Kalank Teaser breakdown: This Alia Bhatt, Varun Dhawan multi-starrer looks as grand as the star cast 

A dimly lit room, a royal three-tier chandelier, and a Madhuri Dixit twirling at the centre of it all. The opulence in this Dharma Productions film is evident from the very first frame of the Kalank teaser. The teaser begins with the introduction of the three primary female characters — a regal Madhuri(Bahaar Begum), an elegant Sonakshi Sinha(Satya Chaudhry), and a free-spirited Alia Bhatt(Roop). Then, we are shown glimpses of the male leads, Varun Dhawan(Zafar) as an ironsmith, a stoic Aditya Roy Kapur(Dev), and Sanjay Dutt(Balraj), who clearly plays an all-knowing patriarch.

"Kuch rishtein karzon ki tarah hote hain, unhe nibaana nahi, chukaaya jaata hai" (Some relationships are like debts, you don't uphold them, you repay them)  This dialogue from Zafar sets the tone of the teaser, which is a "Tale of eternal love, set in 1945, in pre-independence India." 

The lavish sets, the music, the period set-up, and orchestrated dance sequences featuring hundreds of extras in Kalank does make you draw comparisons with the world of Sanjay Leela Bhansali. 

The teaser does what it has to, as you are intrigued about the gladiatorial endeavours of Zafar as he battles a bull a la Bhallala Deva from the Baahubali series, which gives Kalank a larger-than-life billing. Dev, who seems to be in-charge of a newspaper, decides to brandish a sword, which shows his allegiance shifting from the mightier pen to the sharper sword. Balraj's longing stare at the family dinner table, which is empty, paints Kalank as a family drama. And when Roop, who is set to get married to Dev, says, "Jab kisi aur ki barbaadi, apni jeet jaise lage, toh humse zyaada barbaad koi nahi hai iss duniya mein"(When you rejoice over someone else's defeat, then there is no one more defeated than you) and the title of this multi-starrer pops up on screen, you are sure Kalank is all this and much more. 

While we ponder about whose eternal love story Kalank is all about, we do see Zafar and Roop walk towards each other, as a Raavan dahan happens in the background, which is pronounced by the rousing voice of Arijit Singh singing the title song. Well, considering love is the central conceit of Kalank, the visuals do paint a very complex picture of what is in store. Is the film about people in loveless marriages? Is it about the heart yearning for something that it can never quite have? Is it about rekindling an old flame? Is it about the politics of religion that plays havoc in a love story?

Well, we might have to wait just a bit longer to see what Two States-fame Abhishek Varman has dished out with Kalank, which hits screens worldwide on April 17. 

This period drama film is produced by Karan Johar, Sajid Nadiadwala, and Fox Star Studios.

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