FILM REVIEW: APAHARAN (2005)

Director: Prakash Jha
Producer: Prakash Jha
Cast: Ajay Devgan, Bipasha Basu, Nana Patekar, Mohan Agashe, Yashpal Sharma, Mukesh Tiwari, Chetan Pandit, Anoop Soni, Dayashankar Pandey, Akhilendra Mishra
Editing: Santosh Mandal
Screenplay: Prakash Jha, Shridhar Raghavan, Manoj Tyagi

This story is a reflection to the society where such youths, who are intelligent, who ask for the normal living and share in good life, who wish to do big works in life, who are as big aspirant as civil services examinations, are - now running the government on gunpoint and hijacking the system. Why are they are neglected and when they choose to take the wrong path? How the government is responsible for to disowning them from their minimal rights? Apaharan shows that how the whole network works, where the top ranking officers, chief ministers and home ministers are also involved in this business for their share.

Mohan Agashe is Professor Raghuvansh Shastri who is a middle class man with high principals.

Nana Patekar plays a powerful politician Tarbez Alam who has a variety of shades to his character.

Ajay Devgan is Ajay Shastri, son of Professor Raghuvansh Shastri, an intelligent person with fair expectations from life. Ajay too wants to follow the same path in life (like his father) by becoming an upright police officer. But circumstances force him to be different from what he had set out to be! He instead gets involved into the grim world of crime.

All this while he is constantly supported, encouraged and shown the right virtues and a righteous path by his love Megha (Bipasha Basu). Howsoever troubled Ajay may be, but he always knows that Megha would always be there besides him.

In addition, there is Kashinath (Ayub Khan), who belongs to the category of those wayward youth who choose to follow the path of their mentor rather than creating an identity of their own. But little did he know that one day his very life would be forced to take a direction that Ajay had laid down for him.

Ajay Shastri is a civil servant aspirant who appears in the most prestigious examinations of UPSC as well as state service commission. He clears the state service commission for police service but his name is removed from the list because he belongs to an upper cast.

The office members tell him that even for a post of ‘’daroga'’ he will need to pay 5 lakhs. Desirous of the post, he and his friends manage the bribing money and by chance this money is provided by some local gangster who does kidnappings. Ajay father who is a well respected journalist, in a highly complex political situation get the list with all information about the selection procedure, due to which the matter goes to court and Ajay’s selection is cancelled.

Ajay rifts away from his father after challenging his morals and principals. But he still has to pay back the money to the gangsters who are blackmailing him, they will kill his father if he doesn’t pay back the money and in this bid he attempts his first kidnapping!

A parallel story of a politician Tarbez Alam (Nana Patekar) who is the kingpin of kidnapping industry is running along with Ajay’s story. He runs a ’sarkar’ of his own where politicians, criminals, bureaucrats, and petty criminals who operate at the ground level, are part of his gang. To make matters worst, he himself is a political leader of the minority that gives him an extra edge. A ruthless criminal in totality, he thrives due to the existing system in the region from where he operates. Mukul Nag enacts the role of his brother Usman, who is ever ready to lay down his life for his elder brother.

Every society has its blacks and whites and same is the case here with the system where you have honest folks like Anwar Khan and Akash Ranjan, who represent that facet of society that still has some conscience left. While Anwar (Mukesh Tiwari) is an upright police officer who has a point to prove to his department, Akash Ranjan (Anoop Soni) doesn’t care about the stature of the person standing in front of him and asks questions that hit where they hurt most. That because he is a journalist and has the power of pen.

Ajay who plans the kidnapping unfortunately dares to cross the path of Tarbez Alam. He kidnaps a sales tax officer who has been given shadow by Alam and then follow the tale of his foes where the plan goes awry as the main kidnapper develops cold feet at the last minute and subsequently, Ajay is arrested.

This is when Ajay decides to takes his big step into the world of crime. He is caught, put behind the bars. He faces humiliation, insult and contempt. All this makes clearer in his head the path he has to take. He begins to distance himself from his past and some good things that are left with him - his girlfriend Megha (Bipasha Basu). He becomes cold and rather indifferent towards her.

Ajay then joins Tabrez Khan. The second half is about Ajay’s transition from a simpleton to a suave criminal where he becomes the most dreaded name even in the gallery of power and politics. But don’t think the story will end here. It can be easily guessed that the law would eventually take its course. But would law be able to punish the main man behind all kidnappings, would Ajay ever realise his mistakes and would he be able to come back from the point of no return?

In a battle of ‘black’ and ‘white’, there are bound to some grays and Ajay Shastri represents that section of society that wants to get out of this mud-pool, never mind the obstacles that come his way.

Apaharan is a realistic and true story about a business which has kidnapped the government itself. It makes an honest attempt to portray the state of affairs in Bihar. One does not feel bored when there is a powerhouse of talent in front of him in the form of Nana Patekar and Ajay Devgan. Prakash Jha has come up with a unique theme never seen before in such details. The script was very tight and whole movie runs very fast. There is only a one single song so less scope for boredom. Dialogues are best and one looks forward for them. Camera and the background score are also very good.

It’s a delight to watch Nana back into action after a long time where he fits to the core into one powerful role. Ajay Devgan is equally competent. His transformation from a simpleton to a criminal is amongst the high points of his performance. Bipasha Basu is passable. The film has a number of characters but all stand out perfect.

The movie is worth a watch with just this bit - one will feel more sad and disgusted with the prevailing politics and the system than they already are, as this movie is the reflection of the society that we live in.

RS Rating: 6/10

Credit: This review was submitted by Ankit Jain of Footprints.in. They run their own movie Blog at DCECinemas. To submit your own review for posting on radiosargam.com please email.