Apaharan (2005)
Cast: Nana Patekar, Ajay Devgun and Bipasha Basu
Director: Prakash Jha
Music Director: -------
Synopsis: A bright spark amidst the deluge of low brow comedies
Reviewed by: Faiz Khan

 

Prakash Jha's previous film, Gangaajal, was a sterling effort: a powerful, uncompromising drama that also struck a chord at the box office. With Apaharan, he once again turns his attention to Bihar, this time tackling the state's notorious kidnapping industry. Using this as his starting point, Jha explores the murky world of corruption, political opportunism and lawlessness that has long engulfed the region.

Ajay Shastri (Ajay Devgun) is the somewhat aimless son of a highly respected social reformer (Mohan Agashe), a man who has built his life upon uncompromising honesty and Gandhian ideals. Determined that his son should succeed on merit rather than influence, he refuses to use his standing to advance Ajay's career. Unfortunately, Ajay mistakes this integrity for indifference and feels increasingly alienated by what he sees as his father's lack of concern.

Having passed the police entrance examinations, Ajay soon discovers that qualifications count for very little in a system riddled with corruption. Without paying a hefty bribe he has virtually no chance of securing the job. Desperate, he borrows five lakh rupees from a local moneylender, only to find his plans ruined when his father publicly exposes the bribery racket at a press conference.

Unable to repay the money and under mounting pressure, Ajay agrees to participate in a kidnapping. It proves to be the first step into a world from which there is no easy escape. Before long he crosses paths with Tabrez Alam (Nana Patekar), a morally bankrupt opposition leader who has turned kidnapping into a thriving business. With politicians and police happily working hand in hand, Tabrez manipulates the system with astonishing ease, even treating police custody more like a five-star hotel than a prison. When he is temporarily incarcerated, Ajay finds himself taking over the operation and gradually transforming into the very kind of ruthless criminal he once despised.

Jha's portrait of Bihar's political landscape is both compelling and thought-provoking. He vividly captures the corruption and lawlessness that permeate every level of society, but he is less convincing when dealing with the personal journey of his protagonist. Ajay's transformation from an ordinary young man into a hardened hoodlum happens rather too abruptly and never carries the emotional weight it should.

The relationship between Ajay and Megha (Bipasha Basu) also feels underdeveloped. She exists largely to act as the moral conscience of the story, but the character is too sketchily written to make much impact. A key scene in the latter half, clearly intended to demonstrate that Ajay has not entirely lost his humanity, feels clichéd and rather unconvincing. Likewise, the strained relationship between father and son is touched upon throughout but never explored with sufficient depth to make Ajay's eventual downfall fully believable.

Jha also stops short of examining the wider political machinery that has allowed Bihar to descend into such a state. He shows us the corruption with admirable honesty but spends less time explaining why the system has become so deeply entrenched. The film is also somewhat overlong and would have benefited from a tighter edit.

Nana Patekar is outstanding as Tabrez Alam. Dispensing with the manic ranting that has occasionally characterised his performances, he creates a quietly menacing villain whose mere presence dominates the screen. In fact, whenever he disappears from the proceedings, one rather misses him. Ajay Devgn delivers another restrained performance and handles the role well, while Bipasha Basu has very little to do and could almost have been written out altogether. The supporting cast, as one would expect from a Prakash Jha production, is uniformly strong.

Apaharan is hardly what one would describe as easy Sunday afternoon entertainment, but it is refreshing to see a mainstream Hindi film tackling serious social and political issues with intelligence. Although it never quite matches the power or emotional impact of Gangaajal, it remains an absorbing and worthwhile drama.

At a time when Hindi cinema seems increasingly flooded with third-rate, vacuous comedies, one can only be grateful that Prakash Jha continues to make films with something meaningful to say.