Aligarh (film)
| Aligarh | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Hansal Mehta |
| Produced by |
Sunil Lulla Shailesh R. Singh |
| Written by | Apurva Asrani |
| Screenplay by | Apurva Asrani |
| Story by | Apurva Asrani Ishani Banerjee |
| Starring |
Manoj Bajpayee Rajkummar Rao Ashish Vidyarthi |
| Music by | Karan Kulkarni |
| Cinematography | Satya Rai Nagpaul |
| Edited by | Apurva Asrani |
Production company |
Eros Entertainment Karma Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 114 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
Aligarh is a 2016 Indian biographical drama film directed by Hansal Mehta and written by Apurva Asrani. It stars Manoj Bajpayee and Rajkummar Rao in the lead roles.
The film had its world premiere at the 20th Busan International Film Festival, receiving a standing ovation. The film was released worldwide on 26 February 2016 to unanimous critical acclaim.[2][3][4][5] Bajpayee won huge critical acclaim for his portrayal of Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras.
Plot
Set in the city of Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh and based on true events, the plot revolves around the esteemed and award winning professor Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras who taught Marathi at Aligarh Muslim University. He was sacked from his position of Reader and Chair of Modern Indian Languages, due to his sexual orientation.
Cast
- Manoj Bajpayee as Prof. Ramchandra Siras
- Rajkummar Rao as Journalist Deepu Sebastian
- Ashish Vidyarthi as Anand Grover
- Ishwak Singh as Arvind Narayan
- Nutan Surya as Anjali Gopalan
- Divya Unny as Reporter
- Suman Vaidya as Shadab Qureshi
- Devyansh Agnihotri (Child Artist)
- Saptrishi Ghosh as Assistant Lawyer
Production
The film was shot in various parts of Uttar Pradesh including Aligarh, Gorakhpur, Agra, Bareilly and Greater Noida (C-Block; Sector - Gamma 1). Wherein Greater Noida a small indoor sequence was shot for 3–4 days by Raj Kumar Rao.[6]
Reception
Aligarh had its European première at the 59th BFI London Film Festival on 10 October 2015.[7] The response was generally superlative and the film garnered excellent reviews. Screen International in its review called it a "A subtle, sensitive take on a controversial real-life court case involving the victimization of a gay college professor, Aligarh underscores the growing strength and diversity of Indian independent cinema".[8]
The British Film Institute, in its 'Whats On' review of Aligarh called it "Probably the best film yet on the Indian gay male experience, Hansal Mehta directs a riveting and nuanced tale that is as touching as it is powerful."[9] Aligarh had its India première in Mumbai at the 17th JioMAMI Mumbai Film Festival on 30 October 2015. It also has the honour of being the only Indian film to open the festival since its inception. The response was once again overwhelming. Meenakshi Shedde, South Asia Consultant to the Berlin Film Festival and award-winning critic, had this to say about in her Mid-Day review: "Aligarh is masterfully directed: it is that rare film that courageously stands for human rights, including those of homosexuals, yet offers a quiet, distilled perspective."[10] Celebrated columnist Aseem Chhabra in his rediff.com review said "Aligarh is a very important film, a milestone in the history of Indian cinema that should start the much needed conversation about how India treats a visible and yet often ignored minority group."[11]
Pioneering gay rights activist and editor of Bombay Dost magazine, Ashok Row Kavi, in his Firstpost.com review called Aligarh "a masterpiece of cinematic skills" and went on to say "What Mehta and writer Apurva Asrani have done is pluck out a commonplace professor in a commonplace university and weave a true life story into a tapestry of terrifying, compelling drama."[12] Indian Express gave 3.5 rating out of 5.[2]
References
- ↑ Hansal MEHTA (8 August 2009). "WWW.BIFF.KRㅣ6-15 October, 2016". Biff.kr. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
- 1 2 "Aligarh movie review: Manoj Bajpayee gives a fine performance, quiet and affecting". The Indian Express. 26 February 2016.
- ↑ Namrata Joshi. "Aligarh: An autumn of loneliness". The Hindu.
- ↑ "Aligarh 2016 Movie News, Wallpapers, Songs & Videos - Bollywood Hungama". www.bollywoodhungama.com. Retrieved 26 December 2015.
- ↑ "Aligarh Movie Review". NDTVMovies.com.
- ↑ "'This is not a controversial film about homosexuality'". Mumbai Mirror. 3 October 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
- ↑ "'Aligarh' gets standing ovation in Busan, director Hansal Mehta elated". The Indian Express. 4 October 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
- ↑ Halligan, Fionnuala (21 October 2015). "'Aligarh': Review | Reviews | Screen". Screendaily.com. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
- ↑ Customer. "Buy cinema tickets for Aligarh | 2015 BFI London Film Festival". Whatson.bfi.org.uk. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
- ↑ "A different 'Marathi manoos' - News". Mid-day.com. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
- ↑ "Why Aligarh is a very important film - Rediff.com Movies". Rediff.com. 5 November 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
- ↑ "A masterpiece of cinematic skills, 'Aligarh' has a lot to say about the way we perceive homosexuals". Firstpost. 4 November 2015. Retrieved 1 February 2016.
External links
- Aligarh at the Internet Movie Database