‘Anek’ Review: Half-Baked Plot, Underdeveloped Characters, Stereotypes Make This Geopoliticial Drama Hard To Digest
Ayushmann Khurrana has given us some of the best hits that touch base with some truly controversial topics. And his films have been revolutionary and got a conversation going around something that is rather hush-hush in our society. Vicky Donor, Shubh Mangal Savdhan, Article 15 and now, Anek. Written, directed and co-produced by Anubhav Sinha along with T-Series, Anek revolves around the geopolitical conflict in the Northeast region of India. The film stars Ayushmann Khurrana, J.D. Chakravarthy, Andrea Kevichüsa, Manoj Pahwa and Kumud Mishra. The film is all set to hit the theatres worldwide on May 27. So, I decided to watch this much-awaited film and give y’all a review. Without further ado, let’s dive in.
The Story
Anek follows the story of an undercover cop, played by Ayushmann Khurrana, who is on a mission to restore the peace in the Northeastern region of India as he tries to find a reason why India is so divided by regions and states and tries to understand what it takes for one to be called an Indian. But the main target for his mission has more to do with creating a situation in the region that forces rebel leader Tiger Sangha to the table to negotiate a peace accord with the government of India. The film also has a sub-plot. Played by Andrea Kevichusa, Aido is the stereotypical Northeastern boxer who wants to make her name and bring a change in the country by representing India on an international level. She also plays Ayushmann’s love interest.
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The Cast And Characters
Ayushmann Khurrana aka Joshua aka Aman: We’ve known Ayushmann Khurrana to be one of the most versatile actors in B-town but TBH, he manages to disappoint us with his acting in Anek or maybe it’s just the bad writing and half-baked character. One of the most annoying things about his character is the attempt to give him a signature move much like it was done in Pushpa but IMHO, the makers were just trying too hard. Ayushmann’s character’s signature move reminds me of someone trying to snort drugs from the air. Another thing to note is that this character was so half baked that the makers didn’t even give him a proper identity. Ayushmann seems to be juggling between Joshua and Aman and struggling to keep up. Moreover, Ayushmann Khurrana really seemed out of his element in this role.
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Andrea Kevichusa aka Aido: TBH, Andrea seemed like a showpiece in the entire film. The makers cast her to represent people from the Northeast region but they failed to give her a meaty role and let’s not even talk about her underdeveloped character graph. The worst part is that they made her character fit into a stereotype. Aido in Anek is shown as a professional boxer who wants to represent India on an international level and let me point this out, Northeastern people play other sports too. This film is Andrea’s debut film so it wouldn’t be fair to expect too much from especially since the writing lacks depth.
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Manoj Pahwa aka Abrar: Manoj plays the role of a bureaucrat attempting to negotiate a peace treaty with the rebel groups in the Northeastern region, something that several previous governments have failed to achieve. He displays his stellar acting skills but the bad writing managed to pull him down too.
J.D. Chakravarthy and Kumud Mishra played their roles well but they barely had any screentime. The only thing rememberable about Chakravarthy’s character is his conversation in the car with Ayushmann’s character. Kumud Mishra is a great actor but all we know about the character he was playing is that he was a union minister and that’s that.
Also Read: Nagaland Actress Andrea Kevichüsa Recalls Racist Incident, Hopes Her Film ‘Anek’ Will Change People’s Perspectives
Final Verdict
I am giving this film 1.5 stars out of 5 stars solely for the effort, the decent acting skills displayed by the actor and the kickass cinematography. If I were to discuss all things problematic in this film, the list would be never-ending but I will take a moment to point out some major issues that I couldn’t help but notice. Let’s begin with the plot. The main plot of the story seems half-baked and underdeveloped, it looks like the writer just trailed off while writing every plot or subplot. Moreover, the plot seems very messy and confused and trust me when I say this, it’ll leave you confused as well. Every plot and sub-plot fails to make sense. Also, the plot is extremely predictable and has nothing fresh and brings nothing new to the table. Another thing to note is that Andrea and Ayushmann are supposed to be in love in Anek and one would expect both the actors to create magic but their chemistry was completely missing.
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Apart from the poor female representation and lack of character arch, this film also fails at doing its main job of representing people from the Northeastern region. One of the few things that I absolutely disliked and found derogatory in Anek was the fact that the makers did not bother putting any effort into even picking a backdrop for the film. Over the years, the Northeastern region has seen several conflicts and rebel groups and this film could be set in any place among the seven sister states. But the film has put all the states in the same pot instead of showing the diversity. Every single car in the film has a number that starts with NE (North East) as opposed to the state’s initials. IMHO, this is extremely disrespectful to the states. A film about geopolitical conflict has failed to show the geography of it all. And if we look at it, the film had one job, one purpose and it bombed everything. More importantly, a film whose main purpose is to showcase the diversity, fails to even allow proper Northeastern representation in the film and instead promotes stereotypes and shows the people of the region in a bad light. Anek shows nearly all people of the region being rebels except for Aido who wants to bring a change. The one thing that is constantly popping up in my head is this one scene where Abrar arrives in the Northeast for a visit and eats MOMOS with people. Excuse me but WTF? Do Northeastern people not eat anything apart from momos? This is just as bad as calling them chinki or Chinese or momo.
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Having said that, the entire film has no substantial content or a takeaway. Unlike films like Mulk and Thappad, that leave you with questions and food for thought but this one just leaves you confused. While the film is slow in the first half and picks up in the post-intermission time, it still fails to prove a point or make one for that matter. Anek has a few hard-hitting dialogues but it’s not the seetimaar dialogues kinda thing. And instead of breaking the barrier between India and Northeast India, the film actually makes it worse with the elision and the language barrier that it creates. In a bid to keep it authentic, the makers made it extremely difficult for the masses to even understand or relate.
