Aurangzeb

In one of the scenes in AURANGZEB, Rishi Kapoor explains Prithvi that , "Baadshahi Bhaichaara nahin dekhti " which essentially translates as "Kingship sees no Kinship" - the famous dictum of the ruthless Mughal emperor.There is a forced attempt in debutant director Atul Sabharwal's modern action-crime thriller to draw references to the Mughal traitor.Set in present-day concrete jungle of Gurgaon, it is about how an illegal business is run in the garb of a real estate consultancy.

Yashvardhan Singh(Jackie Shroff) plays the real-estate gangster businessman who runs his illegal empire through a shrewd lady,Nina(Amrita Singh)and Ajay(Arjun Kapoor) is his son. A police team led by DCP Ravikanth(Rishi Kapoor) and his nephew,Arya(Prithviraj) want to break their stranglehold and send Ajay's lookalike Vishal to infiltrate their gang and be their informer.Now there is a hitch! Vishal undergoes a change of heart and takes his father's side and this jeopardizes the efforts of the DCP who has surreptitiously hatched a sinister scheme.

What's interesting to note here is that none of the characters is innocent,each one has grey shades and is flawed and Atul pulls it off with impeccable dexterity. There is a deadly intertwine of drama and emotions in this convoluted plot and he unveils treacheries at each stage without rendering any predictability. The first half is racy and pulsating where each of the character's establishment adds to the intrigue quotient. However, the film suffers from the curse of the second half.The portions become over-stretched, slickness fades and there are a lot of loose threads which the director finds difficult to tie efficiently. Dialogues are razor-sharp and the editing is sharp. Cinematography judiciously depicts the rampant industrialization of the Delhi-NCR region. Music is mediocre , barring the club-song Barbadiyaan laced with techno-waves.

Aurangzeb boasts of an ensemble starcast and we get to see the veterans of Bollywood come under the same umbrella after a long time.Kudos to the director for performing such an arduous task in etching out all the characters with equal flourish.At the top of the pyramid is Rishi Kapoor playing the unflinching self-serving cop who enthralls the audience with a controlled act.The central character of the premise, Arjun Kapoor appears partly like the rebellious and wayward reckless brute Parma of Ishaqzaade and partly like the introvert Vishal and he does it efficiently. Prithviraj is intense and he superbly portrays the battle with his inner demons while the narrative progresses sluggishly. Deepti Naval , in a short role as DCP's wife makes a strong impact and her character is a sharp contrast to Tanvi Azmi's in depicting how humanity can be put to shame in the greedy pursuit of wealth and power.New comer Sashey Agha is bold and beautiful but her role is reduced to just being a mole in this male-dominated saga.While Jackie Shroff appears suave,his grey beard notwithstanding , Sikander Kher and Swara Bhaskar are under- utilized. Amrita Singh is first rate and she adds a mean edge to her character.

With an appealing premise reflecting the gritty reality of the land dealings and the nexus of the corrupt politicians , bureaucrats and dishonest cops, this commercial potboiler has indeed good prospects at the box office.i go with 3.5/5 for Aurangzeb.

Just came back after seeing the film. For those of us, who prefer the Khans' stereo-typed mannerisms, or the wackiness of Ranbir, or the antics of has-beens like the Deols, this film may be boring. But I was looking for something new, something novel, something out-of-the box and something with fresh faces. Aurangzeb qualifies on all counts. The action is non-stop, the dialogs are crisp, there are no annoying song-dance sequences and no romantic or comic interludes. Of course Rishi excels, but he is a veteran. The credit goes to new comer Arjun Kapoor in a double role. He is the son of Boney Kapoor from his first marriage to Mona Kapoor, and an admirably good actor, in contrast to many star sons. Arjun, together with Prithviraj Sukumaran, from Kerala, carry the entire film on their shoulders. This film has many shades of gray. The baddies have good qualities and the do-gooders have their criminal intentions. The twists and turns keep one engrossed in the movie. Full marks to the Writer and Director, Atul Sabharwal!! Go for it, folks!!

Choice and consequence, love and abandonment, wealth and greed. It is amongst those themes, this story of lost and found is narrated.

A son carries some bitterness upon finding out on his father's death that he has a step-brother whom he has to use to infiltrate a wealthy criminal. The later is only of use as he is the identical twin of the criminal's own son. The criminal and his son are unaware of the twin's existence thought to be long dead as is his mother.

In this complex but utterly intriguing story, everyone enters for a reason but comes out with a different perspective. Knowing who to trust or depend upon is blurry; preconceived notions carry a lot of gravity and stand in the way of seeing the truth about others.

There is a web that binds all the characters in this story and untangling it is set to be messy where all involved must face up to the fact that there is a clear choice to be made.

Beautifully narrated, there is a mastery involved in making in this film by keeping the audience in the loop throughout and despite the intricacy of the story as well as the miscellany of characters it never becomes too difficult to follow.

On top of that, add a well chosen cast in great form - especially the lead - and we are in for a top notch Hindi film experience.

Atul Sabharwal Directed 'Aurangzeb' is a fairly interesting crime-thriller, that works primarily for the Superb Performances it offers by its attractive star-cast.

'Aurangzeb' Synopsis: A lookalike of a thug is sent into a gangster's family by the police, to gather information on the gangster's doings. This sets in place a chain reaction of complications and increasingly uncontrollable events.

'Aurangzeb' begins well, but loses pace mid-way. The narrative is riveting in the first-hour, but the second-hour lacks the power to keep hooked. Reason? The drama is stretched & the climax is ordinary. Atul Sabharwal's Screenplay has some fabulous moments, but could've been stronger nonetheless. His Direction, on the other-hand, is technically superior. Cinematography is top-class. Editing is crisp. Art Design is eye-filling. Music is average, while The Background Score is marvelous.

Performance-Wise: Arjun Kapoor impresses in both the parts. He plays the good-guy ably, but convinces immensely as the filthy-mouthed thug. Prithviraj Sukumaran is excellent, his performance stands out. Rishi Kapoor & Jackie Shroff, like always, are perfect. Debutant Sashaa Agha looks alluring, but needs proper grooming as far as acting is concerned. Tanvi Azmi is wonderfully restrained. Swara Bhaskar, Deepti Naval & Amrita Singh do their bits well. Sikandar is decent.

On the whole, 'Aurangzeb' is certainly a watchable film.

There are many gangster movies lately. This new addition is more engaging than some others I have seen. The lead characters are well written and the story has a decent plot with not many loopholes. The movie starts slow but picks up pace very quickly. However, in this movie, like many others, the good guys do not die even when the entire gang is shooting at them. This Bollywood touch gets unintentionally comical. But overall, the movie was enjoyable.

The backdrop of Gurgaon real estate is new. I have wondered when will someone come up with a story around the real estate boom that Gurgaon has seen.

Arjun Kapoor acted well in both his roles. Prithviraj was intense. Rishi Kapoor had the Haryanvi touch in his dialogs in the first half, in the second half it was lost (weird). Jackie Shroff was mellow and didn't look like the emperor that he was supposed to portray. He looked like a sad old man.. May be this was the intent. Sasha Aagha had nothing much to do in the film. Why was she there again? Wish there was more of Deepti Naval, her role seems to have been chopped.