Aarakshan (2011)

Directed By - Prakash Jha

Starring - Amitabh Bachchan, Manoj Bajpayee, Saif Ali Khan, Deepika Padukone, Prateik, Sourabh Shukla, Darshan Jariwala

When it comes to making socio-political issue based films there are few who can match up to Prakash Jha in India. With a filmography boasting one some of the most acclaimed films like Mrityudand (Gender inequality), Gangaajal (Bhagalpur Blindings), Apaharan(Kidnapping nexus) and Raajneeti( party politics) Prakash Jha now shifts his focus to the one of the most fiercely debated issues - Reservation.

Aarakshan is the story of idealistic educationist Dr Prabhakar Anand (Amitabh Bachchan), headmaster of one of the leading private universities in the country who believes that to ensure a bright future it is important to give everyone equal chances and that is why he runs a 'free' coaching centre in his house to help those who are economically backward and cannot afford such private classes. One such student of his is Deepak Kumar (Saif Ali Khan) who looks at Anand as his God for all that he has done for him. Despite being brilliant he fails to land a job owing to his status and finally takes up a teaching job in Anand's college. The other 'players' are Poorvi (Padukone) Anand's daughter who is in love with Deepak and Sushant( Prateik) who fails to get admission in a famous college owing to the 'qouta raj'. Enter Nithilesh Singh (Bajpayee) a professor whose specialized tuition centre is very popular popular among students belonging to the upper class.When the supreme court passes the verdict which directs all government colleges to reserve 51% seats for SC/ST and OBC candidates, the society gets divided between the so called lower caste who feel this is an opportunity that they have been denied from many years and the so called upper caste who feel that it is unfair. Sushant fails to get admission in a reputed government college owing to 'aarakshan' and this causes a rift between him and Deepak(who is a lower caste), Deepak who has always believed in tolerance meanwhile finds his loyalty shifting to his caste seeing all the hatred around him for his societal position. Nithilesh Singh on the other hand feels that this is the perfect opportunity for specialized institutes such as his to flourish as competition becomes even more fierce but remains anti-reservation and he clashes with Prabhakar Anand who believes that this 'parallel commercialized system of education' will ruin the the institution of education itself . When Anand states that he believes that those who are deprived economically should be given a chance for better life. Nithilesh singh and his gang of seedy ministers manipulate it to spread that Prabhakar Anand is pro-reservation. Anand resigns and so starts his fight against the 'education mafia'.

The first half is crisp and raises some pertinent questions- is caste based reservation feasible in today's time? should reservation be caste based or economic condition based? the people invoking the qouta are they actually needy? Jha cleverly shows both sides of the debate and never takes a side.The various questions that reservation poses are answered well and the scenario is made crystal clear. The second half is where the film starts to lag and from a film on aarakshan it becomes a film on 'the cons of a parallel commercialised system of education' there are times when it is hard to link the issue dealt with in the second half to that which the film promises.From what one can make out it is a film which deals with all that reservation has led to how it, has become a political tool for some and a means to make money for some as is stated in one of the scenes of the film 'Is desh mein Education sabse bada business hain' . This entire screenplay although promising is dealt with unsatisfactorily which is not what you expect from Jha who is known for his watertight screenplays. 

Of the cast Saif Ali Khan shines as Deepak Kumar a man torn between his education of tolerance and his background. Khan invests generously in Kumar to make him a very real and relatable character although his screen time is lesser than expected. Deepika Padukone does decently as Poorvi, Prateik's Sushant sticks out as a sore thumb. He looks bored and disinterested and his dialogue delivery goes from bad to worse. Manoj Bajpayee as the menacing Nithilesh Singh is a treat to watch in each and every scene he has with Bachchan the screen is set on fire. But it is Amitabh Bachchan's Prabhakar Anand who steals the show, as the idealistic teacher who will not compromise with his principles , whose idea of education is very Utopian yet executable Amitabh Bachcan shows why there can be only one Big b. Bachchan breathes life into Anand, he makes you hear him out and he makes you sympathize with him, when he wins you  feel yourself smiling and when he loses you see yourself frowning. The film cruises on Amitabh Bachchan's shoulders it is amazing to see a 69 year old man still dominating the screen.

 'Aarakshan' is at best an average movie but with the kind of cast and the director at the helm it could so easily have been an Outstanding movie(which is the most dissappointing factor).While the acting is superb( in case of most of the actors) the script is sadly very botched and does not seem to know where it is going.This one definitely deserves a miss

Rating- 6.2/10