Aakrosh (2010 film)

Aakrosh (transl. Outrage) is a 2010 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Priyadarshan and produced by Kumar Mangat Pathak under the banner of Big Screen Entertainment.^[4] It stars Ajay Devgn, Akshaye Khanna, Bipasha Basu, Paresh Rawal and Reema Sen. The film was based on news reports of honour killings in India, and has also been described as a remake of the 1988 American film Mississippi Burning by Alan Parker (based on the 1964 Murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner).^[5][6] It was released on 15 October 2010, and performed poorly at the box office.^[7][8]

The film opens during the Dussehra celebration in Jhanjhar village. Amidst the festivities, three young boys—Dinu, Gautam, and Dhiresh—escape in a car, pursued by another vehicle. The chase is abruptly halted when a police jeep blocks their path.

Two months later, the three friends from Delhi, all medical students, are officially reported missing from Jhanjhar village, with no leads on their disappearance. Following intense media scrutiny and student protests, the government orders a Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry. CBI officers Siddhant Chaturvedi and Pratap Kumar are assigned to the case. They immediately face institutional resistance, discovering that the local police and authorities are deeply embedded in Shool Sena, a powerful, government-backed organization supported by the Home Minister and involved in illicit activities. The officers must also contend with Superintendent of Police (SP) Azad Shatru Singh IPS, a ruthless and powerful officer who misuses his authority. The investigation is further hampered by the lack of cooperation from the fearful local populace.

Siddhant and Pratap first investigate Rukamal, Dinu's brother-in-law. The next day, Rukamal is kidnapped by the goons, and no one in the village dares to speak out. Soon after, the CBI officers' rented room is attacked by Shool Sena goons. Days later, Rukamal is thrown, severely injured, from a moving van in the main market area.

The case gets a break when the water level of the local dam gets lowered, revealing a dumped car in the riverbed. Further investigation leads the officers to Kishore (alias "Nasbandhi"), a local wood seller and known hitman. They also recover a mobile phone, which is traced to Roshni, the daughter of local strongman (Bahubali) Thakur Omkar Sukul. During interrogation, Roshni reveals she was in love with Dinu. She confirms that she was with the three friends on the Dussehra night and tried to escaped with them in their car to Delhi as her family was against her relationship. She states that SP Azad Shatru took the boys into custody, and her father took her away.

Meanwhile, Pratap motivates the village's lower-caste community to protest against the atrocities committed against them and demand answers about Dinu's disappearance. In response, SP Azad Shatru uses the local administration to incite chaos and riots. Under the cover of darkness, the goons burn down the homes of the protesting villagers, forcing many to flee. The court reprimands the CBI officers and orders them to close the investigation.

In a flashback, it is revealed that SP Azad Shatru's wife, Geeta, was Pratap's former girlfriend. Her father, who was also Pratap's teacher, forced them to end their relationship due to caste differences. In the present, Pratap emotionally and morally persuades Geeta to help the CBI fight against the injustice. She discloses that the three friends were taken to SP Azad Shatru's house that night, where they were murdered by the Bahubali and his associates. Following her lead, the officers recover the three bodies from the jungle.

When Ajatshatru learns his wife Geeta has helped the CBI, he brutally beats her with his belt behind closed doors, leaving her hospitalized. The CBI officers then hack the phones of the goons and use CCTV cameras to record their discussion over the events of the murder night. They earn the trust of Kishore (one of the accomplices who helped bury the bodies) by rescuing him from a fake attack staged by the CBI themselves and turn him into a government witness.

All the culprits, including the Bahubali and his associates, are arrested. When it is Ajatshatru's turn, Pratap caughts him in a barber shop, where he locks the doors and savagely beats him to exact revenge for the assault of Geeta.

In the end, all the criminals are sentenced to imprisonment; the longest sentence is for ten years and the lightest is for three. As the convicted men are welcomed with garlands and celebratory slogans outside the court, Siddhant slips a revolver into the hands of Jamunia, Dinu's Sister, who manages to shoot and kill all the culprits.

The film concludes with Siddhant and Pratap bidding farewell at the railway station. As Pratap boards the train to leave, Geeta runs onto the platform to chase after him, while Siddhant watches them.

• Ajay Devgan as CBI Officer Pratap Kumar
• Akshaye Khanna as CBI Officer Siddhant Chaturvedi
• Bipasha Basu as Geeta Singh, Pratap's former lover and Ajatshatru's wife
• Reema Sen as Jamunia, Geeta's domestic help
• Paresh Rawal as Superintendent of Police Ajatshatru Singh, Geeta's husband
• Jaideep Ahlawat as Pappu Tiwari
• Pankaj Tripathi as Kishore
• Ashraful Haq as Hukum Lal
• Sameera Reddy in a special appearance in the song "Isak Se Meetha Kuch Bhi"
• Swapnil Kotriwar as Dinu
• Kanchan Pagare as Hawaldar Ramkhelavan Tripathi "Natey"
• Vineet Sharma as CBI Officer

The music is composed by Pritam. The background score is composed by Malayalam composer Ouseppachan.^[9]

Preeti Arora from Rediff.com gave the film 3.5 stars out of 5, praising the performances, cinematography and the unpredictability, while also feeling the action sequences, although important, could have been a little less exaggerated to retain the realistic air of the film.^[10]

• Aakrosh at IMDb