Thirty years after Govind Nihalani shook up the cinematic world with his chronicle of violence called 'Aakrosh' where a poor man kills his sister to save her from upper caste molestation, Bollywood has once again re-used the title to depict the burning issue of honor killings in some states of northern India.
The only problem with Priyadarshan's presentation of this social evil perpetrated by demented minds is that his script ends up chasing the sidelights and seldom focuses on the core issue. Maybe, the director, known for his funny bone, just didn't have the guts or the gumption to face up to stark reality... let alone showcase it.
A pity, because the storyline of a "forbidden" love story between a dalit and an upper caste girl and the shenanigans of the caste ridden local leaders has enough masala to be turned into a gripping tale highlighting a social malaise that every Indian will find tough to explain to an outsider.
Five reasons to watch 'Aakrosh'
1. There are some straight lifts from the Gene Hackman thriller 'Mississippi Burning' that deals with FBI agents probing the murder of some civil rights activists and their work in a segregated village. So, Messrs Ajay Devgn and Akshaye Khanna replicate the roles of Hackman and Willem Dafoe with considerable elan.
2. Ajay Devgn seems to be mastering the "thinking action hero" roles, though one does see shades of his character from the 2003 Rohit Shetty movie 'Zameen'. There are some daredevil stunts in the movie featuring the actor who seems to have put on considerable muscle mass of late too.
3. For those of you who watched Abhishek Chaubey's 'Ishqiya', the settings that Priyadarshan has chosen for 'Aakrosh' will appeal greatly. The story is set in a remote village and the director ensures that the ambience is carried forth right through the movie, but for some romantic interludes.
4. Watch out for some excellently choreographed action scenes featuring Ajay Devgn but keep in mind that most of these are an unabashed lift from the original Hollywood film that got nominated to the Oscars and found mention as one of the hardest hitting flicks on segregation ever.
5. The one aspect of the movie that stays long after the titles roll out is the performance of Paresh Rawal, who turns up as the really bad cop. Though Paresh has essayed similar roles earlier, I feel this performance is a blacker version of his cop routine in 'Jaane Tu...'.
Five reasons to avoid 'Aakrosh'
1. For starters, the movie is a mishmash that oscillates between trying to tell a serious story about a social malaise and shifts to inter-personal relations between a cop and an army officer on the one hand and the officer and his romantic rewind to a woman (Bipasha Basu) who is now knotted with the corrupt cop.
2. That Priyadarshan has lifted several scenes off the original is no surprise, given that his generation of moviemakers have been dishing out such fare for long now. The problem is that this high energy action sequences do not lead to any drama and seems to be sticking out like sore thumbs most of the time.
3. There is a very interesting parallel track between the two sleuths and their contrasting style of chasing down crime and its perpetrators. Somehow, this track fails to take off but for some verbal volleys that Devgn and Khanna throw at each other from time to time.
4. There are far too many inconsistencies in the script and too many loose ends and far too many characters are introduced into the scene without proper rhyme or reason. Besides Akshaye, Ajay and Paresh, the rest of the cast doesn't have much to do.
5. The original sin of murder on caste grounds is largely left to its own fate by the director who chases too many side stories like the Ajay-Bipasha track or the Ajay-Akshaye track. The sad part is that Priyadarshan doesn't focus on any one theme in the end and leaves you feeling cheated.
My Take: The director took up a bold theme but diluted its treatment to such an extent that it is neither a social critique nor an action movie. Wonder why the makers re-used a classic title to tell an ordinary tale? Of course, it is another matter that Suneil Shetty had used the same title for his 1998 flop show that had neither story nor action quality of the latest version.
Source: India Syndicate
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