Awarapan - A Movie Preview

Cast:Emran Hashmi, Shreya Sharan, Mrinalini Sharma, Rehan Khan

Producer: Mukesh Bhatt

Director: Mohit Suri

Music Director: Pritam Chakraborty

Rating: **1/2

It seems, Emraan Hashmi sans kissing and love making scenes, is no better an actor. Thankfully, a relatively strong story line makes Awarapan an acceptable film.

Awarapan is the story of Shivam (Emraan Hashmi), an atheist gangster, who slowly begins to change after he meets Aliya (Shriya Saran) and falls in love with her. When their love is discovered by Aliya's enraged father, he takes a shot at Shivam but gets Aliya instead. Shivam is devastated by Aliya's death and he tries to shoot himself too, but he's unable to, so he runs away to Kowloon and starts working for Malik (Ashutosh Rana), hoping to forget his past.

Here, however, after successfully running a hotel for his boss, he is asked to keep an eye on the boss's girlfriend while he's away on a trip. Incidentially, Reema (Mrinalini Sharma), Malik's girlfriend, is a victim of human trafficking and was actually bought by Malik. Unfortunately for Shivam, Reema reminds him of his dead girlfriend and he begins to go into depression again.

In the process of shadowing her he finds out that she's having an affair with someone else, and promptly lets Malik know about this discovery. He is given the orders to finish her off and he cannot get himself to do it. Hence he has to, now, face Malik's wrath. In the process of running away, he realises that he can't keep running for ever. He cannot keep living the life of an 'awara' and here is when he's hit by the beam of enlightenment (literally) and he vows not to leave until he has set Reema free from the clutches of his lusty boss.

I'm not sure, whether the name 'awarapan' was meant for Shivam, the character of this film, or Emraan in reality, because the title is a complete mismatch. In fact, this is the only film in which he does not play the 'awara'.

The story is unusual and in the end one can relate to the plight of a lonely lover, so one does go through a certain degree of catharsis. But at a lot of points, the movie is hilarious, although I don't think the director intended it that way.

Like for example when Aliya's father shoots at Shivam, one would think that he'd try to protect his girlfriend who's behind him. Instead, with moves of a superhero, he dives out of the way letting his girlfriend take the shot. And he screams wildly in despair as he sees Aliya collapse. One wonders why? And then, throughout the film, we see the wandering shadow of a love lost Shivam who shows no guilt at all at his action. So when he finally 'sees the light' its difficult to sympathize with him. The whole scene, as impactful as it should have been, seems to fizzle out and settles for just being acceptable.

How he is hit by the beam of enlightment is another story. The man, he kidnapped in India only to later let him go, finds him in Kowloon where he's become a monk (god only knows why) and finally while running away from Malik he reaches the monastry where this victim takes care of him. Here looking at Buddha he finally begins to believe in god (again I'm not sure why). Simply having the hero pass out in front of the monastry and one of the monks helping him would have been so much more affective.

Towards the end Shivam goes to Malik's brother (Ashish Vidhyarthi) to find out where Malik's kept Reema. Here when Ashish Vidhyarthi, amused, askes to no one in particular, "Kya hai? Kya hai is ladki mein ke mera bhai uske liye apni zindagi barbaad karne ko tayaar hai aur tu apni jaan dene ko tayaar hai?" he takes the words right out of the audience's mouths. We never really understand why the girl Reema is so important and, as Malik says, different.

But it was too much too handle when, in the end, the treacherous villain comes face to face with our hero, and he asks 'why so much for this girl'. Our hero gives some half baked story about freeing trapped doves and being graced by gods blessings (which seems so inadequate) instead of saying something about redeeming himself or about love. That not being enough, our hero simply shoots Malik after that, who drops dead without a fight, while his, surrounding, bodyguards and his son just stand and watch the fun. I thought he was faking it, until the movie got over. The main villain removed, the rest of the fight seems so pointless.

In the end, one is quite confused about what the moral, or rather, the main theme of the story was, because at first it seems to be about faith in god, then about the hero's escapism or 'awarapan' and after all that we find Reema, after escaping to India, talking to the press saying that we should all do something about human trafficking because "freedom is our birthright." A littile bit of a muddle, I must say.

Emraan Hashmi is his usual self. Ashutosh Rana is very good as the Malik, although not entirely exploited well enough. Salil Acharya, as the boss's son, is none to great. Ashish Vidhyarthi is good in his minor role, but completely wasted. Purab Kohli as Ashish's son does a very good job. Shriya's just used as a pretty face while Mrinalini's not too expressive either. The plight of a sex worker forced into the situation, is not visible in her.

Director, Mohit Suri, has been quite good with his past moves but does not really live up to the expectations in this one.

The music is good, as in all of his past movies. They are quite touching and definitely helps with the narration.

Altogether, the movie is worth a one time watch. It is entertaining even if it has its flaws.