Waste of time

Such a frustrating disappointment

Simply A Masterpiece

It's a feast for the eyes. But what really makes this dramedy work is the acting.

This is precisely the kind of movie that should come out of the part of Bollywood that thrives on making real movies. Movies that don't have massive explosions or heroes beating up thousands of villains or dancing with 50 people on the beaches of Sydney or in night clubs. In the hands of a director with good vision this could have become one of the top movies of the year. But instead with some bollywood clichés and melodrama the movie sinks into mediocrity, but with one saving grace.This is an actor's movie, a thespian's movie so the casting of Amitabh and Manoj was a clever move. Amitabh can be forgiven for starring in rubbish like Buddha Hogaya Tera Baap or some stupid movie where he's dancing with and romancing girls less than a third of his age. His performance as a teacher is highly credible and his purity is equally matched by Manoj's sleaziness. It would be hard to find anyone better than these two men when it comes to proper acting. Nasserudin Shah, Om Puri and Nana Patekar are the only others I can think of.Saif Ali Khan gives a subdued performance but it's not bad. Sadly he doesn't look very convincing as a Dalit and no amount of makeover can take off the bollywood glamour shine that always surrounds him. He was miscast here. Deepika was decent. There's another poster who was complaining about her Hindi or her acting skills but I find that she's one of the rare few young women out there who can act and she's getting better each time.While the upside was the casting of Amitabh and Manoj the downside was the script and character development. The topic of "untouchables" and rights is a serious issue and it deserved to be treated with respect and given the center of attention, something Prakash Jha failed to do. Instead the focus goes on Amitabh's woes and troubles and his enmity with an increasingly sleazy Manoj which took it away from the main issue. Even the underlying sub theme of ministers abusing the value of education for their profit was briefly touched upon and then forgotten so that we, the audience, could anguish over where Amitabh was going to live. The hordes of students that he suddenly starts teaching nonstop becomes a silly competition between him and Manoj's venture, a typically stupid Bollywood melodramatic move. The ending is a huge let down, contrived to give it a feel good moment. Yet, the main issue is never once broached nor resolved.Despite my negativity I'd still recommend the movie for several reasons: Amitabh and Manoj's acting, and the lack of numerous typically cheesy song and dance numbers. I sincerely hope that another, more focused director tackles this sensitive issue and gives it more consideration with a more driven story and scope. Look at Black Friday. That was a brilliant movie with little commercial success but that wasn't the aim of the director of that gem. He stuck to the main issue and there's no reason why another director can't do the same with this topic.

Prakash Jha has had a track record in making movies like 'Gangajal', 'Rajneeti' among others that are hard hitting and have got something to do with issues that make news. His latest is a movie whose title 'Aarakshan' suggests that it has something to do with caste-based reservations in India, an issue that raised a storm about five years ago. If the promos were to be believed, Jha had a winner in hand. But, in reality, the title is a misnomer as the principal plot in the story seems to deal with commercialization of education which is portrayed to be somehow strangely linked to reservation. Also, while this was a burning issue following the Supreme Court that was discussed in the movie, it may not have as many takers today. So, what's the story? Prabhakar Anand (Bachchan) is the principled Principal of a prestigious private college in Bhopal who treats all his students equally. He coaches weaker students in his verandah for free and the classes allow enough opportunity for his favorite pupil Deepak Kumar (Saif Ali Khan) to romance his daughter Poorbi (Deepika Padukone). Sushanth Seth (Prateik) also has his eyes on Poorbi. When the reservation issue heats up, people are divided along caste lines and suddenly the relations between them are strained. Anand has his adversary in Mithilesh Singh (Manoj Bajpai) whose commercial coaching classes clash with his principles. A twist of events puts Prabhakar Anand's beliefs to the test. And in the meantime, the film loses its way completely on what it wants to talk about. The very fact that caste inequality persists even decades after independence is shameful. But, it is sad to see that a sensitive issue has been used only to promote the movie. Well, the movie does not take sides; whether pro-reservation or anti-reservation since it would not have been without commercial repercussions. Obviously the title and some provocative language were meant to only rake in the moolah. On education its commercialization, if Prakash Jha wants people to believe that the proliferation of coaching classes has its origins in the nation's reservation policy, he has definitely lost the plot. As a result, what you get it a 'Baghban'esque lengthy film that seems to go nowhere. It has lectures on principles, conniving villains, treacherous friends and some kind hearted souls who attempt to engage you with some drama. To its credit, its actors do a good job. Amitabh Bachchan successfully plays the idealistic disciplinarian and a committed teacher who is complemented by Saif Ali Khan as the feisty youngster working his way though a biased system and Manoj Bajpai, as usual is a bankable actor to play the villain. As usual, Deepika Padukone sleepwalks through her role and the script didn't have much in store for Prateek. I'd recommend that you let this one pass. It neither has a consistent storyline nor memorable songs nor a tight script. So, don't reserve your seats for Aarakshan!

When i went for this movie, i had zero expectations. But i was blown away by the movie. The movie starts with building each character slowly and then the story premise. With time, the movie's momentum builds further and at interval, you have a real cracker of a movie on. Post interval, the movie proceeds on the momentum built before interval giving lots of twists in the story. The Climax is a masterstroke and the movie finally ends on high note. Of all the performance, Amitabh steam rolls and holds the movie completely like a rock. Can't imagine anyone could have done justice to this role. Saif and Deepika also excel in their respective roles. The director's screenplay is another thing that impressed me. He does not over dramatize any scenes but stills keeps the impact strong. I do have to agree with others who say that this movie is less about reservation and more about the commercialization of education in India, but the director beautifully conveys how the reservation(or aarakshan) is resulting in commercialization of education. People who say the trailer of the movie conveys different thing about the movie, they should go and see the trailer correctly once more. The trailer tells exactly the correct preview of the movie, which includes the commercialization of education. This movie tells a story where it tells one the bad result of reservation. Go and see the movie, i can tell you wont be disappointed. Its a gripping story.

this movie was not as it has the title, but it deals with serious issue with the present education system, yes, it pin point towards the private tutor which mostly the famous and popular professor and lecturer who should give the devotion to their respective colleges, but instead of that they are much interested in earning extra bucks via devoting maximum time their private coaching classes it also shows, that the politician still are not with people, they only move with their need in the name of caste and classes. Movie do not had strong script, dialogs but still teaches a valuable lesson, we should not drag education into politics, every people deserve a better education rights, a eye opener for education department, to increase their education standards