Good ol' storytelling

Film - Aurangzeb

Director - Atul Sabharwal

Double roles, mistaken identity, power struggles - all these premises have been done to death by the film industry, but every now and then, a film crops its head up with a cliched theme and delivers something fresh. Atul Sabharwal's Aurangzeb does the same.

First, the title itself is a refreshing change from the hoards of Khiladi 786s, Singhams, Ek Tha Tigers and the like. Aurangzeb, as a metaphor runs deep into the narrative and its meaning runs through and through, deeply embedded into the story. The philosophy of the notorious Mughal King, 'Kingship knows no kinship' is the basis of this unseemingly well-done thriller.

Secondly, we all know the story and are familiar with the plot where two identical people somehow find their stars lined up in such a way that one of them has to live the other's life. Be it Hum Dono, Don, Ram Aur Shaam, Seeta Aur Geeta - we know the plot too well. This is where the director's role to satisfy the audience comes into play and that is exactly what Atul Sabharwal does. He surprises you with a story you already knew.

The film opens in Gurgaon, where a certain businessman, Yashvardhan (Jackie Shroff) is running illegal businesses and the police can't take any action due to lack of evidence. However, the cops, Rishi Kapoor, Prithviraj and Sikander Kher, then find out that there is a loophole that they could cash on. Yashvardhan's son Ajay, has a doppelganger who could be planted in the system and could break it from inside. And then begins the saga of Kingship versus Kinship.

After a comparatively loose first half, the film picks up in the second where the drama and sudden twists reveal that nothing is black and white; and even within the grey, there are shades. What hooks you, then, is the unexpected skip rope that sees a lot of people change sides until finally letting you pick the side that you want to win. As scrappy as the idea of dopplegangers may be, playing two different characters in a film is quite a challenge and Arjun Kapoor proves yet again that he has the potential. A little inconsistent at the start, he makes you like him by the end of it. However, the distinction between Ajay and Vishal remains on paper and at times, the nuances of two different people are not seen. Rishi Kapoor puts up a great show with his role as the DCP, and Prithviraj does well to smother the criticism from his previous Hindi film, Aiyyaa.

All in all, if you go and watch Aurangzeb with the expectation bar set very low, you will comeback with a pleasant surprise. It is good old fashioned story telling with a decent element of drama and not too many songs to take you off course.

Rating - 3 out of 5

Published in DNA (Pune) on May 18, 2013