Aarakshan

During a humid winter in the mid 1980s, in a small town in the remote Indian North-East, many people waited for a movie named Billa-Ranga to arrive. The memory of the rape-murder of Geeta and Sanjay Chopra was still relatively fresh, and Billa-Ranga were the epitome of evil for most people. Finally, the movie arrived, and lots of people, including many senior citizens covered in shawls or blankets, flocked to the cinema hall, which were screening it only for the night show.

Interestingly, though, this was a South Indian movie dubbed into Hindi, where Ranga And Billa sang and danced, wooed women, turned out to be undercover cops and ended up getting special Police medal for bravery and achievements.

While watching Aarakshan, I had deja vu; it was as if I was re-watching Billa-Ranga (which, to me, has been a cruel joke played on us poor fellows!).

This movie could as well have been named "Infrastructure Problem in the Chambal Region" or "General Theory of Relativity" or "Autobiography of Idi Amin" or the "Health Benefits of Yoga" or anything one may think of the top of one's head. This is because Aarakshan has as much to do with the issue of reservation in India, as with any of the titles that I have at random mentioned.

Probably Jha was aware of what was going on, and that is why the waiter brings two glasses of Limca (or some such whitish thing) when our hero clearly orders two cups of coffee.

You do not get what you expect to be delivered!

This also reminds me of a couple of interviews of Naseeruddin Shah, where he steadfastly proclaimed his love for movies of Dara Singh; after watching Aarakshan, I have a gut feeling that I understand why!

As an American (now living in America, despite my profile), I occasionally go to Indian movies to sort of clear my head and watch a story told in a completely different way than most American movies. For this purpose, Aarakshan fit the bill just fine. In the controversy over the school entry quota, there was an obvious parallel to the controversy over affirmative action quotas in the U.S.

The story did drag on and on a bit. The bad guys, particularly the vice principal, were a bit too over-the-top evil, and the noble persecuted principal stuck to his guns so firmly that at some point (specifically at the point where he sent the boys away rather than invite them to help him tutor the poor children) he went from principled to sort of stubborn and stupid.

A few other random thoughts that distracted me during the movie: The "American" accent, if that's what it was supposed to be, of the Cornell professor was truly lamentable. I laughed, I grimaced. It was awful.

In the scene where Sushant orders two coffees, it appears that the waitress delivers two glasses of milk.

The actor who played Prabhakar Anand, the university president, seemed too young for the character he played; the one who played low-caste love interest and firebrand student Deepak Kumar looked decidedly too old, especially when compared with the character of Sushant, who I assume was supposed to be the same age and who looked age-appropriate. I also found that "Deepak Kumar" looked gym-toned in a way that was attractive, but detracted from the verisimilitude of his character ... and a further distraction was that to me he bears a strong resemblance to American comedian Robin Williams!

Well, I told you these would be random comments. I did more or less enjoy watching the movie as a way to pass the afternoon, but it was no profound experience.

Prakash Jha's Aarakshan has something for everyone: To an average viewer, Aarakshan would serve to be a decent offering made special by the presence of a stellar cast led by Amitabh Bachchan himself. Aficionados would find it to be good enough to be considered as a case study on India's socio-political system. The critics will find it too absorbing to merely regard it as a satire on the prevalent education system. Jha has a great understanding of the Indian socio-political setup having himself contested elections from the state of Bihar—the second most influential state in the Indian political context. This knowledge places Jha at a point of vantage in the purview of Indian cinema. Jha's penchant for depicting realism in cinema puts him in a very elusive list of Indian filmmakers. With Aarakshan, Jha succeeds at both the technological and emotional fronts and more than makes up for the shoddy display in his previous production, Raajneeti. Jha uses his stellar cast and camera to full effect in order to capture the audience's attention right from the onset. He builds up his plot slowly but rhythmically with a scalpel like precision that one seldom sees in Hindi Cinema. What makes Aarakshan unique is that it not only succeeds in posing serious questions about the sensitive issue of reservation but also manages to propose a common humanistic solution for it—one that follows a universal approach aimed at working at the very roots of the problem.

Prabhakar Anand (Amitabh Bachchan), a private college principal, has devoted his life to the ideals of equality, righteousness and self- sacrifice. His undeterred determination for his cause has elevated and evolved the education standards in a state that is plagued by casted- based politics. During his three decade long tenure as a principal of a private college, he has not only taken the college to new heights but has also shaped the lives of hundreds of underprivileged students from the backward sects of the society and is respected by everyone alike. One of benefactors has been Deepak Kumar (Saif Ali Khan), who also happens to be his favorite pupil. Deepak Kumar comes from an extremely backward setup and owes everything to Prabhakar Anand and worships him as a disciple. He has a strong liking for Prabhakar's daughter Poorbi (Deepika Padukone), who reciprocates it fully. Prabhakar is a staunch condemner of commercialization of education and wants to provide quality education to the poor and the needy free of cost. He is the sole target of all those who advocate commercialization of education. Mithilesh Singh (Manoj Bajpai), who runs a chain of coaching institutes, heads the nexus that aims to destroy Prabhakar and his followers.

Amitabh Bachchan shines in the portrayal of Prabhakar, a portrayal that is highly reminiscent of his 'Angry Young Man' days. He goes through an entire gamut of emotions with an ineffable sense of ease that makes the portrayal utterly memorable. As Prabhakar, he is a loving husband, a caring father, a faithful friend, a staunch idealist, an undeterred revolutionary and most importantly, a humanist par excellence. It is Bachchan's best performance in well over a decade and even surpasses his portrayal of an inexorably idealistic principal in Mohabbatein. In fact, it wouldn't be a hyperbole to say that one cannot think of many actors in the country who could fit into the shoes of Prabhakar Anand better than Bachchan. Saif Ali Khan is brilliant in his portrayal of Deepak and yet again proves his versatility as an actor. It's his most powerful performance since his Langda Tyagi in Vishal Bhardwaj's Omkara. Manoj Bajpai is ever so reliable in his portrayal of a conniving business mogul and offers a great contrast to Bachchan's portrayal of an outright righteous man. In fact, Bajpai seems to be the only actor in Hindi Cinema who has never been known to act badly. His previous full-fledged performance alongside Bachchan in Aks had earned him a flurry of awards and one wouldn't be wrong in expecting the same this time round. Deepika Padukone and Prateik Babbar offer great support to a cast that is studded with veterans like Saurabh Shukla and S.M Zaheer.

Overall, Aarakshan offers a great insight into socio-political scenario of the country while also focusing on the flaws in the existing educational setup. The movie celebrates the spirit of humanity and proposes a common humanistic solution to the paradox of reservation in our country based on principles equality and freedom. Despite the occasional lack of coherence, Aarakshan is a must watch for the fans of Amitabh Bachchan and Prakash Jha and all those who have a place in their hearts for good and healthy cinema. 8/10

http://www.apotpourriofvestiges.com/

Not based on Arkshan ( reservation ). Is it like extra paid for tution and etc.

This is precisely the kind of movie that should come out of the part of Bollywood that thrives on making real movies. Movies that don't have massive explosions or heroes beating up thousands of villains or dancing with 50 people on the beaches of Sydney or in night clubs. In the hands of a director with good vision this could have become one of the top movies of the year. But instead with some bollywood clichés and melodrama the movie sinks into mediocrity, but with one saving grace.

This is an actor's movie, a thespian's movie so the casting of Amitabh and Manoj was a clever move. Amitabh can be forgiven for starring in rubbish like Buddha Hogaya Tera Baap or some stupid movie where he's dancing with and romancing girls less than a third of his age. His performance as a teacher is highly credible and his purity is equally matched by Manoj's sleaziness. It would be hard to find anyone better than these two men when it comes to proper acting. Nasserudin Shah, Om Puri and Nana Patekar are the only others I can think of.

Saif Ali Khan gives a subdued performance but it's not bad. Sadly he doesn't look very convincing as a Dalit and no amount of makeover can take off the bollywood glamour shine that always surrounds him. He was miscast here. Deepika was decent. There's another poster who was complaining about her Hindi or her acting skills but I find that she's one of the rare few young women out there who can act and she's getting better each time.

While the upside was the casting of Amitabh and Manoj the downside was the script and character development. The topic of "untouchables" and rights is a serious issue and it deserved to be treated with respect and given the center of attention, something Prakash Jha failed to do. Instead the focus goes on Amitabh's woes and troubles and his enmity with an increasingly sleazy Manoj which took it away from the main issue. Even the underlying sub theme of ministers abusing the value of education for their profit was briefly touched upon and then forgotten so that we, the audience, could anguish over where Amitabh was going to live. The hordes of students that he suddenly starts teaching nonstop becomes a silly competition between him and Manoj's venture, a typically stupid Bollywood melodramatic move. The ending is a huge let down, contrived to give it a feel good moment. Yet, the main issue is never once broached nor resolved.

Despite my negativity I'd still recommend the movie for several reasons: Amitabh and Manoj's acting, and the lack of numerous typically cheesy song and dance numbers. I sincerely hope that another, more focused director tackles this sensitive issue and gives it more consideration with a more driven story and scope. Look at Black Friday. That was a brilliant movie with little commercial success but that wasn't the aim of the director of that gem. He stuck to the main issue and there's no reason why another director can't do the same with this topic.