Director: Ravi Chopra Starcast: Raj Babbar, Smita Patil, Nana Patekar, Om Shivpuri, Dheeraj Kumar, Vijay Arora, Raksha Chauhan, Dalip Tahi...
Director: Ravi Chopra
Starcast: Raj Babbar, Smita
Patil, Nana Patekar, Om Shivpuri, Dheeraj Kumar, Vijay Arora, Raksha Chauhan,
Dalip Tahil & Iftekhar
Music: Ravi
Storyline: Released 40 years back, B.R. Chopra’s Aaj Ki Awaaz raises a few pertinent questions today. Sketchily inspired by the well-known Charles Bronson starrer Death Wish which was released a decade earlier, Aaj Ki Awaaz is a violent vigilante saga primarily about Prabhat Kumar Verma, a professor who hails from Allahabad but lives in Bombay with his widowed mother and younger sister (Raksha/ Roshni). He is in love with Rajni Deshmukh (Smita Patil), a Public Prosecutor. Prabhat’s seemingly idyllic life gets a serious jolt when his friend Lalwani’s (Dheeraj Kumar) sister-in-law is brutally raped and killed by Suresh Thakur (Dalip Tahil). Prabhat is disturbed when Suresh gets acquitted due to an influential family background, and he takes all the probable “just” routes to get justice but to no avail. His frustration with the law and the overall system reaches its brink when Suresh and his gang breaks into his house, physically overpower him, kill his mother, and rape his sister one by one. Prabhat decides to take the law into his own hands and kill all the rapists.
Direction: After films like Zameer, Tumhari Kasam, and The Burning Train, there was no doubt that Ravi Chopra is truly a scion of his father the great B.R.Chopra in terms of storytelling and creating impactful, dramatic moments along with strong technical knowledge but with this film he also got his bonafide box office success. Aaj ki Awaaz also bears this stamp which is especially notable in the courtroom scenes and the scenes where Prabhat is plotting to kill the criminals. He is especially aided by Barun Mukherjee, the cinematographer, and Shabd Kumar, the dialogue writer.
Performances: This film boasts of some memorable performances right from Dalip Tahil as the slimy, spoilt brat to Deepak Qazir as his cruel, amoral partner in crime. Nana Patekar, in his debut Hindi film role as the vain, cool-headed baddie Jagmohandas is a delight to watch. He succeeds in sending a shiver down the audience’s spine. Shafi Inamdar, another talented performer is excellent as the righteous cop Shafi, he also looks cool with his trademark muffler. Dheeraj Kumar is pretty good though he goes over the top in certain scenes. Raksha as the sister is effective and gives a mature and bold performance. But the film belongs to the reel and real-life “Jodi” of Smita Patil and Raj Babbar. Raj Babbar gives a bravura performance as Professor Prabhat, his eyes express the inner pain, turmoil, and agony of the character aptly. His flawless diction while mouthing the excellent dialogues by Shabd Kumar is also exemplary. Smita Patil is amazing as Bharti Deshmukh, both as a devoted fiancée as well as the fierce public prosecutor. Some of the best dialogues are uttered by her in the courtroom scenes and she is impeccable in that.
Music : Music by Ravi goes perfectly in sync with the theme of this hard-hitting film with excellent lyrics by Hasan Kamal providing an ideal foil. The title song is still so topical that it creates a stir in the listener's mind. Dil Hi Dil Mein the sole romantic number is a beautiful ghazal rendered masterfully by B.R. Chopra's favourite Mahendra Kapoor. Mera Chhota Sa Ghar is also a poignant number.
Overall, Aaj Ki Awaaz has aged like a fine wine and is eminently watchable even after 40 years of its release. The “Awaaz” (voice) it generates still pierces the hearts and minds of the audience.
- By Ayushman Mitra
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