Review of Aarakshan (2011) by Shubham S — 14 Aug 2011

Bachchan says, in the movie, "Iss desh mein do Bharat baste hain......". The same can be said about this movie. There are 2 seperate movies within this one film, and unfortunately, both are half movies.

The main issue of reservation is fleetingly dealt with in the first half of the movie, and after the interval there is no mention of reservation whatsoever, and the entire track moves to the evils of the education system and coaching classes etc.

To add to the misery, the director has chosen to put a few very unmemorable, unrequired and frankly crap songs in the movie, for our "entertainment", I presume.

Amitabh Bachchan, as the principled principal does his job excellently, delivering every line with the right amount of emphasis it deserves, though you cannot help but notice the similarity between this movie and Mohobbatein(2001). I do feel that he needs to change his spectacles as these seem a bit too "mod" and loud for the kind of role he is assaying, and also the Longines wristwatch!!!!!

Saif Ali Khan does try quite hard to look and sound like a Dalit, but falls short, perhaps because of his inherent classiness, but full marks for effort.

Deepika Padukone needs to attend acting classes, and soon!! Her lines sound like she's reading them from the scriptsheet, with a very one dimensional tone, with little or no emotion, and she also stumbles over a few of the more difficult hindi words. Looking pretty doesn't cut it in a movie where you're playing a down and out person.

Prateik Babbar is probably one of the most over rated actors in the industry. He has no screen presence, no acting ability and no sense of dialogue delivery. He needs to work hard in order to be able to do convincingly, the role of the hero's best friend's friend's sister's boyfriend's childhood friend, before he can take on any roles of any prominence.

Manoj Bajpayee(note the change in spelling!!!) has a great role to exploit to the fullest, but lands up being a bit of a ham.

As you can see, I am not very impressed by the movie at all, even if you take the movie in isolation. It gets more grating when you know it comes from a director, Prakash Jha, who has made Gangajal, Apaharan and Rajneeti. Mr Jha, you goofed up big time with this one, good luck for your next venture.

To view or not to view?? Wait for the DVD release, and then borrow it from one of your more gullible friends!!!!