Aarakshan is definitely a work of fiction because real life seldom (not ‘never’) goes the way BigB goes in the movie. Having said that Aarakshan does prick you and forces you to ask questions that one might not have ever wondered about; complete commercialization of our Education System and the repercussions of Reservation policy that has led to further polarization of our society and why it is there, at the first place.
Aarakshan is about how a moralistic educationalist who when presented with the evils of the Education System, finds his way using the only skill he has, teaching.
Yes, it a commercial movie, where some xyz Plywood company people provide BigB with some wooden benches, etc. and when an aid tells BigB, “yeh xyz Plywood se hain, inhone hi hamko benches diye hain”, BigB acknowledges them.
But then you can’t ignore one of the very fine performances by the crew of the movie.
Power and money which leads to arrogance and snobbishness, drips unlimited from Manoj Bajpai’s acting and I couldn’t help laughing – I was the only one laughing in the theatre on very much serious scenes – as my expression of instantly felt appreciation and sheer admiration for his acting.
BigB’s has done very fine justice to Dr. Prabhakar, a strict administrator. The pain in his voice, when questioned on his principles, connects to your senses with full intensity.
I have seen a few academicians very closely and I did feel that BigB character was framed with much research and effort. Academicians never get involved with usual law-and-order problems or general political system problems. They know their work well and when challenged on it, use it as a tool to prove how useful and impactful their talent can be. They remain self-confident in their academic capabilities and can turn around any situation applying these to the fullest. That is precisely what BigB does in the movie.
BigB’s wife, played by Tanvi Azmi, has a very powerful (silent) presence on the screen. Even though she has very limited dialogues in the movie but her omnipresence in scenes focused around BigB and her expressions bring about completeness in the scene.
And for once, in the scene when Deepika Padukone comes and apologizes to BigB for her foul-mouthed outburst, I did feel a lump in my throat and gave her full marks for her much matured performance.
Prakash Jha, usually goes with his tried and tested team of supporting actors. They all are very good with the assigned role in his movies, very much as in Aarakshan. That is the biggest take-away of Aarakshan.
On the flip side, Saif Ali Khan didn’t have much spectrum to display anything more than usual.
I was forced to remind myself that Pratiek Babbar is the son of Raj Babbar and late Smita Patil, one of the finest actresses that hit Indian cinema has ever produced- All this only because of his dumb dialogue delivery and expressionless ‘acting’.
I was never a fan of Hema Malini but her guest appearance in the movie, is charming, to say the least.
But somewhere after the break, Aarakshan does lose its focus (of ‘Aarakshan’) and concentrates on the very much personal revenge of BigB which has little to do with the title of the movie. Even after that, very surprisingly, the director maintains a tight grip on the screenplay.
Then, like all Jha’s movies, Aarakshan also raises few very interesting points. Like the one about the growing disparity in India because of our flawed primary Education System which kicks forward the rich but the poor still struggle for quality Education. Or the one when the protagonist talks about ITS (Indian Teaching Service) at par with IAS, IPS, IFS, etc, thereby emphasizing that teaching profession is one of most impactful ones but still hasn’t been given the due attention it deserves. Another interesting dialogue from the movie is, “When there has been exploitation and inhumanness due to caste for so many years, you will have to give Reservation on its basis, too.” A different notion that the movie talks about is that of a “Remedial Center”, a place where weaker students on an institution are given support without an extra fee, thereby rendering a ‘coaching’ meaningless.
So, if you ask me, it’s a good movie to watch and I would agree with Prakash Jha when he says, “We need to open up and have more debate on the issue of Reservation.”
After all this, not to be forgotten is the very pertinent and the crisp message of the movie, i.e. our culture still demands, and yet commands us to respect our gurus. Our teachers remain the most crucial part of our formative years, have an indelible impact in our lives, and very much like a doctor does, they impart education without a bias remaining above caste, creed or religion.
Think about it: After all the logic we have on our mind, if a teacher, whom you respect, tells you to do something, you are most likely to do so without applying much logic. That’s the power of a teacher!
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