ApunKaChoice.com
site  movies  celebs  music  news  showtimes  user  
Hello, Stranger Login | Sign up
ApunKaChoice » Article » Aarakshan - Movie Review
 
Latest On ApunKaChoice 
Article : Aishwarya Rai defines Bollywood: British model Scarlett
Article : Freida Pinto doesn't fear fashion police
Slide Show : Pics - Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra with their newborn baby
Article : Happy 40th birthday Karan Johar, with love, luck: B-Town
Article : Video: ‘Tumhi Ho Bandhu’ from ‘Cocktail’ gives you a high!
Article : Shilpa Shetty takes her newborn son home
Article : I always wanted to do double role: Vidya Balan
Celebrity Wallpapers : Ajay Devgan Wallpapers
Article : Men in Black III - Movie Review
Men in Black 3 is a one-time watch : Men In Black Iii Movie Review

Aarakshan - Movie Review
Movie review - Aarakshan is painfully pointless
By Naresh Kumar Deoshi
Fri, Aug 12, 2011 11:37:04 GMT
 

The ApunKaChoice movie review of Aarakshan.
Prakash Jha’s latest film Aarakshan, which has raked up a lot of controversy, is a study in affectations. The hyperventilating characters in it move about spouting dialogue-heavy harangues armed with words like siddhant, anushasan, nishtha and a variety of other such chaste Hindi terms that a crash course in a roadside Hindi tutorial centre might help you cotton on to. And if you can endure this copious stream of filminess, you might as well resign to the fact that the film has no darned point to make. The film’s title is a misnomer. Aarakshan is not actually about Aarakshan. It’s…um…more of a muddle that no more than superficially touches upon topical issues like the commercialization of education and, of course, a bit of caste-based reservation as well.

All the hype and hoopla surrounding the movie seems much ado about nothing once you have sat through this 2-hr-45-minute long boring lecture on the ills of education system. And you walk out feeling none the wiser. A bit short-changed perhaps.

So we see Amitabh Bachchan playing a college principal as principled as there ever was. Not for him the sycophancy for the neta log trying to get their underperforming kin admitted in the prestigious Shakuntala Thakaral Mahavidyalaya he heads. Not for him the craven surrender when his principles are challenged. At home, his daughter (Deepika Padukone) and wife (Tanvi Azmi) stoically support the uptight idealist, save for minor squeaks of protest. At college, a wily professor (Manoj Bajpai) wants to take over as the principal and make an easy buck by opening private coaching centres throughout the state.

Jha proffers to present the two sides of the Aarakshan debate through the characters of a genius dalit teacher (Saif Ali Khan) and a rich student (Prateik Babbar), who are friends until the honourable Supreme Court flips open the Pandora’s box by passing an order supporting 27 percent reservation for backward classes in educational institutions.

Thereafter, we are subjected to long arguments both in favour of and against the reservation as writer Arjum Rajabali has a field day in unleashing the most turgid brand of dialoguebaazi, buttressed by heavy background score, to drive home the point that grave issues are under discussion on screen. Point taken! But why pray does Prakash Jha abandon the issue of reservation half way and turn the film into an indictment of the commercialization of education? And why does Jha make Amitabh Bachchan deliver his dialogues like he was recording a social message for the ministry of education?

Almost every actor in the movie is made to play the character and say the lines they can’t relate to. Hence the affectation. So when Saif Ali Khan rants about the ‘uthal puthal’ in samaaj due to reservation and how suppressed his own dalit samaaj has been over the years, you try hard to believe him, but only in vain. When Prateik Babbar whines about losing what’s rightfully his to someone who comes under quota, you are at pains to empathize with the unfortunate chap. Likewise, Deepika Padukone’s glib about her righteous father sounds every word as affected as the old man’s blusters about principles and righteousness. In fact, Jha manages the feat of making a talented actor like Manoj Bajpai look like a caricature.

Aarakshan offers no deep insight into the subject it claims to deal with. The arguments presented are facile, at best. But the most shocking is cavalier disregard with which Jha stunts the film’s main issue of reservation and puts the movie on a different plotline altogether, turning it into a muddle.

In short, Aarakshan is painfully pointless, boring and not a wee bit enlightening. One would rather go fly a kite than to reserve a seat for this movie.

Rating: 2 stars out of 5
Phhir - Movie Review
 
Box Office report: Aarakshan opens fairly well, but the ban hits the collections
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
Video: ‘Tumhi Ho Bandhu’ from ‘Cocktail’ gives you a high!
Video: ‘Tumhi Ho Bandhu’ from ‘Cocktail’ gives you a high!
Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone’s ‘Cocktail’ is much-anticipated!
Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone’s ‘Cocktail’ is much-anticipated!
Bollywood reacts to petrol price hike with sarcasm and concern
Bollywood reacts to petrol price hike with sarcasm and concern
Check out: Deepika Padukone’s hottest bikini moments
Check out: Deepika Padukone’s hottest bikini moments
Tags : , , , , , , ,
More from Bollywood:
Aishwarya Rai defines Bollywood: British model Scarlett
Pics - Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra with their newborn baby
Happy 40th birthday Karan Johar, with love, luck: B-Town
Shilpa Shetty takes her newborn son home
Bol Bachchan trailer: Abhishek Bachchan as a smart aleck and Ajay Devgn as a pehelwan!
Comments (0) Newest Oldest Best Rated
Be the first one to comment

Login to add your comment.
 



 
Now Trending : Salman Khan | Shahrukh Khan | Ranbir Kapoor | Aishwarya Rai | Katrina Kaif | Kareena Kapoor | Priyanka Chopra | Vidya Balan | Katrina Kaif Wallpapers | Poonam Pandey | Parineeti Chopra | Arjun Kapoor | New Hindi Movies | Rowdy Rathore | Ishaqzaade | Housefull 2 | Dabangg 2 | Jannat 2 | Teri Meri Kahaani | The Avengers | Shanghai | Department

Photo Galleries 

Pics - Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra with their newborn baby
Pics - Aishwarya Rai’s stunning traditional look at Cannes 2012
Shraddha Sharma at the premiere of ‘Chutki Bajaa Ke’

Chitrangada Singh, Neha Dhupia & Ayushmann Khurrana at IIFA Rocks event
HOT: Rozlyn Khan’s butt talks about IPL
Check out: Deepika Padukone’s hottest bikini moments
Wallpapers 

Ajay Devgan Wallpapers
Kareena Kapoor Wallpapers
Rowdy Rathore Wallpapers
Hot Celebrities 

Abhishek Bachchan
Mahi Gill
Namitha
New Movies 

Yeh Khula Aasmaan
Men In Black Iii
Love Recipe
Videos 

‘Men in Black 3’ behind-the-scenes
What to Expect When You're Expecting trailer
The making of Mukhtasar from Teri Meri Kahaani


Copyright © ApunKaChoice.com
ApunKaChoice.com : Latest Bollywood News, Bollywood Movies Reviews, Bollywood Wallpapers
privacy policy
Partner Sites : CricketZone - IndiaExpress.com [ Mobiles Festivals Bikes Cars ] - CardWeaver

photo gallery - new movies - celebs - wallpapers - the celeb A-Z - News & Gossip - Music - Video - Hot Topics
Anushka Sharma - Katrina Kaif - Kareena Kapoor - Priyanka Chopra - Deepika Padukone - Sonakshi Sinha - Aishwarya Rai - Paoli Dam - Poonam Pandey - Nargis Fakhri
Salman Khan ( Being Human - Bigg Boss 5 ) - Shahrukh Khan - Shahid Kapoor - Hrithik Roshan - Aamir Khan - Ranbir Kapoor