Aaghaaz Review {1/5} & Review Rating
Suresh Productions' AAGHAAZ, directed by Yogesh Ishwar, is a remake of a Telugu hit, SIVAIYYA. Unfortunately, there is nothing innovative in the film. The makers have packaged the same old stuff and despite a few well executed sequences, the outcome is far from credible.
The story begins in Mumbai city, when Sunil Shetty (Govind) and his sister arrive from Punjab, but it gradually goes into a flashback, where Sushmita Sen (Sudha), a police officer, is shown in love with Sunil. But Suman Ranganathan is the girl whom Sunil is eventually forced to marry due to circumstances.
Suman Ranganathan, who plays Sunil's wife, is the daughter of Sunil's guru. Sunil marries her to protect the reputation of her family, when she gets pregnant with another man's baby. But since he is in love with Sushmita, Sunil does not treat Suman as his wife. Suman confronts Sushmita and also asks her brother, Sharad Kapoor, to intervene, who warns Sunil of dire consequences.
But Sharad is unaware of the fact that the baby Suman is carrying is not Sunil's, but someone else's. When Sharad learns that Suman has lied and Sunil is not to blame, he feels that Suman has no right to live, because she is also responsible for their father's death, apart from creating a tussle between Sunil and him. So on Karwa Chowth, Sharad poisons the food and feeds Suman with his hands.
The story takes a dramatic turn in the second half when Sunil's sister is raped. However, Sunil does not go out killing the rapists. There are five hundred people in the residential complex who have silently watched the episode take place and it is these very people that Sunil takes to task. In the end, all of them get together and take the villains to task.
The principal problem with AAGHAAZ is that the makers have resorted to the tried and tested formula that has been witnessed umpteen times earlier. The writers seem to have decided to play safe by churning out the same old stuff, but with a brand new packaging.
Although the first half is engaging in parts, the film slides downwards in the post-interval portions. The rape of the sister and the sequences that follow, including Sunil dragging the entire residential complex to court, seems irrational and implausible.
The comedy track is another sore area. Johny Lever seems to be repeating himself film after film with analogous gags and punches. Also, the comedy track has little relevance with the plot of the film. The climax too is not as exciting as it should've been. It is mediocre and minus any impact.
If the focus is not on action, then it is on sermonising. The courtroom sequence, for instance, is so talk heavy that the viewer gets restless after a point. This and several other scenes need to be trimmed drastically.
Director Yogesh Ishwar seems to have relied too heavily on the age old formula of attempting a good versus evil saga. Though he has tried to inject some freshness with his treatment, but the outcome is a regular desi potboiler that holds scant appeal today.
Anu Malik's music is average, with two decent numbers ? 'Man Tera Mera Man' and 'Dosti'. Cinematography is middling. Dialogues are run of the mill type. Action, though forced at times, is vibrant and pulsating.
Sunil Shetty seems to be getting typecast in roles that he has attempted time and again, from BHAI to the recent KRODH. He tries hard to inject life into his character, but does not rise beyond the mundane level thanks to the inexorableness (predictability). Sushmita Sen is quite good, despite a weak character-sketch.
Namrata Shirodkar is relegated to the backseat in the second half of the film. She is just about okay. Suman Ranganathan is barely there. Sharad Kapoor is wasted. Anupam Kher is unexciting. The pack of villains ? Gulshan Grover, Alok Nath, Mukesh Tiwari, Govind Namdev and Sharat Saxena ? are tolerable in their respective roles.
On the whole, AAGHAAZ has a cold title and is a routine fare contentwise, which will not excite the viewer one bit. The film hasn't mustered a good opening at most places and with too many releases in this week, its survival prospects at the box-office seem weak.
