Celebrating the Mahesh Bhatt-Mohit Suri’s Awarapan, which starred Emraan Hashmi, Subhash K Jha looks back at the drama that released in 2007. And Mahesh Bhatt reveals what he thinks made Awarapan so special in a new installment of This Day That Year.
Freedom could be a song or it could be a poem. In Awarapan, it’s a thought that gets smothered in a stifled scream. Mohit Suri has specialised in manifesting the fears and anxieties of tortured souls in flight. After trying it out with lukewarm success in Kalyug and Woh Lamhe, he gets it right this time.
Freedom is a major driving force behind Mahesh Bhatt’s cinema. Like it or not, Mahesh’s tortured vision colours and complements every frame that his protégées, from Anurag Basu to Mohit Suri, have created. In this hauntingly delineated portrait of a woman’s right to self-fulfillment, Mohit Suri steps forward with a tale that tilts its hat to the very best of world cinema.
European in feel, Indian in texture and supremely secular in its view of love, loyalty and other passionate eruptions, Awarapan is one of those tightly-wound thriller-dramas where the outflow of emotions is so controlled that you forget the implausibility of the plot. Emraan Hashmi gets one more author-backed chance to prove his worth. He does a commendable job of creating a young emotional gypsy whose loyalty to his employee (Ashutosh Rana, fiercely clenched in his evilness) is challenged by his conscience. Every member of the vast cast is in character.
Between the two leading ladies who form a before-and-after axis in the taut plot, Shreya Saran’s freshness and expressiveness are infectious. Mrinalini Sharma could’ve done better if she wasn’t dressed wrongly for the part of a brutal man’s mistress.
The scenes between Hashmi and his master’s mistress will remind you of Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit in Koyla and also Abhishek Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor in Refugee. Hashmi’s character and the narration are driven by demons that do not render themselves into any comfortable configuration. Two vital sequences, one where he desperately tries to dig his beloved out of her grave and another when the lacerated hero confronts the villain at the end with tears quietly streaming down his face, showcase Emraan’s coming-of-age proclivities.
Awarapan could have been a messy combo of melodrama and mayhem. There are a lot of both in the narrative, but the film succeeds in going beyond the routine romantic rituals associated with films about forbidden love.
The locales lend a rocky ruggedness to the raga of tormented emotions. The volatile music score (by Pritam Chakraborty) and the skilful interweaving of deftly cut scenes, which lend lucidity to the script, make the film a cut-above-the-notch viewing. Director Mohit Suri harnesses the concealed side of Emran Hashmi’s personality with an all-encompassing view into hearts that have known no home.
Mahesh Bhatt spoke to Subhash K Jha about Awarapan. “Awarapan is, in my opinion, Mohit Suri’s finest film, showcasing a breakthrough performance by Emraan Hashmi. The film was appropriately scaled to match the demands of its narrative, blending great music with a sombre core. The story revolves around a hero who has experienced love and loss, grappling with his ruthless bosses while trying to rescue a girl he’s supposed to kill for betraying his boss. Instead, he helps her reunite with her boyfriend and escape, a narrative I find deeply moving. Despite its merits, Awarapan suffered due to its release timing, coinciding with a box office hit by Himesh Reshammiya Aap Ka Surroor, which overshadowed it. Nonetheless, the film was brilliantly written by Shagufta Rafique, with Ashutosh Rana delivering a standout performance in a crucial role. Regardless of its box office performance, Awarapan holds a special place in my heart as a film I’m particularly proud of.”
