Aalaap is an aimless effort

Aalaap is an aimless effort

Aalaap

MUMBAI: Aalaap, the title would suggest this to be a musical film; it is not a musical in that sense of the word for there is not a single tune you would hum on your way back. It is about a group of likeminded young boys who share their love for music and try to spread happiness and message of patriotism and such to the masses of Naxal violence infested Jharkhand. The inspiration is claimed to be from Rang De Basanti and 1942: A Love Story but the plot of the film resembles more to Jis Desh Mei Ganga Bheti Hai.

Amit Purohit is an ideal student who also excels in extracurricular activities one of which is music. He has a gifted voice. He wins a competition and becomes a local star, an exemplary youth so much so that he is all over local TV and soon noticed by the district administrator who grants him all the funds he may need, a car and a mentor, Vijay Raaz, to spread the message of good will! He finds three more young men, Pitobash, Aabid Shamim and Harsh Rajput and together they form a band.

The band‘s fame spreads; it has reached the boss of the Naxal movement, Murali Sharma, too. They are invited to perform for Sharma and his people in a jungle hideout. All this while the police, lead by Abhimanyu Singh, has decided to go all out to get the Naxals. People are shot dead on both sides and the boys manage to escape barring Purohit. Others decide to hijack a police van and come back for him and are shot by Naxals taking them to be the police because of the police vehicle.

Aalaap not only fails to entertain but will also fail in taking its message through about the Naxal problem; the effort looks aimless.