Film Review: Afwaah [Rumour]

Starring: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bhumi Pednekar, Sumeet Vyas, Sharib Hashmi, Sumit Kaul, Rockey Raina

Director: Sudhir Mishra

The one thing guaranteed with a Nawazuddin Siddiqui led film is that it is unlikely to be run of the mill and this Netflix release certainly ticks that particular box.

Rahab Ahmed (Siddiqui) is a successful IT and telecoms entrepreneur who has made the rare decision to walk away from a comfortable and cushy life in the US to return to his motherland India. It is obvious that this American-accented young man, while not regreting that decision, is finding it somewhat of a struggle to adjust back into the new India he finds himself in.

On being unexpectedly caught up in a tumultuous clash within a political clan of small town Sawalpur in Rajasthan, Rahab finds himself smack bang in the middle of a kind of drama he had been subconsciously trying to avert.

Nivedita Singh, Nivi to her loved ones (Pednekar), is fleeing a forced engagement to the local political heavy weight Vicky Bana (Vyas) when her path crosses with Rahab. All her fears of her family’s ruthless and murderous streak to grab political power at any cost begin to unfold even as she tries to stay one step ahead. In a series of parallel developments, some welcome and others not-so-welcome, Rahab and Nivi find themselves on the run of their lives as they get embroiled in a “love jihad” controversy. Will they manage to out-smart and out-run the dangerously, and even viciously, ambitious Vicky Bana and his many goons or will the many complexities of modern India ultimately defeat their mission?

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Anyone familiar with Sudhir Mishra’s work will be in comfortable territory with this fast-paced narrative that harks back to his excellent ‘Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin’ from the mid-1990s. The sense of urgency and haplessness of that political high drama resonates with this one, with the added twists and turns of the world of social media we inhabit today. The power of platforms like Twitter, referenced here as Qwitter, comes under the scanner as their power to do good and yet also wreak the most devastating damage play out seamlessly.

All the key actors are extremely apt for their respective characters, though Pednekar can do with toning down somewhat – even if she is playing a feisty character, there is an unnecessary sense of hyperbole in her performances.

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But on the whole, this profound script with a firm directorial hand and enhanced by some raw cinematography capturing Rajasthan in its many hues offers a very moving ride that will leave the audience stirred, even if not shaken.