Mohenjo… Mohenjo… Mohenjo… Mohenjo Daro! Javed Akhtar saab, seriously?
Oh wait! Let us rewind to 2006 AD. There lived a superhero called Krrish. Played by Hrithik Roshan, he led a near-anonymous life. His granny had no concept of personal space, and privacy clearly wasn’t part of the household vocabulary. Krrish suspected there was something extraordinary in him. One fine day, he meets a pretty (annoying) damsel, who, in the strangest of ways, takes him to the one who wronged his father. He makes a heroic comeback, saves his father, saves the world, and gets the girl. Clean arc. Done.
Cut to 2016 BC. There lived an indigo farmer called Sarman. Played, again, by Hrithik Roshan, because why not recycle destiny along with actors. He dreams of a graphic unicorn apparently designed by a VFX team still figuring out fire. He lives with his chacha-chachi, who treat him like a grown man with zero survival skills and unlimited free time.
Clueless beyond belief, Sarman sets out to Mohenjo Daro. He casually ignores promises made to family, discovers a mysterious coin (prehistoric Jaadoo vibes), and unlocks a destiny no one asked for.
Soon he meets Chaani – a high-maintenance reject from Sabyasachi’s auditions for Lakmé Fashion Week: ornate headgear, impossible outfits, and a morning routine that feels like it requires a costume department and a prayer. She takes one look at Sarman and falls in love, presumably because logic hasn’t been invented yet.
And just like that, we enter a world where love, revenge, prophecy, and civilisation itself all depend on one indigo farmer with main-character energy.
Sarman discovers his father’s killer, uncovers hidden truths, triggers revolution, and somewhere along the way also seems responsible for early human civilisation branding itself as “India”. At this point, “2016 BC” feels less like a timeline and more like a warning.
Ashutosh Gowariker, as always, loves his grand ideas and one-line briefs: “Ancient India, but make it dramatic.” Hrithik Roshan, meanwhile, continues his lifelong mission of inspiring Tiger Shroff into overdrive.
To be fair, the production design deserves half the marks. The sets are detailed, ambitious, and clearly trying very hard to justify their existence. You can almost see the budget sweating on screen.
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Cinematography by C. K. Muraleedharan, however, ensures that the audience experiences Mohenjo Daro the way ancient civilizations intended: slightly dizzy, mildly confused, and questioning life choices.
Thankfully, A. R. Rahman shows up like the only adult in the room. The soundtrack occasionally rescues scenes that the script has already emotionally abandoned.
And then there is the screenplay, which feels like a collection of historical Pinterest boards loosely connected by dramatic pauses. Characters enter, deliver intense dialogue, stand around like they’re waiting for instructions, and exit with the confidence of people who believe they have contributed meaningfully to cinema.
The romance has no spark, the conflict has no clarity, and the logic is archaeologically missing, while even the supporting characters feel like they were assigned roles after a group chat vote went wrong.
Performances swing between full commitment and full confusion. Hrithik Roshan does what he can with dignity and abs intact. Kabir Bedi tries to add gravitas. The rest of the cast oscillates between acting and wondering how they ended up in 2016 BC without an exit plan.
Arunodaya Singh, in particular, deserves a special mention for unintentionally delivering comedy gold in every frame. His diction, styling, and expressions feel like a bonus parody track nobody asked for but everyone remembers.
And then we arrive at the climax, where physics, logic, and patience collectively decide to take a break.
By the end, Mohenjo Daro becomes less a film and more a historical simulation of what happens when production design is sent to do a screenplay’s job.
In short, it takes your childhood memories of The Flintstones, your school history lessons, and your goodwill for Ashutosh Gowariker’s Swades, and manages to damage all three in one ambitious stroke.
What a monumentally expensive misunderstanding.
Rating: ★ 1/2
Mohenjo Daro is now streaming on Jio Hotstar.
