had murdered the Queen when she, in her semi-conscious state, kept saying Eklavya's name. Eklavya finally fulfills his dharma by sparing his son's life and declared his own pre-conceived notions to be wrong. Rajjo eventually forgives Harshwardhan because she believes that he is truly sorry for his actions, and Pannalal ([[Sanjay Dutt]]) finds a suicide note saying that Udaywardhan and Jyotiwardhan, afraid that they were about to be caught, jumped in front of a train. Harshwardhan finally reveals Eklavya to be his true father in front of the entire village.

== Cast ==
* [[Amitabh Bachchan]] as Eklavya
* [[Sanjay Dutt]] as DSP Pannalal Chohar
* [[Saif Ali Khan]] as Prince Harshvardhan Rana
* [[Vidya Balan]] as Rajjo Singh
* [[Jackie Shroff]] as Rana Jyotiwardhan
* [[Jimmy Sheirgill]] as Prince Udaywardhan Rana
* [[Boman Irani]] as Rana Jayvardhan
* [[Raima Sen]] as Princess Nandini
* [[Parikshat Sahni]] as Omkar Singh, Rajjo's father
* [[Sharmila Tagore]] as Rani Suhasinidevi
* [[Pankaj Jha]] as a peasant villager

== Production ==
===Development and filming===
''Eklavya: The Royal Guard'' was originally titled ''Yagna''.<ref name="Yagna">{{cite web | title=indiafm.com| work=Yagna to Eklavya: The Royal Guard | date=7 January 2006 | url=http://www.indiafm.com/news/2005/09/12/5803/index.html| access-date=30 June 2006}}</ref> Production began in early 2005. The principal shooting of the film was completed in November 2005.<ref name="Schedule">{{cite web| title=indiafm.com| work=Eklavya shooting is complete| url=http://www.indiafm.com/features/2005/11/11/825/index.html| access-date=27 January 2006| url-status=dead| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051126190355/http://www.indiafm.com/features/2005/11/11/825/index.html| archive-date=26 November 2005}}</ref> The primary location for shooting was in [[Rajasthan]], at [[Devigarh]] and in [[Udaipur]]. According to the official website, shooting took place inside the living quarters of the Jaipur Royal Family. Prince [[Raghavendra Rathore]] and Subarna Rai Chaudhari designed the costumes for the film.<ref name="costumes">{{cite web|title=eklavya-movie.com |work=Royalty designs for the cast of Eklavya |url=http://eklavya-movie.com/movie/etching-eklavya/ |access-date=27 January 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070218083840/http://eklavya-movie.com/movie/etching-eklavya/ |archive-date=18 February 2007 }}</ref> Eklavya's cottage was built from scratch.

The action sequences were to take place in [[Egypt]] but were shot near [[Bikaner]]. 600 camels were used in the shoot.<ref name="camels">{{cite web|title=eklavya-movie.com |work=because of the 800 Indian camels used for action sequence, which would then have had to be exported. |url=http://eklavya-movie.com/movie/camel-kicked-me-in-the-head-says-amitabh-bachchan/ |access-date=27 January 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070212023414/http://eklavya-movie.com/movie/camel-kicked-me-in-the-head-says-amitabh-bachchan/ |archive-date=12 February 2007 }}</ref>

[[Shantanu Moitra]], who was the music director of ''[[Parineeta (2005 film)|Parineeta]]'' (2005), composed the music for the film.<ref name="Shantanu Moitra">{{cite web | title=indiaglitz.com| work=Shantanu Moitra back for Eklavya | url=http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/hindi/article/28486.html| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070122182742/http://www.indiaglitz.com/channels/hindi/article/28486.html| url-status=dead| archive-date=22 January 2007| access-date=27 January 2007}}</ref>

===Post-production===
The global distributor for the film is Eros International.<ref name="Eros International">{{cite web | title=indiafm.com| work=Eros to distribute Vidhu Vinod Chopra's next | url=http://www.indiafm.com/news/2007/01/11/8631/index.html| access-date=27 January 2007}}</ref>

== Music ==
The soundtrack to ''Eklavya: The Royal Guard'' was released on 15 February 2007.<ref>[http://www.audiorec.co.uk/prdtls.asp?id=2454&curr=0 Eklavya CD : movie Eklavya CD songs Eklavya CD film Eklavya CD song Eklavya CD mp3 Eklavya CD lyric Eklavya CD hindi movie Eklavya CD music review Eklavya CD cd Eklavya CD dvd Eklavya CD picture Eklavya CD movie song Eklavya CD"> Audiorec[indian music store]]</ref>
{| class="wikitable"
|- bgcolor="#d1e4fd"sdfsdfsd
! # !! Title !! Singer !! Time
|-
| 1 || "The Revelation" || Pranab Biswas, Ravindra Sathe || 3:25
|-
| 2 || "Chanda Re (The Moon Song)" || [[Hamsika Iyer]] || 4:36
|-
| 3 || "The Gayatri Mantra Theme"|| Ravindra Sathe || 2:27
|-
| 4 || "Jaanu Na" || [[Sonu Nigam]], [[Swanand Kirkire]] || 4:29
|-
| 5 || "The Killing"|| [[Sunidhi Chauhan]], Pranab Biswas || 4:33
|-
| 6 || "The Theme of Eklavya"||Pranab Biswas|| 4:28
|-
| 7 || "The Love Theme"|| [[Hamsika Iyer]] || 2:26
|-
| 8 || "Suno Kahani (The Legend of Eklavya)" || [[Swanand Kirkire]] || 3:22
|-
|}

==Controversies==

There was a controversy regarding selecting the film as India's official entry to the [[Best Foreign Film]] Academy award. [[Bhavna Talwar]], the director of ''[[Dharm (film)|Dharm]]'' (2007), accused The Indian selection committee ([[Film Federation of India]]) and claimed that her film was rejected in favor of ''Eklavya: The Royal Guard'' (2007) because of the personal connections of the latter film's director and producer.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20071221064859/http://in.reuters.com/article/hollywood/idINDEL9964020070929 "India's entry to Oscars caught in a legal tangle"], [[Reuters|Reuters India]], 2007-09-29. Retrieved November 14, 2007.</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{official website|http://www.eklavyatheroyalguard.com}} – {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071212235526/http://www.eklavyatheroyalguard.com/ |date=12 December 2007 |title=Archive copy }}
* {{IMDb title|id=0459605}}

{{Vidhu Vinod Chopra}}
{{Vinod Chopra Films}}
{{Indian submission for Academy Awards}}

[[Category:2007 Hindi-language films]]
[[Category:2007 action drama films]]
[[Category:2007 films]]
[[Category:Films about royalty]]
[[Category:Films directed by Vidhu Vinod Chopra]]
[[Category:Films set in Rajasthan]]
[[Category:Films shot in Rajasthan]]
[[Category:Indian action drama films]]
[[Category:Hindi-language action drama films]]
[[Category:Fictional portrayals of police departments in India]]
[[Category:Films about the caste system in India]]

Eklavya: The Royal Guard - Revision history

HildaCorley2963 at 11:58, 3 March 2026