AANKHEN is a very important movie for many reasons.
Firstly, Amitabh Bacchan gets a plum role after a LONG time, especially after his performances in Aks as well as K3G were not so appreciated.There is no doubt that he is extremely talented, but it was not utilised judiciously.
Also, Akshay Kumar is trying hard to break out of his KHILADI mould by doing toned down and softer roles. Arjun Rampal, also on a low after the debacle of Moksh, Pyaar Ishq aur Mohabbat, and Deewanapan, tries hard to do something challenging. Sushmita Sen also tries to break the jinx by giving a CRITIC FRIENDLY performance.
And above all, Vipul Shah, who not only writes but also directs the film, and takes a giant step forward by NOT choosing to go the MUSHY way to attract audiences. Kudo’s to him for that!
Which brings me to the main question: Does AANKHEN really go the LAGAAN way? Has Bollywood finally come of age? Have our film-makers finally understood the importance of EXPERIMENTING? Have Ashutosh Govarikar and Farhan Akhtar left an impression on our film-makers?
Well, I have to say, after a slight hesitation, YES!!!! And thats GR8 news for all cinema-goers. Yes Sir, now you can fearlessly go out and watch a movie without having to hesitate about wasting your money on some TRASH. Well, thats how I started feeling, after spending some hard-earned money on K3G, Asoka, etc...
Aankhen is the story of a hard-working and honest bank employee(Amitabh), so honest that he beats up a co-worker when caught accepting bribes. He is instantly dismissed from the job for this intolerable and crazy behaviour. Highly agitated and angry, he decides to do something dangerous and unusual. He decides to LOOT the bank of all its riches. And goes about reading all kinds of books and sits on the computer watching a simulation of the robbery.
He watches Sushmita Sen training a group of blind people and, EUREKA!, he stumbles upon a brilliant idea. Why not have the Bank robbed by a blind people in masks? The MISSION begins.
He kidnaps Sushmita Sen’s young brother and forces her to train the 3 blind people he has chosen for the MISSON : Vishwas Prajapati(Akshay), Arjun and Illyaas(Paresh). In a quick flash, we are informed about their background and as to how they became blind.
Amitabh makes an exact replica of the bank next to his house and brings everyone there. The TRAINING begins! Initially hesitant, the three are convinced by Sushmita to go through with the project. Vishwas is gifted with Sixth Sense and this helps him in various situations like realising the presence of Amitabh at every step during the mission, though Amitabh chooses to remain a silent spectator. Illyaas has a fantastic sense of humour while Arjun is the normal guy.
After completing the training, the real Robbery takes place. What happens next? I think the above explanation forms the base for what could be an amazingly captivating movie. And I would not like to spoil the suspense by revealing everything. Rest assured that it’s one helluva Roller-Coaster ride.
If u notice closely, the word ’’could’’ in the above paragraph means it is NOT an amazingly captivating movie. I’ll come to that later. Firstly, let me tell u that Amitabh has given his BEST performance in YEARS!!! His voice is simply superb and the way he applies himself to this difficult role is AMAZING!! Ditto for Akshay Kumar, who gives, arguably the best performance of his career. And who can forget Paresh Rawal, who is ABSOLUTELY ENDEARING and HUMOROUS as Illyaas. Look out for THEIR nominations in the next awards!!
Sushmita too gives a competent performance!
Technically the film is Very Good. Ashok Mehta’s cinematography is Gr8 in most parts, average in others. Music by Aadesh Shrivastav is Superb, and that includes the Background Music, which elevates the atmosphere and intensifies the tension. Dialogues are witty and suit the characters perfectly. The masses will love the lyrics ’’Phatela Jeb’’!! The Art Direction is also quite imaginative. The Special effects resemble a computer game.
Now for the Minuses: The Story is good in the first half, but loses focus after the Robbery has taken place and goes quite Haywire. The Screenplay takes a LOT of liberties and leaves INFINITE questions unanswered. Like, why does Amitabh remain a spectator during the whole training? How did the 3 blind men accept to do something so UnImaginable. And above all, their behaviour is quite Odd for a Blind trio. They seem to be comfortable in moving, and doing things as well as normal people. They even live in a separate place, and cook their own food. Wow!!!Also, how did the Duo get the Kid back after Amitabh’s arrest?? Amitabhis shown to be RICH, after all, the place he calls Training center would take a few Crores easy to make!.......and many more.
The last 15 minutes of the movie is pure balderdash, especially the scenes after the Police arrive.
Vipul Shah does a commendable job as a debutant director and tries to infuse as much style and visual chutzpah as substance. He succeeds mostly. He has a lot of scope to improve and become one of the best in Bollywood.
All in all, Aankhen is a REAL Entertainer, quite a rarity in Bollywood!! Go see it NOW!!!