Aurangzeb

Aurangzeb directed by Atul Sabharwal is an interesting crime drama that goes back to the old formulae for a backbone and manages to impress the audience with its performance package. The dual role concept which we have seen in films like Don has been placed in a rather emotional backdrop. Even though the narrative is slightly predictable, the fresh breeze in the making makes things engaging.

The plot here is narrated through the eyes of ACP Arya who helps his uncle in their family business. His uncle DCP Ravikant is targeting his rival business man Yashwardhan to gain total power over Gurgaon, so that he can be powerful even after his service. The police family is using their official privileges to expose Yashwardhan by swapping his son Ajay with his twin brother Vishal, who was considered to be dead.  With ACP Arya trying to fight for his father’s efforts, DCP Ravikant trying to attain power, Vishal trying to ensure the security of his real father and Ajay trying to prove his strength, the plot goes to an interesting terrain.

What I felt interesting about Aurangzeb is the reinterpretation of the old formula. In a typical good vs bad structure they have placed both these emotions in each side. The phase shift that happens to scenarios and characters are somewhat smooth and the masala lover in you may find this annoying. The story cannot be completely said as a character oriented one as it traverses through many people’s emotions and equations simultaneously. The unwanted steamy scenes and the unreal romance is a negative as it never really manages to find its place.

On screen, Arjun Kapoor has done it smartly by portraying both Ajay and Vishal with the required attitude in rendering. Rishi Kapoor excels in his DCP avatar and the antagonist look and feel in him is quite intense. Jackie Shroff has limited screen time but he fits into the character of Yashvardhan quite easily. The interesting and impressive inclusion of the movie was indeed Prithviraj who plays the important role of ACP Arya, who actually narrates and eventually controls everything that happens. The actor gets a chance to show almost all emotions with abundant on screen time and his diction in Hindi is quite impressive. Sashaa was a letdown and Amritha Singh was comfortable in her role.

In the making, Atul Sabharwal is indeed a promising prospect. I loved the way he managed to keep the movie in a dark shade yet making it curious. All those typical drama sequences were executed in an interesting way. The script maintains the same tempo throughout the film. Dialogs are smart. The music isnt that great but I loved the background score. Cinematography is good and the limited VFX involving the double role of Arjun Kapoor was executed nicely.

Overall, Aurangzeb is an engaging film that manages to impress you on the whole. If you aren’t expecting a larger than life masala film, this one will make you happy. I am giving the movie a 3/5.  Performances are there to entertain you for sure.