Aarakshan

Directed by : Prakash Jha       Music by : Shankar Ehsaan Loy

Starring : Amithabh Bhachchan, Hema Malini, Manoj Bajpai, Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone.

Released during the August 15th weekend, got banned in 3 states for sensitive issue tackling, re-released post “Big-Brotherly” cuts, news channels protesting the ban. The production team of Aarakshan has got everything correct to draw the crowds’ attention, however if they had spent some time reading the script and linking it with the title, it would have done them more good !

When you have an actor like Amithabh Bhachchan, you don’t have to worry about choosing controversial titles. You don’t have to worry about a sane story too, trust me. Least you can do is not to mislead people. The apt title for this movie should have be “Education” and not “Reservation”.

Once you have overcome the above confusion, what you have is an ideological and genuine script. Prabhakar Anand (Amithabh Bhachchan) is a pillar of principles. Known for his hard-work and grip on the subjects, he not only wins the hearts of students but also government officers who once passed out from his college. Things change dramatically when greed takes center-stage in the form of Vice Principal (Manoj Bajpai). It becomes a one-on-one fight and in the end its students who benefit from the rebelling protagonist.

You have to hand it over to Prakash Jha (Director) for proposing a healthy education system. Till now Bolly-wood had come up with out-of-the-box ideas to solve the education puzzle. However it is practically impossible to expect the masses to understand and start taking the road less travelled. At least not in the immediate future. When a patient is dying, what you need is accepted medical procedures. You cant imply experiments to save the patient’s life. The education system got bitten by the coaching bug since the past decade and it needs cure in the form of Prabhakar guru ji. That is what grants ‘Ideological status’ to this movie.

In a movie where the script and the protagonist are larger than life, remaining actors like Saif, Pratiek, Deepika are just reduced to the role of inter-woven characters. Amithabh Bhachchan carries the entire burden on his shoulders and finishes it with ease. Any AB sr. movie should have Hema Malini too these days, probably after the success of Baagban. Manoj Bajpai proves to be a fitting actor in negative shade. Should we call this a come-back performance after the Biku Matre role? Greed radiates through his eyes as he impersonates the role of a coaching center owner.

Watch it with your heart! I am reducing the ratings because of the great ‘title’ confusion ! Definitely impacts the overall movie experience.

Varun Mannava Gowtham