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Aryan review
'Aryan' - placid, well meaning
domestic drama (REVIEW)
By Subhash K. Jha
Film: "Aryan: The Unbreakable"; Cast: Sohail Khan, Sneha Ullal
and Inder Kumar; Director: Abhishek Kapoor; Rating: * 1/2
Sometimes the heart is in the right place. But the spirit
meanders. And you end up watching a film that makes all the
right moves and yet fails to move the audience.
Though it calls itself 'Unbreakable', "Aryan" is perpetually on
the verge of breaking down under the weight of its own
earnestness.
Debutant director Abhishek Kapoor means well. But is that
enough? Kapoor fills the visuals and soundtrack with images and
sounds that accentuate the protagonist's fight to survive with
dignity.
That the source of inspiration for Sohail Khan is clearly
Sylvester Stallone in "Rocky" is apparent in not just the
cursory boxing sequences, but also in the relationship between
the heiress, played by Sneha Ullal who is barely passable, and
the prematurely retired boxer Aryan (Sohail) who spends all his
time brooding, lazing, faffing and drinking... not in that, or
any order.
"It's a terrible blow to the male ego when the wife is the sole
bread-earner of the family," Aryan's pal, gone from stammering
inefficiency to social prosperity, counsels the jobless boxer.
The fights between the couple that follow look as staged as the
boxing bouts in the end. But you nonetheless applaud Kapoor for
taking a sporty theme and converting it into a reasonably
well-crafted domestic drama.
To his credit, Sohail is a watchable presence who excels at
portraying working-class anxieties.
I remember watching him do the street-smart jobless dude -- a
sort of Sunny Deol in "Arjun", "Ghayal" mixed with Anil Kapoor
in "Tezaab" and Salman Khan in "Tere Naam" -- in "I Proud To Be
An Indian" who takes on racism in Britain.
In "Aryan" Sohail tackles a far more personal anxiety. The
stress level is high. But the actor remains largely
imperturbable, whether that's a sign of pent-up emotion or lack
of the emotion, one can't say.
"Aryan" is a sweet little film that tells you life is neither
bitter nor better. It's just a state of mind. With occasionally
the fist thrown in.
Don't try to look for too much relevance and you come away
pleased with the placid proceedings.
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