Priyadarshan has finally made a good sensible movie after showing sparks of brilliance in Gardish and Viraasat (which is by far the BEST Anil Kapoor movie IMO)...Aakrosh may not be that killer, in fact it has some glaring holes and very easily noticeable discontinuities, but that doesnt take away from the fact that it still manages to be an engrossing movie....Its been a while since I saw a decent movie which is neither ridiculous nor amazing - kind of run-of-the-mill and yet gripping...Once Upon A Time In Mumbai came close, but lost out due to corny dialogues....
Coming back to Aakrosh, it is decently directed, decently enacted fare, which touches a social issue wthout being too preachy and dull, manages to pack in some chase scenes and action to keep the adrenaline flowing, also squeezes in a couple of (listless) songs and despite not being able to cross the line into awesomeness, manages to leave a mark...Ajay Devgan is as efficient as ever...For some some reason, I always like Akshaye Khanna, even if his performance is sometimes over-the-top and sometimes indifferent...here it veers more towards the latter but thats more because the characters are half-baked and less bcz of his lack of sincerity....Paresh Rawal turns in a crackling performance as always, this time with a more villainous bent...The others dont do anything worth mentioning...Dialogues are average and yet not too corny, which saves the movie from being cringe-worthy, something that's really important in these Raavan-esque times...Cinematography and action are pretty good and bgm complements the proceedings well for the most part...
There was a lot of scope for some interesting camaraderie between the lead pair (Devgan and Khanna) and had that angle been developed further, the movie might have turned out even more memorable...Its only above average as a result, but still watchable and dare I say, even enjoyable...Its good to see Priyadarshan move away from BS like De Dana Dan and Khatta Meetha, even if through a "mild" inspiration of Mississippi Burning...Looking forward to more from his Viraasat days...
