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| AAKROSH MOVIE REVIEW |
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| Review
by : Behindwoods review board |
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Starring:
Ajay Devgn, Akshaye Khanna, Bipasha Basu, Paresh Rawal, Reema Sen
Direction:
Priyadarshan
Music:
Pritam
Production:
Kumar Mangat
Director
Priyadarshan is someone who presents a
lot of variety in his films. One of the
most successful directors of Bollywood
in recent times, his latest product is
Aakrosh, which is produced by Kumar Mangat
for Big screen Entertainers. Aakrosh seems
to be different from Priyadarshan's earlier
no-brainer comedies. |
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Aakrosh
stars Ajay Devgan, Akashay Khanna, Paresh Rawal, Bipasha
Basu and Reema Sen.
It
is not hard to guess the movie's style if we have
a look at the promos and trailers. Dark subjects are
not new to Bollywood and a lot of directors have tried
to give their best but failed. But Priyadarshan is
a thinking director and he sure has a knack of getting
the message across to the audience. And so he does
this time around!
Aakrosh starts with a few clippings about honor killings
seen in newspapers, more often than before, of late.
Priyadarshan does not take a stance of the subject
making us debate about what should be done. Rather,
Aakrosh is about Siddharth (Akshay Khanna as a CBI
officer) and Major Prathap (Ajay Devgan as his deputy)
who come to Jhanjar, a village in Bihar, to unfurl
the mystery about the killings of three youths who
had come to the village from Delhi. The two slowly
realize that their path towards finding the reality
is way too difficult than they initially perceived.
If the locals turn a blind eye towards them fearing
death, the police officials under Paresh Rawal are
nothing more than puppets in the show. To add to their
woes, every corrupt act in the village and the city
is done by the Shool Sena (!) which performs gruesome
acts under the name of caste and religion. Siddharth
and Prathap realize that the case is just more than
the killings of the three young men and it also involves
a whole society stained in crime. When the investigation
hits a dead end, help comes from Bipasha Basu, whose
revelations lead the CBI officers to solve the mystery
and find justice in the end.
Positives
The usual Priyadarshan way of film-making is quite
evident. The way the plot unfolds, with new characters
added as the movie progresses and the mystery that
has been maintained is a big plus to the movie. This
can also been seen in the time he takes to narrate
the sequences and the pace with which the investigation
is carried out. It is a skill to keep the audience
interested during the movie.
The casting is quite brilliant, with the lead pair
Akshay Khanna and Ajay Devgan doing justice to the
roles offered to them. Akshay, for a change, is a
tough guy in the movie which he handles well. Ajay,
with his muscular physique is apt, shines especially
in the scene where he wants to take revenge on Paresh.
Paresh is seen in a negative role after a while and
we can think of no other to perform as such. Just
a walk in the park for him! The supporting roles done
by the others are handled well. The BGM for the movie,
done by Ouseppachan, is brilliant and maintains the
suspense of the movie.
If there is someone who commands a standing ovation
is cinematographer Thiru S. If not for Thiru, Jhanjar
would not have existed in the movie. The DI that has
been planned and executed in the movie is commendable
and just adds to the darkness to the movie's subject.
Every frame speaks volumes about his vision. Brilliant!
Negatives
The length of the movie could have been trimmed a
bit. The couple of mandatory Bollywood-ish song sequences
and the flashback sequence involving Ajay Devgan and
Bipasha is plain avoidable. The first half of the
movie is a drag with these dull moments and hence
lets the grip loosen a bit.
Since this is a dark subject, the screenplay could
have been even more hard-hitting. Though the investigation
sequences are good, it somehow fails to capture our
attention on the whole. A tighter script, sans songs,
without compromise, could have made this an absolute
delight to watch.
The action sequences are quite amplified. This takes
the charm away from the movie which, otherwise, is
realistic. The chasing scene where Ajay jumps from
one roof-top to another is exaggerated. We can move
away from the Bourne series and try something more
creative. So is the scene where Ajay rolls to the
other side of the track under a fast running train.
There are better ways to show heroism.
Bipasha is quite a sore. She does not fit the role
of Geetha. Though she is the missing part of the puzzle,
she disappoints. One expected a lot from Reema Sen,
especially from Priyadarshan's interview where he
suggested that she has a meatier role in the movie.
Three scenes, a meatier role?
Aakrosh is a brilliant movie if we can 'adjust' to
the usual platter that we get served in a Bollywood
movie. A strong cast, outstanding cinematography and
an able director make this movie work. At the start
of the movie, facts about honor killings are shown
in newspaper clippings. Just as the movie starts,
there is a stamp which says 'Fiction'. After we experience
the gore of honor killings in Aakrosh, we only wish
that it remains fictional.
Verdict: Not for the weak hearted but go watch
it!
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| Tags
: Aakrosh,
Priyadarshan,
Ajay
Devgn, Akshaye
Khanna,
Bipasha
Basu,
Reema
Sen,
Pritam |
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