Cast- Arjun Kapoor, Sashaa Agha, Rishi Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Amrita Singh, Prithviraj Sukumaran, Sikander Kher
Director- Atul Sabharwal
It has now been a decade since we witnessed a flick with a twin role formula in it. Atul Sabharwal, known for some renowned staid TV series Powder and a taut thriller “My wife’s Murder” has brought in the Masala factor into his directorial venture Aurangzeb. Ajay (Arjun Kapoor) is the son of the real estate developer Yashvardhan (Jackie Shroff) in Delhi who under the disguise of his property empire runs a crime world.
Well-versed with Yash's unethical activities, senior inspector Ravikanth (Rishi Kapoor) alongwith his team including Arya (Prithviraj Sukamaran) and Dev (Sikender Kher) kidnaps Ajay and infiltrates his lookalike Vishal (Arjun Kapoor) in Yash’s empire to know all the other partners and plans they had to promote their black ideas. Ravikanth too has an unwise dream to be the kingpin by ruining Yashvardhan. In the interim Vishal and Ajay are left stunned when they learn that they are twin brothers who were parted in their teenage days.
So, will brothers unite or will they be dominated by the unwise tactics of the cops? That’s how the story deals further. Atul has picked up the old spices and served in into the new recipe which isn’t delicious. The execution over here is half baked. The pace with which it goes is slow in the first half. The director shifts its gear and speeds up the momentum after the interim. The assassination of his son-in-law by Rishi Kapoor arouses some intensity. The political game between Yasvardhan and Ravikanth to grab one of the biggest building projects in town shows some association with the plot.But just thereafter the flick starts losing its momentum as nothing is given a fine shape to admire or even remember. The shootout at the hospital where Jackie and Arjun are shrilled with bullets will amuse you because our hero without a mark on his head stands tall to hit back to the cops there. The entire screenplay has numerous holes in it which are hard to fill. It all goes predictable and the dialogues go wacky.
Rishi Kapoor’s needless uninspiring Aurangzeb session comes out of nowhere and the emphasis given connects nothing to the title. The autocrat Mughal Emperor, had he been alive today, would surely have raised questions about the unnecessary tagging of his name and stature. Atul tried to pay a tribute to the legendary Javed-Salim duo with his punch lines. Some dialogues sound hard-hitting and have impact, but a few go stale.
What could have worked was Ajay's character played by Arjun Kapoor which appears energetic and funny in every given scene. Unfortunately, he is kidnapped which may be the need of the script. But all the more, Ishaqzaade actor delivers a good act in a beam and boisterous look. He delivers his dialogues with the same charm and finesse he carried in his debut flick.
Rishi Kapoor loves to experiment and is ubiquitous in every second flick. Here the cop’s role suits him. He is the person in command and his dialogue delivery looks dominant. His greediness for kingship is admiring. The South Indian star Prithviraj, who previously failed in his debut flick Aiyaa, finds some earth with his performance.
Debutant Sashaa Agha playing Arjun’s love interest flaunts well but needs some acting tips.Jackie Shroff as business tycoon and a helpless father is good. His body language has an impressive aura and is compelling which is seen in the flick.Amrita Singh, witnessed on screen after a long time plays good games to be the beneficiary in big projects.
Music by Amartya Rahut and Vipin Mishra is semi-perky. You would love the sufi track Jigar-Fakira while Barbadiyaan by Ram Sampath is soulful. The background score accompanies the scenes. Niraj Voralia’s editing could have been better. I’ll go with two and a half stars for Aurangzeb. This dramatical Aurangzeb doesn’t rule our hearts. You will be tempted by the performances but would just be thwarted by the final outcome.