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.

I am enthralled by Prithviraj's performance. Having watched almost all his Malayalam movies & the recent Aiyyaa, I can now say that his Bollywood future looks shimmering.

Aurangzeb succeeds in capturing viewer's interest in less than ten minutes and then the bandwagon of twists, turns, identity revelations is enterprisingly mind-numbing, provided you don't compare it with the Hollywood. +1 for the guts to introduce double-roll for Arjun Kapoor who acts fine. Supporting cast is great, indeed.

Music has been largely copied from Hollywood, with inputs from Hans Zimmer's Inception OST. Screenplay confuses a bit, but is good enough. Atul Sabharwal is very expert in handling the camera and executing a gripping thriller which has elements from corruption to relationships, betrayal to politics. Wonderful!

The goofs and plot holes are tiny and passable mostly because the 130 minutes of running time never bores you, except when the insipid romance & flesh is showcased.

BOTTOM LINE: A great thriller worth having a look; great comeback for Prithivraj. 6.7/10.

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? 95% YES

Profanity: Mild | Sex: Strong | Nudity: Critical | Mouth-Kiss/Foreplay: Mediocre | Violence: Very Critical | Gore: Strong | Smoking: Mild | Alcohol: Strong | Drugs: Mild (No Visuals)

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.

This review is not for the fan of Dabang, Bodyguard, Jab tak hai jaan and many more stupid movies comes around in past 2-3 years Honestly ask yourself how many times you went for a movie and it gives you a 2-3 hrs pain with it terrible story ding dong songs and a dumbass direction , for example almost every movie of Salman khan , Akshay kumar , Shahrukh khan and many more

This movie is nothing like those , and Because of it I don't think it gonna get a big box office success.The story of this movie is so much strong that it will hold you all the time

Acting , Honestly speaking I was never a fan of Rishi kapoor in early years But Now I am since his Epic Rouf lala act in Agnipath and Here he did it again Superb acting ,Prathiraj was good too , Arjun I think did good in Evil brother role , the good one was just OK ,

overall A good movie after a long time , Give it a go :)

watched AURANGZEB ...intelligent plot filled with good Thriller n Drama within digestible ratio of Action...this flick gives the feel that Bollywood is really growing up(after 100yrs!)...its cast embedded well with the script n with their up to the mark acting n fare share of screen time...story is close to the reality of today's police n corporate world with a little exaggeration(does't look fake)of the events you/we see in the TV news nowadays...I won't ruin the thrill(of it) by telling its plot...all you should know is its a complete sensible entertainment(how it should always be) & thus its a _MUST WATCH