Amitabh Bachchan in Aks

No matter which film Aks has borrowed from, this film cannot be simply written off. Aks is a victim of hype, a natural occurrence when the lead star is none other than Amitabh Bachchan.

Manu Verma (Amitabh Bachchan), India’s super cop is entrusted with guarding the Defence Minister (Amol Palekar) who is on a routine visit to Belgium. The Minister is being followed by a hit man Raghavan (Manoj Bajpai) and though Verma outwits Raghavan by diverting the minister’s motorcade, Raghavan does get his target, and a floppy that is of utmost importance to the country. He leaves behind his signature – a mask on a chain (a calling card which is throughout the film).

Manu Verma arrives on the scene moments later and finds the minister dead. Back in India the Top Cop is still on the heels of the killer, in between some time is spent with his wife Supriya (Nandita Das) and their daughter.

Raghavan too has his other side, his love for Neeta (Raveena Tandon) and his devotion for his disadvantaged brother Mahadevan (KK Raina). Finally, Manu Verma catches up with Raghavan on the icy mountain slopes where he is meditating! (Hints of Ravana meditating for strength.) In a not too prolonged fight scene, Manu Verma handcuffs Raghavan and both jump into the waterfall. Cut to: Raghavan is behind bars and sentenced to death. But Manu Verma has one last mission to obtain the missing floppy, on the orders of the PM (Mohan Agashe). As he is about to be hanged, Raghavan makes a last bid to escape, which is foiled by Manu Verma who shoots him dead. End of story? No, for Raghavan’s devilish spirit invades the body of the good cop.

Like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Manu Verma turns vicious and leaves a trail of dead bodies – people who Raghavan wants to avenge, like Justice Chowdhry who sentences him to death, he also rapes Supriya after a perfectly carefree anniversary dinner. Supriya takes Manu to a guru, who says that he can be only rid of the cursed spirit when day is not day and night is not night – the solar eclipse as we discover. The second half is confounding, the director treads the very thin line between a psychological thriller and a supernatural thriller, and hence all action now on is a blur. It is the special effects, the very polished direction and the sterling performances, which take centrestage.

For a debut film, Rakesh Mehra shouldn’t have tackled such a complex subject, he should have stuck to a thriller, which the first half is, and where the director has shown extraordinary dexterity for handling action scenes with much class. One has to admit, that it is truly a bold step and a commendable achievement for a first time director who till now had made a mark in ad films and music videos. Be that as it may, Rakesh Mehra has proved his mettle as a director to watch out for.

Never has Bollywood presented a thriller with such slick ambience, akin to a classy Hollywood film, there is not a trace of tackiness in the entire film, and all thanks to a fresh directorial perspective from Rakesh Mehra. What is outstanding in Aks is that the picture perfect opening scenes should in no way be attributed only to the Belgian cityscape, for the film is marked by some excellent shot taking and camerawork by Kiran Deohans and crisp editing by P S Bharthi, perfect foils to Rakesh Mehra. The song sequences, which have been picturised on Raveena Tandon, have a classy music video feel which is so different from the usual song picturisations.

Mehra, who establishes Manu Verma and Raghavan’s personal sides highlighting just the right scenes for each character, has done ample justice to Kamlesh Pandey’s script. The most powerful and contrasting familiar scenes were those between Raghavan and mentally disadvantaged Mahadevan, the former may be a diabolical killer, but when his brother has an outburst, he brings him under control with a lot of tenderness. This is where an actor of the calibre of Manoj Bajpai counts, he handles a complex role with much equanimity. Bajpai is simply menacing – a wheezy laugh, a twitch of the neck and a sardonic smile. His is a controlled performance and he’s not given to any over the top outbursts.

While Manu’s playing at Give 10 and horsing around with his daughter is such a spontaneous scene, even though the child artiste appeared a bit in awe of Mr Bachchan, the latter gave the scene that special touch like Brando did in Godfather where he plays with his grandson. The Bachchan most of us would give an arm and a leg to see – an actor of many shades – is showcased in a set of memorable scenes, where it’s Manu and Supriya’s anniversary – where Manu twirls Supriya round the floor, flamboyant, romantic and funny.

Almost the next instant, Raghavan takes over and he assaults and rapes her. It’s the same man possessed, played by the same actor who remains an unequalled acting talent. One almost bemoans the waste of talent, by casting Nandita Das, till she has her scenes where she makes it worth her while – that very buoyant anniversary dinner and the following assault where she plays the victim with such quietude.

The film really belongs to Amitabh Bachchan, only an actor as seasoned as him could have handled the complexity of the role, especially as he does in the second half, where when Raghavan takes over the neck twitch and the manic expression are just appendages, but he uses them effectively to convey Raghavan’s presence, topping it up with the wheezy laugh. His has been a restrained performance and needless to add, any other actor in his place would have certainly crashed. Mr Bachchan gave the film that classy touch which complements the overall classiness of the film and makes it quite simply alluring.

—Piroj Wadia
pirojwadia@hotmail.com