Cast: Arjun Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Anupam Kher, Jackie Shroff, Amrita Singh and Sasha Aagha
Director: Atul Sabharwal
Rating: 4/5
A gripping drama!!!
'Aurangzeb' is a crime thriller set up in Gurgaon, a city that has been the most successful real estate story of 'India Shining'. Gradually, the place has become a corporate concrete jungle, and with the multi-nationals pouring in millions, the city which was once a village in the out-skirts of Delhi, has attracted two groups, 'Politicians and Mafia'.
Yashwardhan (Jackie Shroff), once a gangster, now runs the most successful real estate business with the help of the political forces, and his son Ajay (Arjun Kapoor), although not fully involved with the family business, does play a role in the illegal activities surrounding it. Nina Wadhwa (Amrita Singh) plays the role of Yashwardhan's girlfriend, who is highly manipulative with strong political connections; needless to say Ajay hates her. Ritu (Sasha Agha) is Ajay's girlfriend and she is every rough man's fantasy as she swims in a bikini and doesn't mind getting abused by her beau.
On the other hand, there is a police family with Vijaykant (Anupam Kher), who believes that "Apno ki keemat sapno se zyada hoti hai" and son Arya (Prithviraj), who is a top cop and he aspires to be like his uncle Ravikant (Rishi Kapoor), who is the Deputy Commissioner of Police. With the exception of Vijaykant and Ravikant's son-in-law Vishnu (Sumit Vyas), the entire family is part of the corrupt 'money collection' system. Besides, Ravikant is a strong follower of the preaching by the Mughal emperor Aurangzeb, and he influences Arya and his son Dev (Sikander Kher) to follow his philosophy in real life.
The cops are pretty helpless when it comes to bringing down Yashwardhan's illegal activities, until they discover Ajay's twin brother Vishal (Arjun Kapoor) and then, Ravikant plots to plant Vishal in Ajay's spot in the 'Yashwardhan' camp. Everything is going as planned until Vishal turns emotional towards his dad Yashwardhan.
Arjun Kapoor is one of the finest talents in the younger generation, and playing a double role gives the actor ample of scope to display his histrionics, and the actor has done complete justice to the roles. On one hand, he plays a ruffian, a character quite similar to that in his debut movie 'Ishaqzaade', and on the other hand, he plays a non-violent calm individual, who is now part of a drama which is no less than a 'war zone'.
Prithviraj is outstanding; he has a powerful voice, expressive eyes and gives a very honest performance. Rishi Kapoor is excellent as a cop, who uses brains more than muscle power. After a long time, Jackie Shroff gives a great performance, even though he plays the bad guy, he stills manages to hit your soft spot. Sasha fits the bill; she is the perfect eye candy and she dances good too. Amrita Singh is exceptional in her role; she adds more power to the gripping drama. Anupam Kher and Deepti Naval are under-utilized, but they still manage to impress. Tanvi Azmi is perfect as the loving mother, who would go to any extent to save her kid from evil. Sikander Kher is good. Swara Bhaskar performs well too.
Atul Sabarhwal has directed the movie perfectly. He keeps you riveted as the entire movie plot unfolds, and has managed to extract stellar performances from his cast. Screenplay is excellent, but second half gets a little complicated.
Editing by Niraj Voralia is okay, you wish he had cut the climax scene better as it is quite a drag.
Music by Amartya Rahut and Vipin Mishra is good, tracks 'Barbaadiyaan' and 'Jigra Fakhira' stand out. Background score by Vipin Mishra is good too.
Action by Sham Kaushal is good and looks real.
'Aurangzeb' is a movie in which the characters are shrewd and political just like the emperor, if you like intellectual movies then, you are in for a treat.