Sneha Jaiswal (Twitter | Instagram)
The Bollywood movie Azaad is set in the 1920s, looks more like a film from the 1970s, and is supposed to be about a horse – but keeps riding multiple subplots to annoy the viewer.
Directed by Abhishek Kapoor, who’s made more memorable films like Rock On, Kai Po Che, and Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui, this period drama marks the acting debut of Ajay Devgn’s nephew Aman Devgan and Raveena Tandon’s daughter Rasha Thadani.
Azaad follows Govind (Aman Devgan), a young man who loves horses but is forbidden from riding one due to his low caste and economic status. In the opening minutes, the film becomes more about Govind’s anger with Janaki Bahadur (Rasha Thadani), the landowner’s daughter, because he gets caught riding a horse while she is doing her own riding practice. So, he assumes it’s Janaki who ratted him out. To extract vengeance, he decides to paint Janaki’s face on Holi, as she is famed for not letting anybody touch her during the festivities. After he does paint her face, he instantly realizes the trouble he could get into, so he runs away from his village and becomes a bandit in a gang run by farmer-turned-thug Vikram Singh (Ajay Devgn). That’s where Govind becomes obsessed with a beautiful horse called Azaad. Another subplot follows Vikram Singh’s romance with Kesar (Diana Penty), who used to be his girlfriend but was forced to marry a wealthy zamindar (Mohit Malik).
Am I the only one who thinks the plot is all over the place? Or did that sound absurd to you too? And it’s the 1920s, in which universe do the daughters of zamindars and the sons of their stable keepers play Holi in the same place? Also, Janaki sports a super weird off-shoulder gown in one scene, because her father insists they ape the British. Not sure if off-shoulder gowns were in vogue in the conservative British India, but it would certainly be an alarmingly daring choice for the daughter of an Indian landlord living in a small town. So if the writers don’t want to care too much about historical accuracy, why give poor Govind an atrocious hairdo?
Seriously, Aman Devgan acts decently, but his hair is distractingly annoying in Azaad, he looks like a guy who needs to be arrested for petty crimes. The film wants to be about Govind’s relationship with the horse, Azaad, who is supposed to be a metaphorical representation of freedom. So, from harassing girls on Holi, Govind somehow becomes a freedom fighter due to his love for the horse, and the British, of course, serve as the quintessential Bollywood villains in the tale. Some parts of the story felt like the creators were inspired by Lagaan, but that feeling is extremely fleeting.
Rasha Thadani as Janaki delivers a mixed performance, she is convincing in some bits, not so much in others. Although one thing is undisputable: she can dance. She gets a catchy ‘item girl’ track titled “Uyi Amma” to showcase her talent. The song is fashioned on the lines of Mehbooba O Mehbooba from Sholay, not the tune, just the setting of a young, beautiful woman dancing for drunk bandits. Again, a little out of place for a movie about horses, British atrocities, and freedom struggles.
At two hours and twenty-seven minutes long, Azaad is a chaotic, contrived tale that features some senior actors who seem to be there only to insulate the newcomers with their presence. The script never commits fully to one theme, the romances are half-hearted, and the horse probably deserved a better showcase.
Rating: 1.5 out of 5.
Read Next: Nilavuku Enmel Ennadi Kobam Movie Review
Also Read: Nadaaniyan Movie Review: Cringe Max (audio version below)