The Pinkvilla Movie Review - Aligarh

Riveting is the only word that comes to your mind when you want to describe Aligarh. The film is a lot more but words are bound to fail you when you start writing about it. People saw the movie as a champion of the LGBT cause but somewhere beneath all its skillful layers was a simple story of a man rendered helpless and lonely by society. Human desolation is the worst kind of torment and Hansal Mehta beautifully brings every facet of that feeling on screen. He never loses sight of his story even as he shifts between the myriad hues of melancholy. 

As Professor Siras settles in his arm chair in a dilapidated room with the voice of Lata Mangeshkar filling the air, you get a sense of the decay in his life. Mehta builds the claustrophobic environment subtly. Aapki nazron ne samjha pyaar ke kaabil mujhe...Quite the contrary plays out for Siras, whose solitude has a haunting effect. It is clever on Mehta's part to let Manoj Bajpayee breathe life into his screenplay and going by the actor's prowess, he does a darn good job of it. 

The controversial legal battle that sucked the life out of a man who was celebrated posthumously for his literary achievements and otherwise, Aligarh touches upon an array of important themes that plague the Indian society even today. Our hypocrisy is brutally attacked, our regressive mindset is ripped apart and kick starts fresh debate on gay rights in times when the Supreme Court needs five-judge bench to decide whether the infamous Article 377 needs an amendment. Is right to sexuality so much to ask for in the land that introduced the world to Kamasutra? Even in 21st century, apparently it is. 

At the beginning of the film, Siras' house is vandalized because of his sexual orientation and a journalist befriends him. It is he who drives him to take up the decayed laws of the country and give it a tough fight. But as they say, justice delayed is justice denied! Though it doesn't quite stand true in a nation where Sanjay Dutt will finish his 5 years' imprisonment, 23 years after the case was first filed against him. There is a sense of hopelessness in the way Apurva Asrani has examined the story. The ostracization is ably captured through the beautiful cinematography that deliberately stays close to mundane.

Despite a set up that is far from appealing, the story hooks you to it. The portrayal is sensitive and Mehta owns the story with his hands-on tackling of the issue. Even when he introduces his lucky mascot Rajkummar Rao, he never overplays his character. Cloaked as a farishta, he becomes the catalyst that pushes the story to its inevitable end. Manoj and Rajkummar's screen friendship blossoms better due to their fascinating rendering which adds its own flavour to the movie.

Aligarh, however, is more about human emotions than about the cause that is at the heart of it. The impact of alienation, the destitute scholar seeking solace in his love for art is all changed when the protagonist embarks on an unlikely friendship with a man. It must be noted that the man lacks the knowledge and understanding of what the society widely terms as Homosexual. Gay must mean happy to him, something that he discovers through the asexual relationship with a journalist who gives him the luxury to be heard. 

The only thing that works against the movie, is the pace. It is a tad too slow, but the story simmers over its elaborate run time to create a masterpiece. Hansal's conviction on his tale is infallible and more than anyone else, it is he who injects soul into Apurva's screenplay. The fact that it is overpoweringly grim again doesn't work in the film's favour.

Thankfully, Hansal is beyond such unnecessary things. He is too busy creating a film that will go down in cinematic history as one of the most poignant portrayals of what seclusion the society has put people through, all for their overbearing desire to helm moral control. As he gets his favourite men to play out a scene where they take a boat ride through the Ganges, you see the romantic side of Siras that could have been...had the society not nipped his desires in the bud. 

Heartbreaking, triumphant, defiant, shocking, Hansal Mehta successfully manages to blow your mind with this heartwrenching film. Manoj, Rajkummar and Apurva all emerge as heroes in their own right. It is one of those rare times when the film wins.

Your takeaway from the film? To quote F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, "The loneliest moment in someone’s life is when they are watching their whole world fall apart, and all they can do is stare blankly." Aligarh is terrifying and high time laws be overturned.

We rate the movie 80% on the Pinkvilla Movie Meter.