'Anek' Review: Peace or Peace accord? asks Ayushmann Khurrana’s film

Anek Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, JD Chakravarthy, Andrea Kevichusa, Manoj Pahwa, Kumud Mishra

Anek Director: Anubhav Sinha

Anek Producer: Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Anubhav Sinha

“Jeetega Kaun? Hindustan”. Highlighting the sensitive issue of northeast representation in Indian society comes a film where an undercover police officer rises to strive for ‘peace’ rather than building a ‘peace accord’ with the seven sisters. The action thriller attempts to ask difficult questions like is protecting India equal to protecting an Indian?, Does every citizen from the Northeast region have to win a gold medal to prove themselves as Indian?, and Why do rather than educational books, guns and bullets end up in the hands of teenagers?

Anek isn’t something that the Hindi film industry has witnessed in a long time. It is a brilliant idea that explores the rage of North-east Indians being referred to by different names while shedding light on the heinous rebel and militant groups who manipulate innocent citizens to achieve their personal agendas. However, the brilliance slightly dims when it comes to the execution of the plotline on the silver screen.

Plot of Anek

An undercover cop Joshua aka Aman (Played by Ayushmann Khurrana) is planted in the northeast to monitor the successful execution of ‘peace accord’ with the seven sisters. His goal is to stop the resistance of the militant group Tiger Sangha, whose main agenda lies in separating the region from India completely. Amidst this, rises another rebel group Johnson, led by a school teacher, Wango, who is acting covertly against the government to represent the outcry of citizens for discrimination, freedom, and to protect their cultural identity.

Aido (Played by Andrea Kevichusa), the daughter of Wango, a rising Northeastern Indian boxer, is against his father’s rebellious ideology to achieve peace and is befriended by Joshua as a civilian asset to complete his mission. In addition to this, to track the movement of rebellious groups, Joshua constantly connects with an elderly woman of a village, who exchanges sensitive information in exchange for her teenage son Niko’s safety amidst the rising political upheaval.

Anek Movie Review

What works in Anek?

Anubhav Sinha handpicked a slew of actors from North-east India to portray the authentic ethnicity of the region, thereby adding a major impact on the representation of Northeast civilians in the film. Actor Ayushmann Khurrana, in his undercover cop avatar, delivers hard-hitting dialogues with utmost finesse and cleverness. Notably, his intense debate inside the car with a senior officer (Played by JD Chakravarthi) about ‘what it takes to be an Indian’ steals the limelight.

The truth about what transpires in the interiors of North-east India, be it school going kids becoming victims of gun violence by rebellious groups, little girls assaulted under custody, crops destroyed due to bombings, racial prejudice, manipulation of innocent people to join hostile groups, deliberately induced drug addiction amidst teenagers, are captured in the movie; thereby giving audiences a gist of all problems that have plagued the region for many years.

Andrea Kevichusa’s Aido shines brightly throughout the movie with her righteous ideology and ambition to conquer her battles both inside and outside the boxing ring. In the dialogue department, the mention of peace being a ‘subjective hypothesis’ and its synonymy with ‘political control’ aptly hits the right chord. Cinematography-wise, the limited stunning visuals of the seven sisters are nothing less than a visual treat.

Manoj Pahwa and Kumud Mishra as diplomatic politicians pay their due in limited screen-time and become a key takeaway for viewers. A high-tempo rap portion in the second half of the film instills the feeling of oneness and equality in abundance.

What doesn’t work in Anek?

Director Anubhav Sinha invests major time in developing multiple parallel stories which eventually end up withering the impact. The dialogue delivery of Tiger Sangha in several important sequences lacks enthusiasm and power. The plotline is kept focused on highlighting multiple issues, thereby developing a disconnect between characters and making the story complicated to watch.

As we reach the climax, the impact of the major theme and the final touch appears to be rushed towards the end without giving a satisfactory conclusion to the action thriller. The movie aims to score high on the dialogues but the storyline eventually loosens the grip in the second half. The plotline doesn’t provide any factual information or draw inspiration from a significant movement of the region to boost the sensitive theme, thereby wasting away a good idea.

The rich culture of North-east Indians, their attires, and folk dance that could have lifted the story a notch higher were missing in the film. However, a folk song is included but the limited screen-time given to it drains away all the beauty. The development of multiple parallel stories adds to the length of the film thus becoming a disadvantage.

Final Thoughts

In brevity, Anek is an honest attempt at highlighting a major social issue that needs to be told. It has the capability of sparking important conversations around a sensitive issue that centres on many civilians. Emotions are evoked, and hearts are raced, however, the complicated plotline and the slow pace of the film withers the final impact. But “Jeetega Kaun? Hindustan”.

Ratings: 3/5

Image: Instagram/@ayushmannk