Film Review: Aakhri Sawal Has Unique Format in its Passionate Storytelling

Sigh! Say the Naysayers. Another propaganda film.

That is how films exposing historical truths and wrongs have been collectively branded in Hindi cinema since The Kashmir Files and The Kerala Story. It is entirely a different aspect that each politically ‘real’ or reality-based (as in biopics or event-based) film works or does not click only on its cinematic merits and demerits, that is the VFM (Value for Money) quotient.

This explains the debacles of very topical and necessary yet unentertaining sagas like The Vaccine War, The Bengal Files, Haq, The Taj Story, Emergency, Main Atal Hoon, Raja Shivaji (in Hindi) and more and the gigantic success of the Dhurandhar franchise. If the pro-Congress Emergency had been well-made, rest assured it would have been a success too.

Aakhri Sawal is a cinematic debate on the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the organization that is now a century old and has selflessly been of yeoman service to the nation. Despite this, thanks to political vested interests, it has been branded as a militant, violent and anti-minority establishment and due to dubious power centers, has been banned thrice and clubbed with militant Hindu organizations as well. 

It has been accused of Gandhi’s assassination, of kowtowing to the powers during the Emergency, demolishing the Babri Masjid and more. Its cadres have been the epitome of discipline and non-violence, self-appointed sevaks (those who serve) in times of troubles that may be man-made as well as acts of God.

These are the issues addressed in the film through a student, Vicky Hegde (Namashi Chakraborty) and his professor, Gopal Nadkarni (Sanjay Dutt), himself the son of a RSS member. The professor has rejected Vicky’s thesis on RSS. Angry at this, Vicky wants to know why this happened and says that he will accept the rejection only if the professor publicly answers five questions about the RSS to his satisfaction. 

When he accuses him of being an RSS puppet, the professor slaps him and Vicky makes sure the slap issue snowballs into a students’ strike. Vicky calls RSS anti-national, violent and divisive and thus criminal in intent. The professor has no recourse other than facing him in a public debate on live television, and exploiting this situation is the Left-oriented Prof. Pallavi Menon (Sameera Reddy) who keeps provoking him as her credo is, “The Left is always right” and “Narratives should be turned into the truth!” Vested politicians support her and soon, the professor is forced to resign.

But the debate overturns things and there is a superb twist in the tale that starkly shows the truth.

Utkarsh Naithani’s script is uniquely formatted and thanks to its crisp length shows welcome precision. Collating the present with past (with help from AI), the film takes on each controversial issue about the RSS and exposes the truth.

Sanjay Dutt and Namashi Chakraborty put in strong performances, the former occasionally breaking into passable Marathi to show his Marathi background as Dr. Nadkarni and also faltering in the pure Hindi and Sanskrit parts—like most of us Indians today do in real life! Namashi puts in another solid performance after his blackguard turn in The Bengal Files.

Amit Sadh as the TV host Aditya Rao is impeccable, but Sameera Reddy overdoes it as Dr. Pallavi and if the intention was to make her character loathsome, she fails to deliver.

Tridha Choudhury as Saara and Neetu Chandra as Kavya are wasted, but Mrinal Kulkarni is effective as the professor’s wife. Bipin Nadkarni as the college chief, Harsimran Oberoi as Ipshita and Rockey Raina as Sohraab pass muster. 

National award-winning director Abhijeet Mohan Warang handles the film well, skipping inessentials and making the climax extraordinary.

Monty Sharma’s background score and his songs and those by Onkar Tikale are ho-hum despite poetic lyrics by Kumar Vishwas. The only song that lingers is the end-credits use of Kalyanji-Anandji’s classic from the 1971 Purab Aur Paschim that was written by Indeevar, Hai preet jahaan ki reet sadaa.

Rating: ****

Nikhil Nanda Motion Pictures’ & Neem Tree Entertainment’s Aakhri Sawal Produced by: Nikhil Nanda & Sanjay Dutt Directed by: Abhijeet Mohan Warang Written by: Utkarsh Naithani Music: Monty Sharma & Onkar Tikale Starring: Sanjay Dutt, Namashi Chakraborty, Amit Sadh, Tridha Choudhury, Neetu Chandra, Mrinal Kulkarni, Sameera Reddy, Bipin Nadkarni, Harsimran Oberoi, Rockey Raina & others

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