Aligarh is directed by Hansal Mehta and written by Apurva Asrani, the film stars Manoj Bajpayee and Rajkummar Rao. The story is based on true events where a university professor is caught having a sexual relation with another man in his private life. This is later deemed as a sting operation to have the professor suspended from the university ahead of his retirement stage. This becomes a tarnishing image for the professor and makes him feel even more lonely until a young passionate journalist seeks to support him and fight his case which later reveals it was a fixed case from the fellow professors and members of the university to get rid of Mr. Sira. A winning battle can't always bring back smiles for those who suffered.
POSITIVES
- The film manages to deliver effectively the strong subject matter of a gay relationship being seen as a bad image in the indian society in India. The director portrays the conflicts being created behind such relationship and how it is seen as a negative depiction in the country, yet at the same time the film manages to show how it is unfair to discriminate over such relationship. The film touches upon the struggle one faces with human rights and gives a glimpse in to the life of those who are affected and pointed fingers at.
- Actors played well together, both main leads Manoj Bajpayee and Rajkummar Rao were impressive in their respective roles. In a film that is a little bit arty and and dark to a certain extent, seems to be given a bright spark through these two fantastic characters.
NEGATIVES
- The film does begin to drag on at times leaving an unease feeling as a spectator but due to the film topic being so interesting, you remain eager to wanting to know what happens next. But if the dragged out scenes which were used to create the emotions and loneliness of Sira, the stretched scenes seem to derail some attention that is being focused to the movie.
- What does disappointment me slightly is the ending climax, the way it was shown had a visual input with the conclusion of the film but I wish it had been showcased slightly better. At least more significance could and should have been shown to the character whilst dying, at least add more to what he felt during that very specific moment, what went through his mind despite winning the case that really tarnished his reputation prior to the court case. I wanted to see more of that and that was lacking. Throughout the film and during the court case, we do get to know the emotions that the professor is going through, but more emphasis towards the final stages of his life would have given more sympathy towards the climax.
CAST
- MANOJ BAJPAYI - A lonely man and troubled figure who has his image tarnished in the film for his actions. He leaves a dominating performance on screen, making you feel supportive towards him as well as admire such acting ability. He has chosen a challenging role and delivers it with precision.
- RAJKUMMAR RAO - A talented young actor who is beginning to make strong strides up the ladder. He does remarkably well whilst playing a slightly lower role as Manoj Bajpayee. Rajkummar has to play the second fiddle role but manages to maintain the heights of Manoj in the film and you can't praise him enough for what he has achieved and shown in the film. He brings humour in a detailed and serious movie. His acting is great and deserves full credit in being the motivational saviour towards Manoj Bajpayee.
RATING
Overall, I would rate Aligarh 4/5. The movie is praiseworthy and such attempts by any director and writer should be credited heavily for trying to portray a very touchy emotional topic to showcase to the society today. They manage to epxploit such true events and portray it well enough, as it allows significance to be given and addressed to the audiences well enough for them to walk away thinking more about what people would go through due to their sexuality preferences in the real world. The storyline was detailed, the characters did superbly, allowing the film to have some kind of a film experience. I would highly recommend the audience to watch this film as it teaches you many things, topics that we have heard or seen but hardly paid any indepth attention to, Aligharh manages to teach you through a cinematic form, leaving you feel sorry for that character who suffered.
