Film Review: “All India Rank: Dull script, cliché story, and slow pace of the film...”

Producer: Sanjay Rautre, Sarita Patil and Diksha Jyoti Rautre

Writer and Director: Varun Grover

Cast: Bodhisattva Sharma, Shashi Bhushan, Sheeba Chaddha, Ananyabrata Chakraborty, Kailash, Ayush Pandey, Vidit Singh, Samta Sudiksha and others

Duration: One hour forty-one minutes

Varun Grover, who studied at IIIT Varanasi, is known as the writer and lyricist of many films and web series like 'Masaan', 'Udta Punjab', 'Dum Laga Ke Haisa', and 'Sacred Games'. But now for the first time, he has brought his first film as a director “All India Rank”. Vidhu Vinod Chopra's film 'Twelfth Fail' was released some time ago on a similar subject, in which there was talk of studying for IAS and IPS, and 'All India Rank' talked about studying in IIT. The difference is that the hero of Varun Grover's film studies IIT under the pressure of his parents. There may be some part of Varun Grover's life in this story. There is a dialogue by Sheeba Chadha – “An IITian can excel in any field.”

Story:

The story begins in Lucknow, where RK Singh (Shashi Bhushan), working in the telephone department, wants to get his only son Vivek an IIT education. Because the students of the people around him have done or are doing IIT. He goes to Kota with his son Vivek (Bodhisattva Sharma) and gets him admitted to the coaching of Kalpana Bundela (Sheeba Chaddha). Whereas Vivek does not wish to do IIT. He wants to stay in Lucknow and do a B.Sc. But under pressure from his father, he remains silent. In Kota, he comes in contact with Chandan, Rinku Yadav (Ayush Pandey), Sarika Kumari (Samta Sudiksha), and other boys and girls. Some spend the whole day having fun, drinking alcohol, and smoking cigarettes. This is also taught to Vivek. It is revealed that Chandan gets very good marks by studying secretly. Sarika also starts studying. Rinku Yadav is saddened by the fact that Chandan betrayed him and committed suicide. On the other hand, in Lucknow, a boy named Mohit (Sadat Khan) troubles Vivek's mother Manju Singh by coming to her PCO. Whereas father RK Singh has lost his job due to a small mistake. Now PCOs are also closed. Seeing everything, RK Singh understands that nothing can be achieved even after passing IIT.

Review:

We believe that only the writer can do better justice to his story and his characters as a director. But writer-turned-director Varun Grover has completely failed. There is nothing new in his story. Apart from the 'Kota Factory' web series, the '12th Fail' film, there are scenes and story pages taken from the serial 'Office Office'. The story of the film is meandering. Instead of the hero, the struggle of his parents attracts the audience. After watching the entire film, it is difficult to understand whether the filmmaker is with the parents who impose their will on their son or with his hero. The climax of the film is very poor. He could not show the real face of Kota coaching. He could not even show that all the boys study hard and what happens to them. Varun Grover himself is an IIT pass. Despite this, the plot is quite dull and the screenplay is very dull and weak. Some dialogues of the film have become good. When you are a part of the competition, you know that you have to defeat the boy or girl next to you in the competition, in such a situation, how can you take the wrong path on someone's advice, if you want to study. There is a lack of positive things in the film. The filmmaker has portrayed his hero Vivek as a confused hero who hates the city of Kota. The hero has zero interest in academics. He lacks social skills. The typical escapist tendencies of hostel life - reading provocative magazines, It doesn't take long to get distracted by buds and alcohol. Such a hero is not a defeated but a confused young man. In such a situation, how can we expect an emotional connection with Vivek from the audience?

Acting:

Bodhisattva Sharma's acting in the role of Vivek is good. However, it does not get proper support from the script and dialogues. Still, he has tried his best to play the difficult role of a passive hero. When Vivek mutters to himself that his laddus has been stolen or his pent-up frustration finally comes out when his pen stops working, you can't help but sympathize. Samata Sudiksha in the character of Sarika Kumari wins the hearts of the audience with her charming smile and passion for physics. Sheeba Chaddha has done an excellent job in the role of Kalpana Bundla. The acting of other actors is also fine.

-Shantiswarup Tripathi