Bipasha wants to raise the bar

Bollywood has made brain-dead cinema its mainstay. Every other week the Hindi cinema factory proudly produces fluff and non-chalantly passes it off as art.
The director of Big Screen Entertainer’s Aakrosh, Priyadarshan, admits he too is guilty of this crime. “But I’m not necessarily proud of those films,” he admits in a vulnerable moment. So to balance the yin and the yang, this National Award winning technician has consciously dabbled in good cinema like Viraasat, Kaala Paani, Kanjeevaram and Aakrosh, a film that releases worlwide today.
The leading man of Kumar Mangat Pathak’s Aakrosh, Ajay Devgn, also manages to juggle the full blown comedies with the subtle mainstream fare.He has realised the importance of cinema that leaves a lasting impression and yet manages a good return. The two-time National Award winning actor believes that for full-blown comedy you have to have a complete and opposite Gangajal, Apaharan, Raajneeti or Aakrosh. “These films deal with socially relevant subjects. And the audience can empathise with this genre of realistic cinema especially when they are in the racy, thriller format.
The plot of these films are all borrowed from media headlines and the treatment of these films is easily identifiable because it is happening around us,” says Ajay who plays a CBI officer in Aakrosh, adding, “We should be lauding the efforts of Priyadarshan and Prakash Jha who swim against the tide and still make the tide turn in their favour. These film-makers are aware that when they attempt a Apaharan or a Aakrosh it’s a gamble. But since I acted in all the four films mentioned here, I can tell you that when this gamble pays off it is extremely gratifying. It is great to follow the beaten path but it is far more satisfying to attempt the cross genre stuff. Besides no brainers aren’t the only ones that work. The box office has a chequered history. Something like Raajneeti did huge business.”
Akshaye Khanna, who plays the parallel lead with Ajay, says, “It is very challenging to do films like Aakrosh that offer you thrills and frills and yet engage you in something meaningful. This cinema allows you to take back something to mull over.”
Bipasha Basu, the leading lady of the film, also believes that cinema of this nature should be encouraged. She says, “Light hearted films are good but artistes should always attempt to raise the bar. One can’t go through cinema like clowns. There has to be some cinema one can truly be proud of.”
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