After reigning supreme in the ancient land of Mahishmati, Prabhas has left the palaces and royal garments for T-shirts, swag and cargos in his latest action-thriller Saaho. Directed by Sujeeth, Saaho, which also features Shraddha Kapoor, Chunky Panday, Neil Nitin Mukesh and Jackie Shroff, hit the screens today. The film is made on an extravagant budget of Rs 350 crore and took two years to wrap up. Saaho’s run-time of 170 minutes seems just as long, if not longer.

So, was the enormous hype around this film worth it? Without mincing words: sadly, no. Saaho is a classic example of how empty vessels make the maximum noise. It’s a stunning – but absolutely soulless and exhausting – visual spectacle with endless action sequences and numerous twists and turns that just make you roll your eyes to the back of your head.

Let’s cut to the chase. Welcome to Waaji, a fictitious city that is ridden with deadly gangsters covered in tattoos, and glowing high-rise buildings that look something out of a video game. Not just this, the city has a magical aura around it as people can defy the laws of gravity at will. It’s a difficult time as the head leader has been killed, and there is the eminent case of a power struggle. The stakes have never been higher. It involves Rs 2 lakh crore, as the characters remind you throughout the film.

The answer to everyone’s questions lies in the mysterious black box, which is locked away somewhere. Indian policemen based in Mumbai are hot on the trail of the gangsters or so they think. Into all this chaos and tension, in walks Prabhas or Ashok Chakravarthy. He means serious business, as the slow-mo shots tell you. He can backhandedly fight off an army of men wielding knives and axes.

Yet, there’s always time for love, and that’s what Shraddha Kapoor as Amrita Nair is there for. She tries to talk really tough, but of course, she’s a woman and has to be a damsel in distress and dance around the lead actor too. Who wins the power struggle, that’s what the film tries to show. Do you really care by the end of it? That’s for you to decide.

More jarring than Prabhas’s dialogue delivery at points is Shraddha’s character Amrita. She seems to be constantly yearning for validation from Prabhas and the team of armed police officers who don’t think she has it in her to pull off a successful mission. Shraddha’s role is clearly defined as that of the love interest, who performs Psycho Saiyyan and has romantic dreams in picturesque locations.

Mandira Bedi is practically non-existent in the film, and has just a handful of dialogues sprinkled throughout. Another defining characteristic is that she is asthmatic. The women in the film are meant for aesthetic value clearly. There’s Jacqueline Fernandez dancing with Prabhas too, among other bikini-clad women, in a random sequence as we are reminded that Prabhas has shed his good-king Amarendra Baahubali avatar and is a ‘bad Boy’ now.

The saving grace of Saaho are the visuals and the high-octane action sequences. The director plays up Prabhas well in the action scenes and if you weren’t already exhausted by the film, you might enjoy it if you’re a Prabhas fan. Prabhas also tries, occasionally, to do some damage-control with his one-liners.

Saaho had promise. It had the cast. That’s the disappointing part. Yet, the makers got so carried away with crafting action scenes and Prabhas’s starry presence that they forgot about the story and character development midway.

The ending of Saaho hints at a sequel. If that’s the case, please pray that it is better written and more cohesive. How will we saaho that otherwise? Apologies for the bad joke but that’s all you’re left with at the end of the film