Aakrosh (1980 film)
Encyclopedia
Aakrosh is a 1980 Hindi
arthouse film directed by auteur Govind Nihalani
and written by renowned Marathi playwright Vijay Tendulkar
.
The film starred Naseeruddin Shah
, Om Puri
and Amrish Puri
in lead roles and went to win 1980 National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi
and several Filmfare Awards
.
It won the 'Golden Peacock' for the Best Film at the International Film Festival of India
.
This was the debut film of Nihalani, who went on to be known for his dark and frighteningly real depictions of human angst in other landmark alternative movies such as Ardh Satya
and Tamas.
It is in the list of 60 films that shaped the Indian film industry spanning six decades.
Aakrosh forms a part of the series of works, based around explorations in violence, written by noted playwright Vijay Tendulkar
, who had earlier written Shyam Benegal
's Nishant
(1974) and went to write Govind Nihalani's next surprise breakaway hit, Ardh Satya
(1983).
Here the victim is shown so traumatized by excessive oppression and violation of his humanity, that he does not utter a single word almost for the length of the film and only bears a stunned look, though later he uses the same violence as a tool to express his own sense of violation and rage.
Basically, the story is of a peasant who is oppressed by landowners and his foremen while trying to eke out a living as a daily laborer. His comely wife, played by Smita Patil
, is raped by the foreman who then has him arrested to hide his own crime. His wife commits suicide out of shame. The police bring him to the funeral grounds in manacles and shackles to complete the Last Rites of his dead wife by lighting the funeral pyre — which in the Hindu religion only the husband has the right to.
Standing beside the burning funeral pyre, he sees the foreman looking at his pre-pubescent sister with lustful eyes. Divining the fate that is in store for her, he grabs an axe and chops off his sister's head to forestall her dire future as perpetual victim, as he sees it. Upon completion of this hapless act of a desperate and downtrodden man, he raises his face towards the skies and screams, and screams and screams — the second time that we hear his voice in the movie (the first is in a flashback, as he vainly attempts to rescue his wife) — a device similar to Andrei Tarkovsky
's showing of the icons in brilliant color at the end of his three-hour black-and-white film Andrei Rublev
.
In Aakrosh, the story line is very similar, as a similar murderous act is carried out by Biku - as he envisions the traumatic future of his sister.
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
arthouse film directed by auteur Govind Nihalani
Govind Nihalani
Govind Nihalani is an Indian director, cinematographer, and also a screenwriter and film producer. He has been directing Hindi films since the late seventies, and worked in the television medium.- Biography :...
and written by renowned Marathi playwright Vijay Tendulkar
Vijay Tendulkar
Vijay Tendulkar was a leading Indian playwright, movie and television writer, literary essayist, political journalist, and social commentator primarily in Marāthi...
.
The film starred Naseeruddin Shah
Naseeruddin Shah
Naseeruddin Shah is an Indian / Bollywood film actor and director. He is considered to be one of the finest actors of Indian cinema. In 2003, the Government of India honored him with the Padma Bhushan for his contributions towards Indian cinema.-Early life:...
, Om Puri
Om Puri
Om Puri is an Indian actor who has appeared in both mainstream Indian films and art films. His credits also include appearances in British and American films. He has received an honorary OBE.-Early life:...
and Amrish Puri
Amrish Puri
Amrish Singh Puri , ; 22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005 was an iconic theater and film actor from India, who was a key player in the Indian theater movement that picked up steam in the 1960s. He worked with notable playwrights of the time, such as Satyadev Dubey and Girish Karnad...
in lead roles and went to win 1980 National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi
National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi
The National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi awards the best regional film in Hindi language. Initially the award was known as the President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Hindi. The winners in this category are:...
and several Filmfare Awards
Filmfare Awards
The Filmfare Awards are presented annually by The Times Group to honour both artistic and technical excellence of professionals in the Hindi language film industry of India. The Filmfare ceremony is one of the oldest and most prominent film events given for Hindi films in India. The awards were...
.
It won the 'Golden Peacock' for the Best Film at the International Film Festival of India
International Film Festival of India
The International Film Festival of India , founded in 1952, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. Held annually in the beach town of Goa, in the Western Coast of the country, the festival aims at providing a common platform for the cinemas of the world to project the excellence of...
.
This was the debut film of Nihalani, who went on to be known for his dark and frighteningly real depictions of human angst in other landmark alternative movies such as Ardh Satya
Ardh Satya
Ardh Satya is a 1983 film directed by Govind Nihalani, his second offering after another angst-ridden movie Aakrosh . The screenplay of both movies was by Vijay Tendulkar, the noted Marathi playwright; this one was based on the short story, 'Surya', by D.A...
and Tamas.
It is in the list of 60 films that shaped the Indian film industry spanning six decades.
Plot
Allegedly based on a true incident reported on page 7 of a local newspaper, the film was a scathing satire on the corruption in the judicial system and the victimization of the underprivileged by the able and the powerful.Aakrosh forms a part of the series of works, based around explorations in violence, written by noted playwright Vijay Tendulkar
Vijay Tendulkar
Vijay Tendulkar was a leading Indian playwright, movie and television writer, literary essayist, political journalist, and social commentator primarily in Marāthi...
, who had earlier written Shyam Benegal
Shyam Benegal
Shyam Benegal is a prolific Indian director and screenwriter. With his first four feature films Ankur , Nishant Manthan and Bhumika he created a new genre, which has now come to be called the "middle cinema" in India although he himself has expressed dislike in the term preferring his work to...
's Nishant
Nishant (film)
Nishant is a 1975 Hindi crime drama film directed by Shyam Benegal, and written by noted playwright Vijay Tendulkar. The film stars Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah and Smita Patil...
(1974) and went to write Govind Nihalani's next surprise breakaway hit, Ardh Satya
Ardh Satya
Ardh Satya is a 1983 film directed by Govind Nihalani, his second offering after another angst-ridden movie Aakrosh . The screenplay of both movies was by Vijay Tendulkar, the noted Marathi playwright; this one was based on the short story, 'Surya', by D.A...
(1983).
Here the victim is shown so traumatized by excessive oppression and violation of his humanity, that he does not utter a single word almost for the length of the film and only bears a stunned look, though later he uses the same violence as a tool to express his own sense of violation and rage.
Basically, the story is of a peasant who is oppressed by landowners and his foremen while trying to eke out a living as a daily laborer. His comely wife, played by Smita Patil
Smita Patil
Smita Patil was an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. Regarded among the finest stage and film actresses of her times, Patil appeared in over 75 Hindi and Marathi films in a career that spanned just over a decade. During her career, she received two National Film Awards and a...
, is raped by the foreman who then has him arrested to hide his own crime. His wife commits suicide out of shame. The police bring him to the funeral grounds in manacles and shackles to complete the Last Rites of his dead wife by lighting the funeral pyre — which in the Hindu religion only the husband has the right to.
Standing beside the burning funeral pyre, he sees the foreman looking at his pre-pubescent sister with lustful eyes. Divining the fate that is in store for her, he grabs an axe and chops off his sister's head to forestall her dire future as perpetual victim, as he sees it. Upon completion of this hapless act of a desperate and downtrodden man, he raises his face towards the skies and screams, and screams and screams — the second time that we hear his voice in the movie (the first is in a flashback, as he vainly attempts to rescue his wife) — a device similar to Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky was a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, writer, film editor, film theorist, theatre and opera director, widely regarded as one of the finest filmmakers of the 20th century....
's showing of the icons in brilliant color at the end of his three-hour black-and-white film Andrei Rublev
Andrei Rublev (film)
Andrei Rublev , also known as The Passion According to Andrei, is a 1966 Russian film directed by Andrei Tarkovsky from a screenplay written by Andrei Konchalovsky and Andrei Tarkovsky. The film is loosely based on the life of Andrei Rublev, the great 15th century Russian icon painter...
.
Cast
- Naseeruddin ShahNaseeruddin ShahNaseeruddin Shah is an Indian / Bollywood film actor and director. He is considered to be one of the finest actors of Indian cinema. In 2003, the Government of India honored him with the Padma Bhushan for his contributions towards Indian cinema.-Early life:...
- Bhaskar Kulkarni, Lawyer - Om PuriOm PuriOm Puri is an Indian actor who has appeared in both mainstream Indian films and art films. His credits also include appearances in British and American films. He has received an honorary OBE.-Early life:...
- Lahanya Bhiku - Smita PatilSmita PatilSmita Patil was an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. Regarded among the finest stage and film actresses of her times, Patil appeared in over 75 Hindi and Marathi films in a career that spanned just over a decade. During her career, she received two National Film Awards and a...
- Nagi Bhiku - Amrish PuriAmrish PuriAmrish Singh Puri , ; 22 June 1932 – 12 January 2005 was an iconic theater and film actor from India, who was a key player in the Indian theater movement that picked up steam in the 1960s. He worked with notable playwrights of the time, such as Satyadev Dubey and Girish Karnad...
- Dushane, Public Prosecutor - Mohan AgasheMohan AgasheMohan Agashe is an Indian theatre and film actor. He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award in 1996.-Biography:...
- Bhonsle - Mahesh ElkunchwarMahesh ElkunchwarMahesh Elkunchwar is an Indian playwright with more than 15 plays to his name, in addition to his theoretical writings, critical works, and his active work in India's Parallel Cinema as actor and screenwriter....
- Social worker - Nana PalsikarNana PalsikarNana Palsikar was an Indian film actor, who appeared in over 80 Hindi films. He made his film debut in 1935 with Dhuwandhar, and went on to play character roles in both Hindi mainstream and arthouse films...
- Bhiku's dad
Aakrosh and Yagnam
The aggressive act of Lahanya Biku {literal trans.: beggar of the Lahanya caste} mirrors the climax of Telugu short story "Yagnam" by Kalipatnam Ramarao. Appalanaidu, a character in Yagnam, cuts the throat of his child with an axe after the verdict delivered by village heads comes against him. In view of the future sorrow of his heirs, now that he will not be there to protect them or provide for them, Appalanaidu commits this act.In Aakrosh, the story line is very similar, as a similar murderous act is carried out by Biku - as he envisions the traumatic future of his sister.
Awards
- 1980 National Film Award for Best Feature Film in HindiNational Film Award for Best Feature Film in HindiThe National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Hindi awards the best regional film in Hindi language. Initially the award was known as the President's Silver Medal for Best Feature Film in Hindi. The winners in this category are:...
- 1981 Filmfare Best Director AwardFilmfare Best Director AwardThe Filmfare Best Director Award is one of the main awards presented given by the annual Filmfare Awards to recognise directors working in the Hindi film Industry. It was first presented in 1954 in the inaugural year.-Superlatives:...
: Govind NihalaniGovind NihalaniGovind Nihalani is an Indian director, cinematographer, and also a screenwriter and film producer. He has been directing Hindi films since the late seventies, and worked in the television medium.- Biography :... - 1981 Filmfare Best Actor AwardFilmfare Best Actor AwardThe Filmfare Award for Best Actor is given by Filmfare as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a male actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role. The award was first given in 1954....
: Naseeruddin ShahNaseeruddin ShahNaseeruddin Shah is an Indian / Bollywood film actor and director. He is considered to be one of the finest actors of Indian cinema. In 2003, the Government of India honored him with the Padma Bhushan for his contributions towards Indian cinema.-Early life:... - 1981 Filmfare Best Supporting Actor AwardFilmfare Best Supporting Actor AwardThe Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor is given by Filmfare as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a male actor who has delivered an outstanding performance in a supporting role...
: Om PuriOm PuriOm Puri is an Indian actor who has appeared in both mainstream Indian films and art films. His credits also include appearances in British and American films. He has received an honorary OBE.-Early life:... - 1981 Filmfare Best Screenplay AwardFilmfare Best Screenplay AwardThe Filmfare Best Screenplay Award is given by the Filmfare magazine as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films.-Superlatives:Most AwardsSalim-Javed - 3Basu Chatterjee - 2Mani Ratnam - 2Vijay Tendulkar - 2Rajkumar Hirani - 2...
: Vijay TendulkarVijay TendulkarVijay Tendulkar was a leading Indian playwright, movie and television writer, literary essayist, political journalist, and social commentator primarily in Marāthi... - 1981 Filmfare Best Story AwardFilmfare Best Story AwardThe Filmfare Award for Best Story is an given by Filmfare as part of its annual Filmfare Awards for Hindi films, to recognise a writer who wrote a film's story.-1950s:* 1955 Mukhram Sharma - Aulad...
: Vijay TendulkarVijay TendulkarVijay Tendulkar was a leading Indian playwright, movie and television writer, literary essayist, political journalist, and social commentator primarily in Marāthi... - 1981 Filmfare Best Art Direction Award: C.S. Bhatti