Sanchita
Afwaah starts on a slowburn note but once the balls gets rolling – it is very entertaining to see how rumours can spiral rapidly out of control, inciting chaos and mob frenzy. A cleverly crafted, thought-provoking political drama!
Read Full Afwaah Movie Review –
Rating: 3/5
Director: Sudhir Mishra
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bhumi Pednekar, Sumeet Vyas, Sharib Hashmi
Runtime: 2h 2m
Storyline:
Afwaah starts off violently as Rashtra Vikas Dal party youth leader Vicky Bana (Sumeet Vyas) gives a riot-inciting speech. His right-hand Chandan (Sharib Hashmi) gets captured on video, murdering a Muslim butcher.
Vicky’s fiancee Nivi Singh (Bhumi Pednekar), who also happens to be their party chief’s daughter, is disgusted with this news and the dangerous path that her fiance is on. Intent on breaking off the engagement, she flees from the house and is chased down by Vicky’s party goons.
Meanwhile, creative force and ad-man Rahab Ahmed (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) has recently returned from New York and is on the way to his wife’s book launch. When he intervenes to save Nivi from Vicky’s thugs… he inadvertently gets caught in a big political crossfire. Vicky in his damage-control mode, tries to spin the news as a ‘Love Jihad’ scandal – that he’d tried to keep Nivi from eloping with the Muslim Rahab.
The mess continues on a rapid downward spiral as rumour-mongering flames communal tension even more. While Nivi-Rahab are being hunted by Vicky and his yes-men, Chandan on the other hand finds out that his own boss has planted a target on his back and made him a scapegoat.
Corrupt Inspector Tomar (Sumit Kaul) who is sent to dispose of Chandan, repeatedly screws up the mission while his colleague-cum-mistress Riya (TJ Bhanu) struggles to do the right thing.
What Do We Think:
The Sudhir Mishra directorial is smartly written and engaging, albeit it starts off on a slow burn note in the 1st half. But once the ball gets rolling, and the fast-paced action kicks in – it becomes quite thrilling.
Things become gloriously messy as the stupid rumours spiral rapidly out of control leading to mob frenzy and lynching. This Sudhir Mishra directorial is a good blend of dark humour, irony and karma as it explores the IT-cell’s bigotry bombing and mob manipulation. The 2nd half is a nail-biter as the kill count gradually starts increasing – and the irony in the climax is just wryly delightful!
Nawazuddin Siddiqui has a layered character to play and he does full justice to it. Whether it is the sarcasm of an ad-man, the earnestness of a do-gooder, or the helplessness of a victim.
Bhumi Pednekar has done a stellar job as the headstrong, liberal Nivi who takes a stand for her convictions. She confidently emotes her righteous rage, despair, and vulnerability. Sumeet Vyas is hilariously amazing as the young party head who spectacularly shoots himself in the foot with every decision he makes.
Sharab Hashmi as the right-hand man turned scapegoat serves to show how ruthlessly the political world backstabs and how loyalty ends up being compromised for selfish motives without a second thought. Hashmi is in excellent form and entertaining whenever he’s on screen.
Another performance to really look out for is T.J Bhanu – the young actress holds her own amongst this talented cast and stands out noticeably, bringing a rather mature performance.
Hit Or Miss:
This Nawazuddin-Bhumi starrer can be a hit-and-miss with the audience. If you love taut political thrillers with fast-paced action – Afwaah could be right up your alley!
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