Aalaap is an ambiguous, confused and excessively annoying mess masquerading as a film, writes Ankur Pathak.
Few films are good at tackling sensitive socio-political issues. The intention may be good but the film ends up trivialising the issue or over-simplifying it. Or, as in the case of
Aalaap, offering naïve solutions that send out fruitless messages of peace and optimism.
The issue here is Naxalism. The plot revolves around a group of four directionless youth, who one day witness the blowing up of a bus carrying paramilitary personnel. This triggers the urge to participate in the struggle in some way.
One of them is 'Mr Cool' Rahul (Amit Purohit) who is a campus star, sort of a messiah of the youth. He wins trophies and is soon catapulted to the status of cultural maestro of his college, which is set in a small town in panic-ridden Chhattisgarh. The man himself, for all the glory heaped on him, is a bundle of nerves, a skeptic version of a pop celebrity who has absolutely no idea how he got there.
While he collects certificates and is made responsible for important cultural events at the state level, our band of boys, most recognisable among them being actor Pitobash Tripathy, are defiant kids strumming on guitars in underground dens, riding around on motorcycles and generally being mean to their parents.
Like in
Rang De Basanti, these aimless youth suddenly find an aim in life when they witness the heinous killing of the
jawans.
A generation awakens? Barely. At first they want to take on the Naxals, but later pick up their drums and sticks and begin to churn out music in a bid to spread the message that peace is the only unifying medium to stop the prevailing conflict. The key characters face some perplexing moral conflicts and, again, like in
Rang De Basanti, a thoroughly predictable closure is reached.
Aalaap could have been better if it provided some critical evaluation of the situation by
first time director Manish Manikpuri, instead of passing judgment on Naxal politics.