War, Children, Is Just A Shot Away

AARAKSHAN (2011)

Aarakshan is great cinema. It combines the best of social, issue-based cinema trend that we have seen engulf our movie screens in the past decade, with the best of storytelling. I did not love Rajneeti (2010), It started out great but ended up as a mess. My major problem with Rajneeti was how it was supposed to be a movie about politicians and yet failed to show any politics. It turned out to be more about organized crime. The Godfather influence also didn’t go down well with me, I was expecting more of a Mahabharat influence. You could argue that Aarakshan is the same as Rajneeti in this aspect. It starts out like a film about reservations but ends up somewhere else. It tackles too many issues, most importantly the commercialization of teaching and learning. All the ingredients of a giant mess, right? Wrong. Aarakshan is a responsible film. First and foremost this is a film, which tells a good story. 

The story is about the injustice that results from casteism but affects the educational system. There are no sides to be taken here. What makes Aarakshan a great film is how it goes to the root of the problem instead of preaching what we already know. It understands the fundamental function of the teacher-student relationship. This film could have been like Singham (which I enjoyed as much as I could) where you take a side, against corruption, in plain black and white and use violence as action. But this is more than a commercial potboiler. One film makes you angry, the other asks you to think for yourself. Both tell revenge stories.

The character of Prabhakar Anand played by, arguably the greatest actor Indian cinema has ever witnessed, Amitabh Bachchan, is what makes this film tick. There is also some masterful acting at work here. Mr. Bachchan is no angry young man anymore, that man is still fighting against injustice but now his modus operandi is different. He channelizes his anger and uses it for growth. This Gandhian character could be someone out of a Frank Capra movie. He takes a silent stand and then takes action for it; the wise thinker becomes the dignified doer, here is a film that starts out ordinary but becomes extraordinary. Action when it’s not violence, action which speaks for itself, there is a lot of subtextual garnish sprinkled all over. The ultimate evil of the caste system is boundaries and that is the wall that Prabhakar wishes to bring down. Not like an activist would but by doing his own work. There is no question of fighting for it, there is no question of taking a stand and shouting it on rooftops, it is something to be removed and it can only be removed by doing something which brings people together. To see Prabhakar practice what he preaches gave me a sense of elation. By seeing my teacher do the same by writing a good film like this is perhaps only the icing on the cake. (I was taught in film school by Mr. Anjum Rajabali, the writer of this film, who I could vouch is a better teacher than Prabhakar Anand).

The rest of the cast performs ably. Especially Manoj Bajpai who plays Mithilesh Singh, a Henry F. Potter-like character from It's A Wonderful Life (1946). You need an actor of Bajpai's calibre to match Mr. Bachchan's prowess. Saif and Deepika are strictly okay. I love the fact that the "nawab" was "cast" as Deepak Kumar. Only Prateik seems to be horribly miscast. The songs could have been either removed or cut short or placed better. Prakash Jha's signature high-octane melodrama is to be seen here as well. It's just that this time it is placed in a good film. Take for example, the wonderful scene where Prabhakar explains the significance of "zero" to Mithilesh. The dialogues are superb. I love the use of Hindi and the various dialects of the language Jha incorporates in his films. The length of the film is its biggest shortcoming. There are even some moments which garner unwarranted laughs but when the film gets going, it doesn't let go of you. It is sad that the title of the film can become a deterrent so much so that it arouses foolish controversy and gives lopsided expectations to the audience. Albeit, this is Prakash Jha’s best film since Gangaajal (2003).

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