After all the hullabaloo preceding its release, and promising to deliver more than what it actually did, one can only say that Prakash Jha's AARAKSHAN has only stirred two debates affecting India's youngsters today.
The film's release was preceded by protests in many parts of the country, with three states actually jumping the gun by banning the film. After seeing the film one can say that had these governments also seen the film, they would not have banned it in the first place. The film does raise the reservation issue but only compassionately. While there are umpteen references to the friction in the society that reservation is creating, AARAKSHAN doesn't oppose it. It talks more of meritocracy and one can see filmi jingoism at many places which even a director like Jha fails to escape.
The film brings up the malaise afflicting the educational sector in the second half. The coaching-tuition mafia and big money involved in setting up of educational institutions. There is also a reference to how these colleges are being set up to encash the enhanced aspirations of students who may not get a seat in a good college due to paucity of good institutions or reservation. Teachers bunking classes is not a new thing because they are busy in private coaching. While in RDS College, Muzaffarpur, twenty-five years back, we would often miss classes because our teacher would be actually 'coaching' in Patna which was 80 kms away.
AARAKSHAN has not offered any solutions, which no film can in a short duration. But it has stirred up a debate on the two issues it touches upon. The larger issue of classroom teaching and helping youngsters plan and build their careers has not been touched upon. Why are parents and children limiting themselves to only a few career options? Aspiring for a coveted college is great, but why close other options?
Amitabh Bachchan has, once again, delivered a power-packed performance. Saif Ali Khan looks a misfit in the role of a young teacher. Deepika Padukone, surprising comes out better than what she can deliver given her limitations as an actress. The script is tight and the dialogues are perfect.
The film climaxes re-asserting the supremacy of people power, which is the flavour of the season. And one lesson that I would like to personally draw from the film, and ask others to follow too, is the supremacy of right over wrong. We all know what is right and what is wrong. Let us, like the protagonist, stand by what is right without trampling upon the rights of others. If each one of us could have a core value to stand by, wouldn't this world be a happier place to live in? THINK.
