The mythology that underpins this is a fascinating combination of humanity and adventure that director Nag Ashwin presents entertainingly - if maybe a little haphazardly - here. We start with a battle from history where the defeated "Ashwatthama" is condemned to a life of fruitless immortality. His only chance of redemption will come when he is called upon to protect an unborn child - the final reincarnation of Vishnu. At this point we don't know when this will happen, nor what these dangers might be - but skip forward six thousand years and we find a world where the planet is under the control of the "Complex". An alien looking enterprise that is systematically robbing the planet of it's nutrients and minerals under the control of the "Supreme Yaskin" (Kamal Haasan). Things are especially perilous times for women capable of childbearing as they are being genetically manipulated to produce a serum from their foetus that is implanted into "Yaksin" to grant him his own form of (tube free) immortality. Meantime, we are introduced to the legendary bounty hunter "Bhairava" (Prabhas) who has something of the "Han Solo" to him, and who is working to get the million credits required to get into the "Complex". There is one further enigma amongst all of this ordered chaos. She is "Sum 80" (Deepika Padukone) as she is pregnant - and naturally, too. Needless to say she is much prized by the "Complex" but after some careful planning, she manages to escape the clutches of it's scientists and make a break for "Shambala" where legend has it, she will give birth to a very special baby. In hot pursuit is the malevolent commander "Manas" (Saswata Chatterjee) who has mobilised an whole army of unsavoury types to track her down - and with a prize of 5 million for the person who delivers her, well "Bhairava" is soon in on the chase too. If he can help this woman, perhaps "Ashwatthama" can fulfil his destiny? Now this is long, and at times it loses it's way a little with the oddly positioned entertainment numbers spliced into the drama, but for the most part - particularly after the interval - this is quite an action packed hybrid of Hindu folklore combined with elements of "Dune" (especially much of the scoring), "Avatar" and featuring a guest appearance from "Skeletor's" big chair from "Masters of the Universe" towards the end. I wouldn't have said the acting is all that remarkable, but Prabhas provides a charismatic effort, the dialogue generally works efficiently and the production design is creatively effective at mixing the futuristic with the ancient. There's no getting away from it's reliance on CGI, and that doesn't always work, but the story is sound and clearly designed to give us more down the line as the ancient gods line up against the pillagers of the planet - with the very future of mankind to play for.
