Brahmastra, Part One: Shiva, the magnum opus of director Ayan Mukerji, is coming to Hulu, the service revealed. First, in what will be a trilogy, the filmmaker has termed Astraverse India’s first original cinematic world. In addition to Alia Bhatt and Ranbir Kapoor, the film also stars Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan, Tamil superstar Nagarjuna Akkineni, and actress Mouni Roy. Like other Bollywood films, this one features a central love narrative and centres on ‘astras’ (weapons) of light and shakti (energy). In the first instalment of Brahmastra, we meet Shiva (Kapoor), a DJ in Mumbai who falls in love with a woman named Isha.
When Shiva discovers his mysterious link to Brahmastra, a celestial sword, and his latent abilities, his and Parvati’s worlds are turned upside down. Among the five elements identified as the “panchmahabhuta” (five supreme elements) in Indian texts, fire (Agni) is one of the most important. Other people have been granted the abilities of other elements as well, including earth (Prithvi), water (Jala), wind (Vayu), and space. Shiva leads us on a search for the brahmastra, the ultimate weapon capable of annihilating the cosmos.
The Brahmans, a hidden organization that has protected the ancient Indian ‘astras’ (weapons) for centuries, keep watch over it. It’s an intriguing premise for a film to be situated in the modern world while yet being strongly founded in spirituality, as this film is. Mukerji does a fantastic job of incorporating a wide range of themes in his narrative as Shiva comes into his own as the divine hero of the universe: fantasy, adventure, love, and hope. The film, which Mukerji has been working on since 2014 when it was first announced, features scenes shot in a wide variety of locales throughout the world.
These include Varanasi, Mumbai, Thailand, Bulgaria, London, New York City, and Edinburgh. One of the most costly Indian films ever made, its budget was reportedly between $38 million to $63 million. The film opened to mixed reviews earlier this year, but its visual effects, music, and action scenes were praised. As the highest-grossing Hindi film of 2022, it has also earned over US$54 million globally. Mukerji has planned out the plot points for the following two films, which are now in the scripting process. Future chapters will have a larger ensemble, including more well-known names from Bollywood. Meanwhile, on November 4, both the original Hindi and an English dubbed version of the film will debut on the service.