Aligarh movie review

Director: Hansal Mehta Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Manoj Bajpai 'Aligarh', directed by Hansal Mehta, is based on the true story of Dr Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras, who was suspended from his job as a Marathi professor at Aligarh Muslim University after he was publicly exposed for being a homosexual. Two men barged into his home with cameras, filmed him in bed with his male lover, and the story was leaked to newspapers. Weeks later after his suspension was revoked following a court battle, Siras was found dead under mysterious circumstances. The incident occurred six years ago, in 2010, but the film's themes – the violation of one's privacy, imposing one's morality on others, intolerance, and society's tendency to persecute the already marginalized – are as relevant today as ever. Aligarh arrives at a crucial time when the conversation around Article 377 has gained momentum in the mainstream, and the contentious issue of criminalization of homosexuality is being vociferously debated at the highest levels. Yet the film itself is about more than just the 'gay issue'. Mehta and writer Apurva Asrani offer a thoughtful exploration of what it means to be lonely and ageing, and an outsider for more reasons than one. His hair and stubble greying, his shoulders drooping, Manoj Bajpayee beautifully imbues 64-year-old Siras with melancholic reserve. He's a man content sipping whisky in his modest flat while a Lata Mangeshkar song fills the air. Siras writes poetry and is full of deep thoughts....

critic's rating: 4.0/5 Director: Hansal Mehta Cast: Manoj Bajpayee, Rajkummar Rao With almost six years behind us since the suspension, court battle, victory and death of the Aligarh Muslim Univeristy linguistics professor Dr Srinivas Ramchandra Siras, few would remember his name off the top of their head but Hansal Mehta's Aligarh will ensure you don't forget it any time soon. A retelling of the events between 8th February 2010, when Dr Siras was taped and persecuted for having consensual sex with another man, and 7th April, 2010, when he was found dead in his home, Aligarh isn't just about one man's struggle against a system that wouldn't accept his homosexuality on moral grounds. In fact, even being labelled as a homosexual or coming out with his sexuality seems like the least of Dr Siras' worries, considering his simplistic definitions of love and almost childlike understanding of the word ‘gay.’ The film touches on the more important values of privacy and dignity, both of which Dr Siras was denied with a shameful vehemence. When the story of a disgraced professor reaches the desk of the young journalist on the wire, Deepu Sebastian, he sets out to find some measure of justice, not by making a spectacle out of the sexagenarian professor but by asking the right questions. And when the dogged journalist in him meets the depth in Dr Siras, Deepu not only understands the professor better, even empathising with him in parts, but is even more committed to help him win back h...

Inspirations galore! That’s what we are being offered with by Bollywood nowadays. And the latest film to join the bandwagon of “films inspired by true happenings” is Aligarh, which has drawn inspiration from the life of Indian polyglot Dr Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras. Let’s see what the film has in store for us. Plot Born on 23 April 1969, Manoj Bajpai is first a Bol >> Read More... , a 60+ timid man, is the chief of the Indian linguistics institute at the renowned Aligarh University. Being the sole person to teach Marathi, Bajpayee is very much in comfort with his profession. But talent sometimes has its share of ill luck too. A couple of reporters and four professors enter into Bajpayee’s house without notice and unabashedly capture the intimate moments of the talented Bajpayee along with rickshawwala. And Bajpayee is visibly upset with this indecent act that was sparked by jealousy since Bajpayee was given promotion. So our professor is being terminated from his services. The institution even goes to the extent of shamelessly showing the tape to the media. Bajpayee becomes a sensation overnight and Raj Kumar Yadav, also known as Rajkummar Rao, star >> Read More... , who is a growing journalist, is the only person who sees the former in a different light. And he makes it sure that he makes even the others to perceive Bajpayee from his perception. Does he emerge a winner in doing so? Will Bajpayee create an impact with his version in the court? Watch the movie to get these ...

The film is directed by Hansal Mehta. Hansal Mehta's Aligarh comes at an important time when the Supreme Court has ruled in favour of reopening the debate on gay rights in India. The film has its own pace and fabric as it narrates the story of 64 year old Prof Siras of Aligarh University who was suspended from the organisation for being a homosexual. Based on a true story, Hansal Mehta touches upon several issues and topics apart from gay rights in this two hour long biopic. Also Read - Aligarh is more than just a film about gay rights. It documents the human spirit, and the freedom it struggles to sustain despite its oppressive surroundings. Aligarh is a story of hope and innocence in a time when prejudice and judgement substitutes compassion and kindness. Yes, it is also a story of gay rights, but more so it is a tale of human rights. Mehta has used Siras as a metaphor to highlight optimism in a time of a pessimistic environment. There are moments in the film where you feel more than just empathy and compassion for Siras. Also Read - What works for the film are the stellar performances. Rajkummar Rao who is Mehta's muse delivers yet again. His Deepu is curious and hungry for knowledge. At the very same time he's also childlike and naive. His scenes with Manoj are terrific and a lot of his communication happens through his eyes and body language. Manoj Bajpayee gives the performance of a lifetime. Not letting Siras become a caricature or an object of empathy he breathes i...

Release Date: 26 February 2016 Starring: Manoj Bajpayee, Rajkummar Rao, Ashish Vidyarthi, Dilnaz Irani, Sukhesh Arora, Sumit Gulati and Suman Vaidya. Directed by: Hansal Mehta Produced by: Sunil Lulla Story: Ishani Banerjee and Apurva Israni Music by: Karan Kulkarni Duration: 2 Hours Genre: Drama Censor Rating: U/A About Movie Aligarh Based on the true story of Dr. S.R. Siras, a professor of Marathi and the head of the Classical Modern Indian Languages Faculty at the Aligarh University; Aligarh is the movie which has a hauntingly evocative theme. Its director Hansal Mehta has made an attempt to reveal the plight of homosexuals in the conservative Indian society. The role of the 64-year-old Professor Siras has been played by Manoj Bajpayee. Also, there is a rookie journalist Deepu Sebastian (played by Rajkummar Rao of ‘Queen’ fame) who sees Siras for what he really is. Aligarh is the journey of these two men. Plot Aligarh has Manoj Bajpayee playing Siras who teaches Marathi in Aligarh University. An incident changes his life overnight when members of the university staff catch him getting intimate with a Muslim rickshaw-puller. Being labelled as an outcast, Siras is suspended from his designation on an immediate basis. What follows is the entry of Deepu (played by Rajkummar Rao) – a journalist who finds the Siras case interesting and intends to highlight his situation. While the movie is loaded with long drawn moments of silence and pauses, there is an excellent element of ...

Set in the state of Uttar Pradesh and based on true events, the plot revolves around Dr Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras who taught Marathi at Aligarh Muslim University. He was sacked from his position of Reader and Chair of Modern Indian Languages, on charges of homosexuality. A sting operation was conducted by a TV channel which showed him in an embrace with a rickshaw puller, at his house inside the campus. — This movie is based on the true story of Ramchandra Siras, the chairman of the Department of Modern Indian Languages at Aligarh Muslim University. Ramchandra Siras is a simple man who enjoys music and whisky, and occasionally remembers his wife who left him years ago. He is only six months away from his retirement when a sting operation conducted by people wanting to throw him from his position exposes his sexual orientation to the entire country. It results in his public shaming across the country in the newspapers and on the television channels. A young reporter is moved by professor's struggle and travels from New Delhi to Aligarh to help him. He is able to develop a good friendship with the professor and is able to get him to reveal important details about the incident and the overall ploy against the professor. The gay activists become active across the country. Processions are held in various parts of the country asking for justice to professor Siras. A petition is signed across the country in his favor and the case is fought in the Allahabad high court. His lawy...

Aligarh review: Manoj Bajpayee makes of Siras a man whose bewildered fragility is up for examination, and whose gentleness demands understanding and compassion. There are initial moments where you can see Bajpayee trying. And then he becomes Siras. An elderly professor at one of India’s once-of the most prestigious centres of higher learning is hounded out – of his job, and his humble abode — because of his sexual orientation. What happens to him makes up Hansal Mehta’s ‘Aligarh’. It is a film both timely and telling, because of what it is about, and how it is told. Queer characters are not characters who just happen to be queer in most Bollywood movies. They are stereotypes sent up for sniggers (with the notable exception of a few of Onir’s films, ‘My Brother Nikhil’, and ‘I Am’ ; Karan Johar’s segment in ‘Bombay Talkies’). They mince rather than walk. They dangle their wrists. They are there to be mocked at. Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras (Manoj Bajpayee) is getting on in years. As befits a teacher and author, he is a man of letters. He likes poetry. He likes a glass or two of the good stuff when the day is ending. Above all he is alone, sharing his loneliness with Lata Mangeshkar’s soulful songs, and occasionally, a tryst with another human who just happens to be of the same sex. Also read: Deepu (Rajkummar Rao) is the Siras’‘case’ segues into the historic 2009 Delhi High Court judgement which decriminalized homosexuality, and is fought by a legal eagle (Ashish Vidyarthi) w...

A tussle between a man’s personal choice of sexuality and society’s encroachment on his privacy and the havoc that follows. Directed by the virtuoso behind movies Shahid and City Lights, Hansal Mehta, ‘Aligarh’ delineates the tale of a 63 years old linguistics professor, Dr Shrinivas Ramachandra Siras (Manoj Bajpayee) who’s debarred from Aligarh University on the charges of homosexuality when some people covertly record him having consensual sex with a rickshaw puller in his house inside the campus. His eviction was retracted later, however, he was found dead after some days under mysterious conditions. Set against the time when the issue of criminalisation of homosexuality was fiercely debated, Mehta avidly weaves the plight of an innocent professor ensnared in the labyrinth of a sanguinary society that looks upon an individual with disgrace if he fails to adhere to its ludicrous conventions. Manifested perfectly by one of the dialogues of Manoj Bajpayee, “ Bahar ka admi mana jata hu, Shadishuda logo ke beech akela rehta hu, Urdu bolne wale sheher mein Marathi seekhata hun” , the movie is about the innocence and courage of an individual against the grotesque ‘mankind’ and its dismissive attitude. Equally remarkable is the character of Deepu Sebastian (RajKumar Rao), an ambitious journalist who brings the true story of Siras to surface. The movie explores the gregarious relationship between a man of silence and a man of vibrant energy and how they, eventually, become each ...

Set in the state of Uttar Pradesh and based on true events, the plot revolves around Dr Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras who taught Marathi at Aligarh Muslim University. He was sacked from his position of Reader and Chair of Modern Indian Languages, on charges of homosexuality. A sting operation was conducted by a TV channel which showed him in an embrace with a rickshaw puller, at his house inside the campus. — This movie is based on the true story of Ramchandra Siras, the chairman of the Department of Modern Indian Languages at Aligarh Muslim University. Ramchandra Siras is a simple man who enjoys music and whisky, and occasionally remembers his wife who left him years ago. He is only six months away from his retirement when a sting operation conducted by people wanting to throw him from his position exposes his sexual orientation to the entire country. It results in his public shaming across the country in the newspapers and on the television channels. A young reporter is moved by professor's struggle and travels from New Delhi to Aligarh to help him. He is able to develop a good friendship with the professor and is able to get him to reveal important details about the incident and the overall ploy against the professor. The gay activists become active across the country. Processions are held in various parts of the country asking for justice to professor Siras. A petition is signed across the country in his favor and the case is fought in the Allahabad high court. His lawy...

Director: Hansal Mehta Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Manoj Bajpai 'Aligarh', directed by Hansal Mehta, is based on the true story of Dr Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras, who was suspended from his job as a Marathi professor at Aligarh Muslim University after he was publicly exposed for being a homosexual. Two men barged into his home with cameras, filmed him in bed with his male lover, and the story was leaked to newspapers. Weeks later after his suspension was revoked following a court battle, Siras was found dead under mysterious circumstances. The incident occurred six years ago, in 2010, but the film's themes – the violation of one's privacy, imposing one's morality on others, intolerance, and society's tendency to persecute the already marginalized – are as relevant today as ever. Aligarh arrives at a crucial time when the conversation around Article 377 has gained momentum in the mainstream, and the contentious issue of criminalization of homosexuality is being vociferously debated at the highest levels. Yet the film itself is about more than just the 'gay issue'. Mehta and writer Apurva Asrani offer a thoughtful exploration of what it means to be lonely and ageing, and an outsider for more reasons than one. His hair and stubble greying, his shoulders drooping, Manoj Bajpayee beautifully imbues 64-year-old Siras with melancholic reserve. He's a man content sipping whisky in his modest flat while a Lata Mangeshkar song fills the air. Siras writes poetry and is full of deep thoughts....