Ayushmann Khurrana outshines in this moderately-gripping tale of injustice. 

Anek Movie Review: Ayushmann Khurrana outshines in this moderately-gripping tale of injustice. 

Helmed by Anubhav Sinha and starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Anek is a partially gripping tale of discrimination. 

Peace maintain karne se aasan hota hain, war maintain karna. Isiliye sab karte hain. Tum bhi, hum bhi” – no, that’s not how Anek starts. But it roughly gives you an idea of how diversity somewhere, is still a bookish term. Anek marks filmmaker Anubhav Sinha’s second collaboration with Ayushmann Khurrana after Article 15 (2019). Sinha is mostly known for simplifying political issues for laymen. Did he do so too with Anek? Umm, moderately, we would say.

The note during the start of Anek goes, ‘With love to the people of North East India’. And that’s one of the best parts of the film. The film takes you on a journey of injustice and uprising, all at once. Another best part? The casting. Sinha attempted to make his film look authentic, and so it did. Instead of transforming the who’s who to suit the role, he cast stars from the region to make the film look believable. And trust us you, it did have a mammoth role to play. Anek somewhere felt a little too stretched and dragged in bits. But we will get to that later.

Protagonist Ayushmann Khurrana (known as Amman/Joshua) is an undercover agent in the film. He works for the Indian government. After triumphing in several challenging political unrests, Amman changes his name to Joshua to keep a close watch on the political unrest in India’s North-Eastern region with rebels ganging up against the Indian government. The reason? People from the North-Eastern borders want a separate country of their own and do not think of themselves as a part of India. Barring one girl, Aido (played by Andrea Kevichüsa), who wants to play for India as a boxer despite being judged as a massage/parlor wali for how she looks.

The film begins with how people from the North East have often faced discrimination for their frame, looks, and culture. How, they have often been called chinki, chilly chicken, and Chinese. And it’s so unfair! Years of injustice resulted in the formation of many a radical group in the states that doesn’t want to work in tandem with the Indian government. And that’s what Joshua’s mission is. To ensure Tiger Sangha (leader of the largest militant group in the NE states) signs a peace treaty with the government. But that’s no easy task. He’s to combat another militant group, Johnson too. But there’s a twist to it and we are in no way going to ruin it for you.

For the mission, Joshua resides in the North-Eastern states like it’s his own. Has befriended a militant group leader’s daughter (Aido), as the phrase goes ‘keep your friends close and enemies closer’, to keep a close watch on all that’s happening. But his loyalty is put to test when his seniors think he is taking decisions from his heart instead of his mind.

Bollywood has its habit of introducing signatures that become iconic to the character. For instance, Pushpa’s chin rub or Laila’s wicked smile. In Anek, Ayushmann does a nose sniff during intense situations. But boy, he does shine as Joshua! His tenacity, love for the nation, and dialogue delivery are all that you understand by the term gripping. And so is debutante, Andrea. She does have a smaller role compared to Ayushmann but even thinking of taking on an athlete’s role for a Bollywood debut, leave alone perfecting it, is in itself worthy of a gazillion kudos.