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King's Thing

The Mughals ruled the Indian subcontinent for more than 300 years. From available accounts, the period was not a great time for the good Hindus. 56-inch chests that swelled with what is now called Hindutva pride were promptly crushed. Particularly taxing was the time of Aurangzeb. To spread orthodox Sunni Islam, he suppressed idolatry. But before that, Aurangzeb had his elder brother Dara Shikoh killed and father Shah Jahan sent to prison just so he could sit on the throne. Kingship knows no kinship. A concept Yash Raj bases its new production on.

Yashvardhan (Jackie Shroff in a meaty role after a long time) is a Gurgaon gangster in the garb of a real estate developer. His wife (Tanvi Azmi) has betrayed him for an honest but discredited police officer (Anupam Kher wasted in a bit role, looking more like a bank clerk than a cop from the badlands) and is hiding in the hills. She has left the weaker son with Yashvardhan and kept the stronger twin for herself. The boys Ajay and Vishal (Arjun Kapoor in double role) grow up separately. Alone in the big, bad world, Yashvardhan has taken on a mistress, the sharp suited and sharper tongued Neena (Amrita Singh) who harbours ambitions of taking over his empire instead of playing mother to his child.

On the opposite side, there is DCP Ravikant (Rishi Kapoor, brilliant in his first cop act), who heads a family of cops who are in the collection business (extortion racket). Ravikant is a householder and has tended to his big family’s every small demand. In the process, he has twisted the law to his advantage to amass huge wealth.

When Ravikant gets to know about Vishal, he hatches a plan to abduct Ajay and plant Vishal in his place as informer. Kingship knows no kinship is Ravikant’s line. It’s something he lives by, sacrificing even blood relations for power. He is the Aurangzeb in the movie, not Ajay or Vishal. Their tale is more
The Man in the Iron Mask
.

So it’s brother against brother and corrupt cops against cunning corporates in this dark world. Who will win? Or is this a game where everyone loses?

Aurangzeb is not a bad movie. It is interesting to see Yash Raj, peddlers of candyfloss romance, deal in dark matter. Director Atul Sabharwal has pitted two philosophies and two families against each other, there are many characters, many twists in the tale. He could have goofed up. He hasn’t.

I had expected more from Arjun Kapoor though. He looks and acts the same in both roles which is disappointing. The best performances in the movie came from the senior actors Rishi Kapoor and Jackie Shroff.

Sasheh Aagha is so bad that even her bare back can not save her Bollywood career. It didn’t look bad in the movie though.
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