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.
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.