You want to turn your brain off and see a demi-god demolish a CGI army for two hours. The 3D is great, and the fan service for mythology buffs is real.
The comic relief sidekick (Sundeep Kishan as “Chotu”) gets more screen time than the heroine, and his jokes land with a thud. There’s also an unnecessary cameo by a famous Bollywood actor playing a time-traveling sage that adds nothing but confusion.
Let’s start with the positives. The budget has clearly tripled. The VFX for Shiva’s third-eye activation is jaw-dropping—think Doctor Strange meets Baahubali . The action sequences, especially the climactic battle atop a moving bullet train, are inventive and visceral. Rajan knows how to frame a hero shot. Every time Shiva (played with intense stoicism by Vikram Surya) cracks his knuckles and a cosmic glow emanates from his forehead, the theater erupts.