Aurangzeb

Rating: 3/5 stars (Three Stars)

Star cast: Rishi Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Arjun Kapoor, Sasheh Aagha, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Amrita Singh, Deepti Naval, Tanve Azmi, Swara Bhaskar, Sikandar Berry, Sumeet Vyas, Rasika Dugal, Kavi Shashtri

Director: Atul Sabharwal

What’s Good: A well scripted story and a few mind-blowing performances!

What’s Bad: The film is lengthy and poor editing.

Loo Break: None.

Watch or Not?: Good Watch

Paisa Wasool: Yes!

Prithviraj Sukumaran plays police officer Arya, who has idolized his uncle DCP Ravikant (Rishi Kapoor) and unquestioningly conformed to his power wielding strategies. Arya is inherently upright but he would much rather be a little amoral than be ousted for his sincerity. It’s a complex character but Prithviraj plays out the conflict competently, his eyes and his silence conveying his inner turmoil.

‘Aurangzeb’ is an engaging saga but it is very dialogue heavy where music or humour hasn’t been used effectively to provide some respite. In fact, the second brother Ajay did have immense untapped comic potential but alas, the sparse one-liners make for only a few genuine laughs. While the narrative explores the grey in every character whether it is the gangster or the police, at some point we needed a little more clarity about the plot. Did Yashwardhan (Jackie Shroff) suddenly have a change of heart? What happened to the empire that everyone was fighting over? Did Ravikant’s brutal actions have no consequence in his personal life?

The film might be a little too intense for some but if you are ready to overlook some gaping holes; the film is worth a watch. Arjun Kapoor and Prithiviraj Sukumaran rise above the slightly flawed execution to make ‘Aurangzeb’ quite engaging.