Azamgarh #PicksAndPiques #Internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryReviews #BollywoodFilmReview #JohnsonThomas

#PicksAndPiques #Internationalfilmfestivalcircuit #FilmMovieDocumentaryReviews #BollywoodFilmReview #JohnsonThomas #TAGProductions #SaranshFilms Film: #Azamgarh #MaskTV @everyone #SanjayBhushanPatiyala #HungamaPR Cast: #PankajTripathi #AnujSharma #AmitaWalia #SusainBarar #SudarshanBhatt #AdilShekh #VivekJaitely #RamjiBali #ShrikantVerma #NareshGosai Director: #KamleshMishra Rating: * 1/2 Runtime: 90 mins

This controversial film was in the news for all the wrong reasons much like Azamgarh the district in UP now infamous as a hotbed of terrorism. Mishra’s film attempts to save the reputation of Azamgarh, which has forgotten its rich heritage of poets, academicians, and artists. Set in 1999 the film tries to expose the perception bias that the media and general public have towards a district largely populated by Muslims. Pankaj Tripathi plays the rather thankless role of a Maulvi who indoctrinates gullible youth and transforms them into jihadi terrorists. The central thread is about Aamir, a brilliant student, a topper of the state in 12th std, who joins a terrorist organization and gets involved in terrorist activities. The narrative structure here is rather threadbare and relentlessly boring, with interruptions in the form of TV grabs announcing terrorist attacks and bomb blasts in various parts of the country and naming various terrorists and organizations involved, instead of telling a plausible, eventful, and engaging story. There’s nothing much happening other than a whole lot of pronouncements on TV and otherwise. Ridden with stereotypes the narrative suddenly springs an end gambit that goes completely against the run of play ( mimicking ‘A Wednesday’). But the twist doesn’t stick. There’s no valid justification for how that could happen. Though the idea of a Muslim savior is laudable it just doesn’t ring true in this kind of a contrived setup. Religious polarisation and extremism are a bane but filmmakers need to bring more nuance and dedication to their craft in order to bring some semblance of a change. This one is better forgotten!