Aarakshan

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

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ha! i saw Aarakshan yesterday. i was expecting some thrill and political drama.it is there but only 10%, I'm not gonna recommend this film to any one. specially no need to theater.and if u like family drama and if u r not interested in any AARAKSHAN type of stories.u may watch this movie. Movie is all about Mr.bacchan.and he has done a very good job, deepika and saif were good. in first half an hr movie goes very very slow with unnecessary songs. after that, till interval it gets more slow. but after an interval movie speed like...more slow.Movie takes speed when people running out of theater.

STORY : story was so so. (5/10) DIALOGS : too much! (4/10) ACTING : every one was awesome (9/10) Speed : very boring ... too slow (2/10) TITLE : Nothing about arakshan (1/10) SONGS : so irritating .. (1/10)

Aarakshan is a movie which again brings out the best of the Indian cinema. the movie describes the prevailing education system in India where due importance is given to coaching classes and rot learning rather than creating free thinkers in this evolving world of ours.

there was a time in our history when teachers were given due importance for their knowledge and wisdom, but in the current scenario, teachers are regarded as a means to just deliver the syllabus and walk out of the class after the completion of the scheduled topic. but than there is no alternative to that as the whole education system in India runs on the syllabus.

and then comes the minority people in the picture. there are reservations for them in most of the schools or colleges of the nation which creates a partition of another kind in the institutions resulting in a chaos. there is probably only one solution to this and that is strengthening the public education by the government from primary till graduation. this can't be done without cooperation from the general public as well as the private institutions help after looking at scenario in the government. government of our nation doesn't seem to be serious about this issue and so it is we who should take up the responsibility as citizens of the nation.

sometimes silence seems sufficient when words fail to describe your gratitude to someone. this is one of those movies. go for it! "no offense intended"

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!

movie lost track in the 2nd half. it was a movie about aarakshan which was truly portrayed in the initial part of the movie but lost its track in the 2nd part. Aarakshan follows the same rules of the games, where the filmmaker attempts to take an incisive look at India's policy of reservation and its impact on the Indian education system. At least that's the issue he begins with and focuses on in the first half of the film.As long as the film concentrates on the key concern, it is full of high drama, with powerful encounters between the prime players.As a film on the issue of reservation, Aarakshan was rocking till the first half. But as an omnibus on the travails of India's education system, it flounders into no-man's land. Watch it for the intermittent high drama and the gritty performances, scattered as they are