Movies

Aamir is a tantalising story of a young man who gets trapped in an intriguing web of crime. Rajeev Khandelwal makes his big screen debut after enjoying huge popularity on television with soaps like Kahiin to Hoga and Left Right Left.

Aamir Ali (Rajeev Khandelwal) returns to Mumbai from London and is rather unwelcomed by the immigration officer. His polite demeanour notwitstanding, the religiously biased officer is bent upon harassing an innocent man because he’s a Muslim. The real drama starts to unfold outside the airport when two suspicious bikers hand him a cell phone and speed off. The gentleman on the phone wants Aamir to follow his directions in exchange for the freedom of his beloved family. The ordeal similar to a treasure hunt leads him to the ghettoes of the city and makes him puke disgustedly at the living conditions. In an attempt to win over his emotions, the voice mentions the purported brutality of the majority community over the Muslims in India and across, how the Muslim brethren globally are financing the jung and how Aamir, who’s name literally means a leader is not caring for his kaum and fighting for them. It’s shown while the man on the phone eats and drinks merrily in his chambers, he ensures that the terrified Aamir is made to run across the city without food, water or any respite. It’s clear that this racket of terrorists is well organized and is dedicated to mislead the Muslim youth into forcing them to commit serious crime.

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Before I start to say anything about this movie, I must make a note of a few things that occurred with Ram Gopal Varma, the director of the Sarkar series. Last year he took the liberty of remaking one of Indian’s best known cult movie called Sholay (1975), aptly titled Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag. It was hardly a coincidence that it crash landed at the box office. What followed later was even spectacular and not astonishing for the class of media publicity that we sometimes prefer. He was mocked and scoffed at every awards function, FM and TV program, even flash animations were utilised to depict the “torture” inflicted by his imbecilic work. He was in short, written off by the media at every level. Since I come from a creative background, I could understand Ramu’s dilemma. In his zest to recreate a 21st century masterpiece he forgot he was toying with a movie that many in India consider to be a landmark film in cinema. At the same time it could only take the guts of a man called Ram Gopal Varma to even attempt something like this. Don’t forget that his CV has the colurful Rangeela (1995) that launched the careers of many including Urmila Matondkar, Raat (1992) and Bhoot (2003) that were successful experiments in the genre of horror while his Shiva (1989), Satya (1998) and Company (2002) showcased his class in making gangster movies. It’s unfair then to judge the likes of Ram Gopal Varma (RGV) with just one ‘Aag’ from his ‘Factory’.

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