Part character-study, part court room drama laced with social commentary
By Murtaza Ali Khan (@apotofvestiges)
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| Aligarh (2016) - By Hansal Mehta |
Our Rating: 8.0
IMDb Ratings: 9.4
Genre: Biography | Drama
Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Rajkummar Rao, Ashish Vidyarthi
Country: India
Language: Hindi
Runtime: 114 min
Color: Color
Summary: Set in the city of Uttar Pradesh and based on true events, the plot revolves around Dr Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras who taught Marathi at Aligarh Muslim University. He is suspended on charges of homosexuality. A sting operation conducted by a TV channel shows him in a compromising position with a rickshaw puller at his house inside the campus.
Aligarh
is a 2016 biographical drama film directed by Indian filmmaker Hansal Mehta.
Written by Apurva Asrani, Aligarh, is based on the life of an Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) professor named Dr. Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras who got
suspended from his job for being gay even as the Delhi High Court declared
homosexuality legal thorough an amendment in Section 377. Prof. Siras was a linguist
and author specializing in Marathi literature and was the head of the
Department of Modern Indian Languages at AMU. A local TV channel’s camera crew
broke into his house and caught him in a compromising position with a rickshaw
puller following which he was suspended. After successfully challenging his
suspension in Allahabad High Court, Prof. Siras was found dead in his house
under suspicious circumstances. Aligarh stars Manoj Bajpai and Rajkummar Rao in
the lead roles with Ashish Vidyarthi making a cameo appearance. The movie had
its world premiere at the 20th Busan International Film Festival where it opened
to standing ovation
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| Manoj Bajpayee as Prof. Siras in Hansal Mehta's Aligarh |
Aligarh,
part character-study, part court room drama laced with powerful social
commentary, features a deeply nuanced performance from Manoj Bajpayee. Playing
the challenging part of Prof. Siras, Bajpayee succeeds in capturing the complexities
of a wounded man ostracized by a hypocritical, self-righteous society which is guilty
of embracing dogmas in the name of morality while rejecting humanistic values
such as love and compassion. A film with central character as gay is bound to
be perceived as a commentary of sorts on homosexuality. But, Aligarh, in its
essence, is a film about loneliness. However, unlike most films of its ilk, Aligarh does manage to tackle the highly misunderstood subject of homosexuality with considerable
subtlety. Movies such as Aligarh certainly make us uneasy; force us to think more freely than what we are normally accustomed to. While
watching Aligarh, we just can’t help but ponder: How tough it must be for an
unmarried sexagenarian man to live in a place far away from his home. How
condemnable it is to trespass upon someone’s privacy in the name of morality. How
unfair it is to judge people on the basis of their sexual orientation.
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| Manoj Bajpayee and Rajkummar Rao in Aligarh |
Aligarh can be
described as a cinematic triumph and credit goes to the interplay between Asrani’s gutsy writing and Mehta’s thoughtful direction. Asrani, who himself is gay, previously
collaborated with Mehta on vastly successful projects like Shahid and City Lights,
but, with Aligarh, they seem to have taken their partnership to a whole new
level of creative expression. Probably the strongest point of Aligarh is the
realistic acting of its principal actors. From the kind of work they have
done together in the recent years, it is quite obvious that Rajkummar Rao and
Mehta share a great equation. And, Aligarh is no exception! Mehta
once again assigns a rather meaty part to Rao, who, to his credit, doesn’t
disappoint. Here, Rao plays Deepu Sebastian—the young Malayali journalist who had
helped Prof. Siras tell his side of the story to the world. Barring a few
slips in accent at some places, Rao seems at ease playing the character. While it may not be as impressive as his performances
in films like Shahid and Queen, it is certainly memorable. But it is Manoj
Bajpayee who carries the movie on his shoulders with a deeply nuanced
performance, which, as a matter of fact, is too good to be called a
performance, for the thespian lives through it, bringing Prof. Siras to life as we get to witness Siras' passion for music and poetry, his inner pain and suffering, his longing for companionship, and his reluctance to be openly labeled as gay: "How can anyone define my feelings using a three-letter word?" retorts Siras.
Overall,
Aligarh serves as a powerful work of cinema that's highly relevant to our
times. Mehta paints a devastating portrait of human suffering that makes one
question the endless hypocrisies of the world we live in. Mehta doesn’t shy
away from taking swipes at anything that comes under his radar: be it media, religion,
law, politics, or society at large. Bollywood has shown a greater inclination
towards biopics in the recent times as evident from films like The Dirty Picture (2011), Shahid (2012), Paan Singh Tomar (2012), Bhaag Milkha Bhaag
(2013), Mary Kom (2014), Main Aur Charles (2015), and Neerja (2016). It is
always a challenge to make good biopics but Mehta seems to excel at it (first
Shahid and now Aligarh). The pacing of Aligarh, accentuated by long scenes and
slow camera movements, is quite deliberate and may pose challenge to the casual
viewers, especially to begin with, but, patience does have its rewards. The
movie has so many merits but one that easily stands out is Manoj Bajpayee’s singular performance. The lowkeyness of the part is absolutely striking and may come as
a great surprise to those accustomed to watching Bajpayee play larger-than-life
characters like Bhiku Mhatre (Satya) and Sardar Khan (Gangs of Wasseypur). The
portrayal of Prof. Siras is more in sync with Bajpayee's turn in Chandra Prakash
Dwivedi’s Pinjar (2003) for which he won a National Award. Aligarh
works well on both the technical and emotional fronts. Wrapped underneath its complexities
and hidden subtexts, Aligarh is a simple film about a common man who suffers at
the hands of an inconsiderate society. Perhaps, that’s what adds to its
universal appeal. Aligarh is a movie that needs to be watched.
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| A Still from Hansal Mehta's Aligarh |
Readers, please feel free to share your views/opinions in the comment box below. As always your insightful comments are highly appreciated!
References:
References:
Aligarh (2016) Movie Trailer
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