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| Aurangzeb | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Atul Sabharwal |
| Written by | Atul Sabharwal |
| Produced by | Aditya Chopra |
| Starring | Prithviraj Sukumaran Arjun Kapoor Rishi Kapoor Jackie Shroff |
| Cinematography | Karthik Ganesh |
| Edited by | Niraj Voralia |
| Music by | Score: Vipin Mishra Songs: Amartya Rahut Vipin Mishra |
| Production company | Yash Raj Films |
| Distributed by | Yash Raj Films |
| Release date |
|
| Running time | 137 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Budget | ₹36 crore |
| Box office | est. ₹36.5 crore |
Aurangzeb is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film written and directed by Atul Sabharwal and produced by Aditya Chopra under Yash Raj Films. The film stars Prithviraj Sukumaran, Arjun Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Amrita Singh, and Sasha Agha, while Sikander Kher, Kavi Shastri and Swara Bhaskar play supporting roles. The film released on 17 May 2013, and received mixed reviews from critics and audiences.
Plot
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The story is set in the town of Gurgaon, an industrial city near NCT Delhi. The film is presented from the view of ACP Arya Phogat, who has been brought up by his uncle, DCP Ravikant Phogat. His father, police inspector Vijaykant Phogat, had lost interest in life years back, after messing up an operation to kill Yashvardhan Singh, due to lack of evidence against him. Yashvardhan's wife, Veera, had become a police informer against her own husband and had to run away from him with one of her twin children Vishal while Ajay was left with Yashvardhan. Vijaykant hides Vishal and Veera – whom he has begun to love – and passes it off as a botched encounter for which he takes the entire blame. Suspended from the police force, Vijaykant has a tough time over the years, caught between the love for his real family and son ACP Arya, and his adopted wife and son. Years later, just before he dies, he reveals to Arya that he has another wife and kid but does not share their real identity. Vijaykant dies a few days later, and Arya goes to meet Veera. There he is shocked to see Vishal, who is the exact replica of Ajay, and it is revealed that both are identical twins.
Ravikant, who is corrupt to the core, hatches a plot to expose the criminal activities of Yashvardhan and fulfill his brother's mission. He joins forces with Arya and convinces Vishal to enter Yashvardhan's house, posing as Ajay. To facilitate matters, Ajay is kidnapped and held captive by Ravikant and Arya, paving the way for Vishal to take his place and leak information about Yashvardhan's illegal activities to the police. Vishal has to pose as Ajay not just in front of his own father, Yashvardhan, but also in front of Neena Wadhwa, Yashvardhan's paramour and business partner, while also having to feign an affair with his twin brother's girlfriend, Ritu, whom he falls in love with, One night they strip each other, and it is implied they had sex. On the other hand, Ravikant and Arya unite Ajay with Veera and also try to brainwash him into spilling the beans about his father's illegal businesses before them.
Over time, Vishal develops a soft corner for his father and pleads for his safety from the police. He also wins the confidence of his father, who is unaware that Vishal has replaced Ajay in the house. Calamity befalls Yashvardhan because of the action initiated by Ravikant, and he has to be hospitalized. Vishal manipulates things in such a way that Neena has to resign from Yashvardhan Singh's company. Even as the tension between Arya and foster-brothers Ajay and Vishal refuses to be diffused, the task before Ravikant and Arya becomes more difficult as Ravikant’s son-in-law, Vishnu, lays his hands on evidence against Ravikant's equally corrupt police officer-son, Inspector Dev. Since Vishnu is the only honest cop in the family, he threatens to expose brother-in-law Dev, and in order to prevent this, Ravikant kills Vishnu. Ravikant also plans to take over Yashvardhan's empire with help from Neena, and orders Arya to kill Veera and Ajay. Arya, disillusioned by Ravikant's inhuman attitude, finally understands the choice his father Vijaykant made earlier to protect Vishal and his mother.
Meanwhile, Vishal is called for a meeting by Neena and her new partner, Bilal. Ravikant wants Vishal to use the meeting to give him more information about Yashvardhan, and plans things in such a way that Yashvardhan would be killed once the meeting between Vishal and Neena is over. Arya realises that Ravikant wants to eliminate Yashvardhan not as much to complete brother Vijaykant's mission as to take over Yashvardhan's business empire. Also, Vishal has revenge written all over him because Neena's son, Inder, had killed Ritu. Here, Ajay finally relents and agrees to help Arya, but he also wants his dad, Yashvardhan's safety. Arya asks Ajay to attend the meeting in place of Vishal. Ajay kills Inder, and when Inder's gang tries to kill Ajay, Arya's police team encounters all. Meanwhile, Arya has sent Vishal to the hospital to save Yashvardhan. He also arranges his police force to raid the hospital. However, Dev sends back the team. He later corners Vishal and Yashvardhan in the hospital storeroom. Just when Dev was about to kill them, Ajay appears and shoots him. Ajay and Yashvardhan convince Vishal to escape. Just when Vishal escapes, Dev shoots and kills Yashvardhan, but in retaliation, Ajay rises and kills Dev. When Dev's team was about to kill Ajay, Arya's police force rescues him by arresting Ajay. Arya helps Vishal and Veera escape. Ravikant meets Arya, and Arya informs him that he has the recordings of Neena's meeting, which will expose Ravikant. Ravikant shoots Arya, and just when he was about to kill him, Vishal comes back and kills Ravikant.
Arya, even though injured, rides back to his pregnant wife, Suman. Vishal and Veera get back to their earlier life while Ajay is jailed. We also hear a voiceover of Arya saying, "This system of the collection has been in place for years. The money from this system goes all the way up to the seniors and ministers. The nexus is not going to come to an end with just my uncle's death. The DCP said that only two powers would survive – the politicians and the corporates. But if a policeman doesn't take bribes from any of them, then he won't fear them either." The film then moves one year forward, where it is shown that Ajay has re-united with Vishal and Veera once he is released from jail. In the final scene, Arya leaves Veera's home once he makes sure that Ajay is re-united with his family.
Cast
- Prithviraj Sukumaran as ACP Arya Phogat, Vijaykant's son, Ravikanth's nephew and Ajay and Vishal's half-brother
- Arjun Kapoor as Ajay Singh/ Vishal Singh Phogat (dual role), the twin sons of Yashvardhan and Veera, Arya's half- brothers
- Rishi Kapoor as DCP Ravikant Phogat, Vijaykant's brother, Arya's uncle and the main antagonist
- Jackie Shroff as Yashvardhan Singh, Veera's husband, Arya, Ajay and Vishal's father, a notorious gangster
- Sasha Agha as Ritu, Ajay/Vishal's girlfriend
- Swara Bhasker as Suman Phogat, Arya's wife
- Sikandar Kher as Inspector Dev Phogat, Ravikant's son
- Amrita Singh as Neena Wadhwa, Yashvardhan's business partner
- Tanvi Azmi as Veera Singh Phogat, Ajay and Vishal's mother, Arya's step-mother
- Anupam Kher as Inspector Vijaykant Phogat, Ravikant's brother, Arya's father (special appearance)
- Deepti Naval as Rama Phogat, Ravikant's wife
- Sumeet Vyas as Vishnu Sharma , Ravikant's son-in-law
- Kavi Shastri as Inder Wadhwa, Neena's son
- Rasika Dugal as Trishla Phogat 'Choti', Arya's sister
Themes
Aurangzeb is "about hunger for power and survival of the fittest." According to Arjun Kapoor, the film's title is a reference to the Mughal emperor of the same name, who expanded the empire to its greatest extent.
Reception
Critical response
The response of critics and audience was positive. Meena Iyer of The Times of India gave the film 3.5/5 stars. Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com gave the film 3/5 stars, saying performances of Prithviraj Sukumaran, Rishi Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor are the best thing about Aurangzeb.
Box office
On its opening day, the film made a collection of ₹18 crore (US$2.2 million). After the film's entire theatrical run, it collected ₹18.5 crore in India and was declared "Average".
Soundtrack
| Soundtrack | artist | Lyrics | Music By |
|---|---|---|---|
| "Barbaadiyaan" | Ram Sampath, Sashaa Agha | Puneet Sharma | Amartya Bobo Rahut |
| "Jigra Fakira" | Keerthi Sagathia | Manoj Kumar Nath | Vipin Mishra |
| "Barbaadi" | K. Mohan (Agnee) | Puneet Sharma | Amartya Bobo Rahut |
| "Aurangzeb" | Marianne D’Cruz Aiman | Vipin Mishra | Vipin Mishra |
| "Aurangzeb" – Rock Version | Vipin Mishra | Vipin Mishra | Vipin Mishra |
| "Trial by Fire" – Main Theme (Instrumental) | - | - | Vipin Mishra |
| "Battleground Gurgaon" (Instrumental) | - | - | Vipin Mishra |
| "The Father's Truth" (Instrumental) | - | - | Vipin Mishra |
| "Aurangzeb" – Orchestral (Instrumental) | - | - | Vipin Mishra |
References
- "After Agneepath, Rishi Kapoor to play villain in Prithviraj starrer 'Aurangzeb'". The Times of India. 23 August 2012. Archived from the original on 26 August 2012. Retrieved 18 October 2012.
- "There's an Aurangzeb in every character: Arjun Kapoor". The Times of India. 10 May 2013. Archived from the original on 9 July 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2018.
- Iyer, Meena. "Review: Aurangzeb". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 17 May 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
- Verma, Sukanya. "Review: Aurangzeb is VERY engaging". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 17 May 2013.
