Inclubabu Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Nessieldwi Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

Sienna-Rose Mclaughlin The movie really just wants to entertain people.

Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Shilajit Das Gupto The story is based on effects of The Reservation Bill on Dr. Anand's world. The Bill is passed, people of different standings and positions put forth their perspective and those are shown unabashedly. Unfortunately, audience does not seem to settle for anything less than a typical brouhaha. The story goes along the lines of what Dr.Anand has to face after his indirect stance on the whole matter and then ultimately following the un-noticed but the precious advice of his better half, to give ample opportunities to all to create equal chances for everybody of every financial status. That may not solve the whole problem but at least can set a small example. You have to do what you can do in your circumstances and everybody is not Sivaji, The Boss!!

DICK STEEL Prakash Jha had been responsible for hard hitting films that deal with issues involving society and politics, and last year's Raajneeti was one of those ensemble pieces that struck very close to home. This year with Aarakshan he takes on the caste system in India, one in which many would like not to admit exist, but nonetheless taken other forms such as discrimination, charity, and reservation, depending on which side of the equation one is found standing at.At first it may seem somewhat logical, where in the context of an education system that Aarakshan is set in, that seats get put aside for the less privilege so that they would get help in the form of a leg up in the educational circle. After all, education is always considered as one of the prime levelers and route out of the poverty circle. Alas any system created by man is always subjected to abuse, and through the narrative we get to experience the various viewpoints held by those disadvantaged by society, those with the silver spoon in their mouths, and those found sidelined by the conditions put forth, especially when good intentions get misread, misinterpreted and exploited.Aarakshan also touches upon corruption gets set into the education system, where grades do not always matter in admission to a well known institution, but also dependent on how well heeled, or greasy, one's network is. It's rather typical and almost expected that those in power tend to influence and sway opportunities for their friends and family, where nepotism and cronyism rear their ugly heads, and I fear the day should it materialize over here. Already we're seeing reports of how one has to volunteer time and sometimes material in a nice way, in other to secure a passage to good schools, where a parent's celebrity status is notwithstanding nor a guarantee of a shoo-in despite hours put in to perform various chores for the school. It's highly competitive true, but somehow this leaves behind a very bad aftertaste where it's no longer ballot or merit, but what you can do on a consistent basis to warrant a place.Then there's the notion of how tuition centres spring up left, right and centre in order to take advantage, and make a profit from, the entire educational system which is extremely grade dependent, where a single mark would mean to make, or to break. It's always interesting to see how education is treated as a lucrative business, and how this eventually saps all fun out of learning for acquiring knowledge, but to turn it into nothing more than regurgitation for a piece of paper, where teachers find it advantageous and a conflict of interest arising from doing the minimum in school so that students have to seek external help, and lo and behold, the same instructors become available for hire outside of the school system.As always with Prakash Jha assembled an ensemble cast to discuss all these issues in his 164 minute film, where we have Big B Amitabh Bachchan playing Professor Prabhakar Anand, the principal of a famous college who is an idealist, with a good heart toward those who are underprivileged, opening his home for free tuition to needy students. Saif Ali Khan and Deepika Padukone reunite from Love Aaj Kaal to play lovers again, this time the former as Deepak Kumar, the Professor's protégé coming from a lower societal standing, and the latter as the Professor's daughter Poorbi, who is also wooed by Sushant Seth (Prateik Babbar) from the privileged class.Aarakshan cannot be more schizophrenic though with its tale of two halves, the first which tackles all the caste based issues and in depth discussion of the reservation system in education, where Sushant finds himself ousted from a place in the school because of reservation, and an entire tirade takes place between Sushant and Deepak, who also despised it since his view is that there's no need for charity to be given, and prefers a system of merit instead. Things blow out of proportion especially when the entry of a scheming vice principal Mithilesh Singh (Manoj Bajpai) being the villain you'd love to hate, a shady, dubious character who's the puppet of the education minister and his posse hell bent on ousting and destroying Prabhakar Anand, and found a way to do so through the squabbling Sushant and Deepak.The second half is where things get a little bit more personal with the Professor trying to get back at those behind his ousting, and the dealing with more micro issues rather than the broad based ones inserted into the first half. In a way we see how fire got to fight with fire, with a fight back with the community against greedy capitalism, and with something I think most can identify with, where our charity gets taken advantage of by those whom we offer help to. This segment allowed plenty of Amitabh Bachchan to show why he's one of the greatest actors of his generation, where the likes of Saif Ali Khan, Prateik Babbar and even Deepika Padukone getting left in his shadow. It became a little bit predictable and melodramatic toward the finale, at times convenient as well with the last minute introduction of a deus ex machina type character to set everything back on an even keel.While 3 Idiots touched on the education system as well from the students perspective laced with a generous dose of comedy, Aarakshan is the more serious in tone counterpart taking a cold hard look at the system from the educator's point of view with a critique on societal prejudices. It may not be perfect, but it addresses what it set out to and left the door wide open to provoke a response. Recommended!

Chintan Trivedi High Voltage Drama. Praksha Jha is master of issue based movie with some masala in it. Never make you bore.After Rajneeti (My personal most favorite of 2010) my expectation was sky high, & I'd say he didn't disappoint me, I expected it not to be as good as Rajneeti, and i was right,First half is rock solid, fast, tense situation, fully about reservation & It is rightly said that second half "Aarakshan" is not at all about Aarakshanbut i didn't feel cheated by title unlike others, if Prakash Jha had stick to the title in second half as well then this movie would have ended up banned.The main idea of the movie is to uncover the flaws in education system in India. Reservation: If in any case someone think that film is failed to delve on the sensitive issue of reservation because no one side was taken after verdict, I'd say the protagonist of the film had very clear view about reservation, he gives his comments on it, few might agree like, few might not.That's the end of story "Aarkhshan", then starts "Private Tutions" .Cast:Amitabh Bahchan - no words to describe, power house performance, ready to grab all awards this year. (I'm not his huge fan ;))Saif Ali Khan - gamble, does well though , but tough to see him doing role of a guy of underprivileged background since his 95% movies portrayed him cool rich dude.Deepika - Good - some other girl would have been even better.Pratiek - Good as always. lambi race ka ghoda, but is it only me who feel he walks/talks in similar manner the way he did in Dhobi ghat Yashpal Sharma - Emotional, for the first time as a good guy in a Jha movie.Manoj Bajpai - Fantastic. but Rajneeti was his best. great actor.Mukesh Tiwary - this one is interesting, he was missing in Rajneeti, usually plays a better guy in jha movies, here for the first time gray shades.Darshan Jariwala - natural. Tanvi Azmi - Excccccccccccellllllllllllllllleeeeeeeeent. no over acting. make her permanent mother of all heroes :p Music - Shankar Ehsaan Loy - :D forget it :DBackground Music - Here is the one of the biggest reason why i like Prakash Jha movies, Wayne Sharpe has given splendid background music, Since Gangajal (first time in bollywood a foreign music director) to aarkashan, he keeps bettering himself. Direction - much said.Must see

susanc-12 As an American (now living in America, despite my profile), I occasionally go to Indian movies to sort of clear my head and watch a story told in a completely different way than most American movies. For this purpose, Aarakshan fit the bill just fine. In the controversy over the school entry quota, there was an obvious parallel to the controversy over affirmative action quotas in the U.S.The story did drag on and on a bit. The bad guys, particularly the vice principal, were a bit too over-the-top evil, and the noble persecuted principal stuck to his guns so firmly that at some point (specifically at the point where he sent the boys away rather than invite them to help him tutor the poor children) he went from principled to sort of stubborn and stupid.A few other random thoughts that distracted me during the movie: The "American" accent, if that's what it was supposed to be, of the Cornell professor was truly lamentable. I laughed, I grimaced. It was awful.In the scene where Sushant orders two coffees, it appears that the waitress delivers two glasses of milk.The actor who played Prabhakar Anand, the university president, seemed too young for the character he played; the one who played low-caste love interest and firebrand student Deepak Kumar looked decidedly too old, especially when compared with the character of Sushant, who I assume was supposed to be the same age and who looked age-appropriate. I also found that "Deepak Kumar" looked gym-toned in a way that was attractive, but detracted from the verisimilitude of his character ... and a further distraction was that to me he bears a strong resemblance to American comedian Robin Williams! Well, I told you these would be random comments. I did more or less enjoy watching the movie as a way to pass the afternoon, but it was no profound experience.