Brahmastra: From Swades to Harry Potter, 11 Movies and Series Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt-Starrer Reminded Us Of (SPOILER ALERT)

We won't be wrong if we say Brahmastra: Part 1 - Shiva is the BIGGEST Hindi film of 2022. Rumoured to be made on a budget of Rs 400 crore plus, Ayan Mukerji's new film is a labour of love, nine years in making, with Ranbir Kapoor and Alia Bhatt meeting, falling in love, getting married and now pregnant all while the production was ongoing. Now that Brahmastra is now in theatres, the movie has been receiving mixed reviews from critics, some praising the VFX while others blast the listless screenplay. Brahmastra Movie Review: Ranbir Kapoor-Alia Bhatt's Astraverse Saga is Ayan Mukerji's Weakest Film Shrouded in Dazzling Visual Display (LatestLY Exclusive).

Brahmastra is a fantasy adventure film that revolves around astras, and the quest for the most powerful of them all, Brahmastra. Shiva, played by Ranbir Kapoor, is an orphan who can manipulate fire. He along with his girlfriend Isha need to protect Brahmastra, which is broken into three pieces and given to three guardians - played by Amitabh Bachchan, Nagarjuna Akkineni and Shah Rukh Khan. Junoon, played by Mouni Roy, wants to get hold of the astra, so that she can bring her master back to life.

While the essential story is that of good vs evil, and the hero coming of age with regards to accepting who he is, Brahmastra is sprinkled with callbacks and references to other movies and shows, some deliberately cheeky winks, and some very obvious inspirations, a couple perhaps unintentional. In this special feature, we mention some of the most obvious ones in Brahmastra  that we had caught. Of course, there are MAJOR SPOILERS ahead, so please be careful.

Swades

Shah Rukh Khan's cameo in Brahmastra is now an open secret. He appears in the opening act of the film as the possessor of Vanarastra and the guardian of one of the pieces of Brahmastra. What's more, his name is Mohan Bhargav, and he is a space scientist. Well, it's not too hard to deduct that this is a cheeky nod to his character in Swades, where he had the same name and profession. A little trivia - Ayan was part of the writing team of Swades. Brahmastra: Shah Rukh Khan's Cameo Has a 'Swades Easter' Egg and This Throwback Picture of Ayan Mukerji Explains How It Came By! (SPOILER ALERT).

Mr India

Ranbir's Shiva is a do-gooder and an orphan who also takes care of a bunch of orphaned kids like him. Like us, even Alia's Isha points out the obvious callback, as she refers to him as 'Mr India'. Sadly, those kids disappear after a couple of scenes never to be referred again. Another interesting scene that has nothing to do with Mr India, is when Shiva and Isha dance with the kids to "Chikni Chameli", which, you might be aware of, was picturised on Ranbir's ex, Katrina Kaif.

Devon Ke Dev... Mahadev

Mouni Roy got her breakthrough success on television with her starring role as Sati in the Life OK show Devon Ke Dev... Mahadev. In Brahmastra, there is a scene where she refers to her master as 'Devon Ke Dev', and while I am not sure if it was intentional or not, it was hard not to connect the dots.

Harry Potter Series

What's with Bollywood and its superhero origin movies, and their love for Harry Potter franchise? Remember when Drona had so many inspired callback from Harry Potter lore? Well, even Brahmastra does something similar. Both Shiva and Harry Potter are orphans who discover they have superpowers (or magic, in case of Potter) and that their dead parents aren't just nobodies. Shiva's earliest memory is seeing his mother die, which is what even Potter had. Like Harry gets visions that are real since Order of the Phoenix, even Shiva suffers from that. The main baddie of Brahmastra is only alluded to but never shown, as he is not dead but not also alive, while his followers try to bring him back. Just like Voldemort in the earlier HP books and movies. Potter is protected by the 'power of love' which has a crucial role to play in Brahmastra. And like how Potter turns out to be seventh Horcrux, even Shiva learns that he had the third piece of Brahmastra with him all along.

PS: "Love is the greatest power" is also a crucial plotpoint in movies like The Matrix and Interstellar.

Shang-Chi and The Legend of the Ten Rings

The one subplot we loved the most in Brahmastra is the story of 'Amrita and Dev' that AB's Guru narrates to Shiva. It is a story of two rivals who turn lovers and have a baby, and you just cannot help but remember Shang-Chi's own troubled parentage in last year's Marvel hit. The callback gets stronger when we realise Shiva is going to face his father soon in a battle of good vs evil, just like Shang-Chi did with Wenmu. Which brings us to...

Star Wars

"I am your father..." With that line, Darth Vader delivered one of the most iconic phrases in movie history. So when we learn that the main baddie is related paternally to the hero in Brahmastra, we can't help but think of Star Wars. Brahmastra's Sequel Title Confirmed In End-Credits; Second Part in Astraverse Trilogy Titled Brahmastra Part Two - Dev!

Doctor Strange

Mouni Roy's whole arc in Brahmastra reminded me of what Mads Mikkelsen's Kaecilius was trying to do in the first Doctor Strange film. Serving a very powerful master and helping him come to destroy our living world, Mouni's Junoon goes through nearly same beat as Kaecilius did and even has a very disappointing exit, though she never gets to explain why she is doing what she is doing.

The Lord of the Rings

There is a scene where Shiva wears a reddish amulet he takes from one of Junoon's mind-controlled acolytes and wears it, which transports him astrally to the main baddie, and therefore, brings his presence to the attention of Junoon and her men. This is similar to when Frodo wears the Ring and that brings him to the attention of Sauron in JRR Tolkien's fantasy fiction.

X-Men Movies

One of Junoon's sidekicks keep phasing himself pacily from place to another when attacking Shiva and Isha like when Nightcrawler does during the opening scene in X2. Amitabh Bachchan's Guru is an amalgamation of Professor X, Dumbledore and Master Shifu of Kung Fu Panda, all rolled into one, and he has this secret ashram where he trains gifted youngsters in how to control and use their 'astras'. Sounds familiar? Also how Shiva manipulates fire is similar to how Pyro uses his powers in X2.

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness

Coming to the recent Doctor Strange film, I am not sure whether the callbacks in Brahmastra is deliberate or coincidental. Considering MoM came out a time when Brahmastra is supposed to be post-production. Anyway, it was already pointed out from the trailers that Junoon's dressing style and her reddish hued powers were similar to Scarlet Witch. But that's not where the similarities end. Towards the climax, Shiva is shown getting additional hands in a powerful moment, just like (zombie) Doctor Strange in the climax of MoM. Well, Doctor Strange had borrowed this trick when he fought against Thanos in Avengers: Infinity War, so that could be the inspiration.

Spider-Man: No Way Home

When Junoon pieces the Brahmastra together and invokes its power, the sky and the space is torn up with the golden astral flashes. This visual reminded me of the climax of Spider-Man: No Way Home when the multiverse is crumbling resulting in space shown cracking up.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 09, 2022 07:30 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).