As a matter of conviction, deeply held since my formative years, I have always refused to align myself with any one particular brand of cinema and I am not a keen enthusiast of the definitions often used by the intelligentsia while discussing movies in a pseudo environment.
As such, I am no votary of parallel cinema, art cinema or the normal cinematic thoroughfare. Having grown up on mainstream cinema, I find such divisions highly divisive and serving no special purpose. For me, it?s either good cinema or bad cinema.
Aakrosh, released in 1980 was one of the first ?art? movies I ever saw in my life and at no times, could I distinguish it as any better or worse than some of the best movies dished out in mainstream cinema. Having said that, Aakrosh stands as one of the best movies I ever saw in my formative years.
Aakrosh is a frustrating saga of a young lawyer, Bhaskar Kulkarni (Naseeruddin Shah) who?s desperately trying to win his first independent case which involves a silent illiterate tribal, Lahanya Bhiku (Om Puri) accused of murdering his wife, Nagi (Smita Patil).
The movie silently depicts the various levels of social undercurrents and inadequacies prevailing in the society without pointing out actual fingers but at the same time depicting the rape of the social infrastructure at the hands of an influential few.
Naseeruddin Shah delivers an outstanding performance and throughout the film, his frustration and feeling of impotency stands out in a regal manner. The fear psychosis due to threats received from the influential few is well depicted and one can feel the psychological stress he?s going through to uphold the rule of the state.
Om Puri also delivers a mind-blowing performance as the tribal who is unable to take care of his family and who very well knows the repercussions of trying to obtain justice from a moth-infested infrastructure completely in cahoots with the criminals.
The cynicism he depicts is outstanding in face of the idealism portrayed by his lawyer so also is his silence more powerful than the speech of the lawyer. His wounded cry at the end of the film is excellent and the director deserves full marks for keeping the pressure boiling throughout the movie.
Smita Patil is wasted in a cameo role but in the little role she does have she portrays her role with an excellent intensity. It is to the credit of the director that although the actress doesn?t have a lot to do still her presence looms large over the entire movie.
Mahesh Elkunchwar as the social activist plays his role with élan and it?s unfortunate that his role was not properly etched out. Still he stands out as an excellent actor on a canvas that doesn?t give him a lot to perform.
Of the others, Amrish Puri, Mohan Agashe and Nana Palsikar play their roles in perfect consonance with their character. Especially Amrish stands out with his portrayal of a man refusing to acknowledge his past and now working in tandem with the people who are exploiting his own kith and kin. The last scene where he refuses to even acknowledge disparities in the social structure is exceptional. Mohan also performs the bribery scene in a commendable manner.
Govind Nihalani does a perfect job at directing a movie which has so many unspoken complexities. The confrontation between Naseer and Om could have become a farce had any of the thespians tried to outdo the other, however the director manages to create a perfect surrounding for the confrontation. He also effectively portrays the rape scene without making it look crass or vulgar and it is to his credit that one can feel the anguish of the woman even when her face is not visible throughout the rape.
Vijay Tendulkar has written a brilliant screenplay and as such he proves why he?s considered one of the best writers in the country today.
In other words, a movie handicapped by the word ?art? since that meant a lot of the cine going public would not venture to watch this movie which is much better than many of the multistarrer blockbusters without a story or characterization worth it?s name.