Aarakshan is a well made movie from Prakash Jha on the subject of reservation based on caste. Dr. Prabhakar Anand (Amitabh Bachchan) is the Principal of a very well known college and his request for approval for reservation is rejected by standing committee of the institute he works for. So he resigns from his job. The new Principal Mithilesh Singh operates a parallel coaching institute. Story takes a different turn when Prabhakar Anand is thrown out from his home by Mithilesh Singh and he goes and stays in a Tabela and starts his own free coaching institute for everyone. His role has been borrowed from mathematician Anand from Patna who is running Super 30 and his coaching institute is named as Super Tabela rhyming with the Super 30 of Anand Kumar. The climax is very poor with entry of a Hema Malini whose only role is for just 5 minutes and story ends as if there was no issues at all. Bad acting & presence by Hema destroys the climax else the movie is well made. Saif, Amitabh & Deepika including Manoj Bajpayee have done justice to their role.Prakash Jha has written a very nice story with a very weak climax otherwise which the story is much better. Sachin's cinematography and Shankar's music makes it a memorable experience. A must watch for everyone.

Prakash Jha is a director with a string of good movies to his credit including his last debut "Rajneeti". This movie is not the same caliber. Amitab portrays well as a secular teacher, but he is not enough to sustain the film. There are a few atrocities brought up as a side bar like the landlord and tenant rights. The two children really take advantage of good faith to the hilt. Deepika Padukone has acted well and so is Saif Ali Khan who is a good actor, considered to this arrogant midget with the same last name, who is ugly looking slob with monkey ears who should have been driving rickshaw for living, along with this chimpanzee apeman. The movie lacks "Fire in the Belly' story. May be there should have been more societal ills brought up instead of one main theme. I think, the time when Amitab Bachchan carry a movie on his shoulder, is probably over. What we have these scum filthy rats from Filthystan who are corrupt to the core, filthy maggots who lived like rats in the sewer, have taken over Bollywood and they are bribing the Media, Award Shows to prop up movies like,Dabaang, Three Idiots, Tees Maar Khan, Delhi Belly, which are produced for the sole purpose to demean Indians and Indian culture in India and abroad. These suvvar banchods should be kicked back to the sewer where they came from or put these banchods with Kasab in a cell, that is where these suvvar rats belong in the first place.

I have a confession to make (actually two!): I am not much of a Bollywood fan but do selectively watch Hindi movies and this one delivered a great storyline. I can safely say I'd only watch a movie with Aamir Khan as actor/director and anything Mr. Jha turns out! Secondly, this is my first review and I felt like writing one as, sadly, the theater was kinda empty. And I hope that ALL of Mr. Jha's movies do well.The movie beautifully integrates the stand of a man of principles, the reservation issue, the thirst for education among the masses across all sections of society and the mess that our education system in India is! Well thought out in terms of the chessboard like moves that the "baddies" would make and the ultimate requirement of galvanizing the public so that the protagonist would have to achieve a breakthrough.Please do find a way to watch this movie despite the ban. Thankfully it wasn't banned in Goa - just got back from watching it! I've seen reviews claiming the run-time of 2:45 mins is a deterrent, but it doesn't slow down anywhere and run off-course so it was fine by me.

Prakash Jha has had a track record in making movies like 'Gangajal', 'Rajneeti' among others that are hard hitting and have got something to do with issues that make news. His latest is a movie whose title 'Aarakshan' suggests that it has something to do with caste-based reservations in India, an issue that raised a storm about five years ago. If the promos were to be believed, Jha had a winner in hand. But, in reality, the title is a misnomer as the principal plot in the story seems to deal with commercialization of education which is portrayed to be somehow strangely linked to reservation. Also, while this was a burning issue following the Supreme Court that was discussed in the movie, it may not have as many takers today. So, what's the story? Prabhakar Anand (Bachchan) is the principled Principal of a prestigious private college in Bhopal who treats all his students equally. He coaches weaker students in his verandah for free and the classes allow enough opportunity for his favorite pupil Deepak Kumar (Saif Ali Khan) to romance his daughter Poorbi (Deepika Padukone). Sushanth Seth (Prateik) also has his eyes on Poorbi. When the reservation issue heats up, people are divided along caste lines and suddenly the relations between them are strained. Anand has his adversary in Mithilesh Singh (Manoj Bajpai) whose commercial coaching classes clash with his principles. A twist of events puts Prabhakar Anand's beliefs to the test. And in the meantime, the film loses its way completely on what it wants to talk about. The very fact that caste inequality persists even decades after independence is shameful. But, it is sad to see that a sensitive issue has been used only to promote the movie. Well, the movie does not take sides; whether pro-reservation or anti-reservation since it would not have been without commercial repercussions. Obviously the title and some provocative language were meant to only rake in the moolah. On education its commercialization, if Prakash Jha wants people to believe that the proliferation of coaching classes has its origins in the nation's reservation policy, he has definitely lost the plot. As a result, what you get it a 'Baghban'esque lengthy film that seems to go nowhere. It has lectures on principles, conniving villains, treacherous friends and some kind hearted souls who attempt to engage you with some drama. To its credit, its actors do a good job. Amitabh Bachchan successfully plays the idealistic disciplinarian and a committed teacher who is complemented by Saif Ali Khan as the feisty youngster working his way though a biased system and Manoj Bajpai, as usual is a bankable actor to play the villain. As usual, Deepika Padukone sleepwalks through her role and the script didn't have much in store for Prateek. I'd recommend that you let this one pass. It neither has a consistent storyline nor memorable songs nor a tight script. So, don't reserve your seats for Aarakshan!