Aurangzeb (film)

Aurangzeb is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film written and directed by Atul Sabharwal in his directorial debut, and produced by Aditya Chopra under Yash Raj Films.^[3] The film stars Prithviraj Sukumaran, Arjun Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor and Jackie Shroff with Amrita Singh, Tanvi Azmi, Sikandar Kher, Sasha Agha, and Swara Bhaskar in supporting roles.^[4][5] Set in Gurgaon, the narrative follows the doppleganger of a criminal's son going undercover to expose a criminal syndicate.

The film was released on 17 May 2013, and received mixed reviews from critics.^[6]

In Gurgaon, Inspector Vijaykant Phogat, fails a mission to eliminate businessman Yashvardhan Singh, leading to his downfall. Years later, his son ACP Arya Phoghat uncovers his father's secret—Vijaykant had another wife and child, and that child, Vishal, is an identical twin to Arya's brother, Ajay.

Arya and his corrupt uncle, Ravikant Phogat, devise a plan to expose Yashvardhan's illegal activities by using Vishal to pose as Ajay within Yashvardhan's house. Meanwhile, Vishal begins to bond with his father, Yashvardhan, and his brother, Ajay, while pretending to be someone else. As the plot thickens, Ravikant's ulterior motives of taking over Yashvardhan's business empire are revealed, leading to a series of betrayals, manipulations, and violent confrontations.

Ultimately, Ravikant kills Vishnu, a family member who poses a threat to him, and pressures Arya to kill Yashvardhan's family. However, Arya realizes his uncle's corrupt nature and, together with Vishal, works to thwart Ravikant's plans. In the final showdown, Vishal kills Ravikant after saving Arya, and justice is served. Ajay is jailed, but eventually reunites with his family once released. The story ends with Arya leaving Veera's home, ensuring the reuniting of the family while reflecting on the deep-rooted corruption in the system.

According to Arjun Kapoor, Aurangzeb is "about hunger for power and survival of the fittest." The film's title is a reference to the Mughal emperor of the same name, who expanded the empire to its greatest extent.^[7]

The film's soundtrack was composed by Vipin Mishra and Amartya Rahut.^[8][9]

The film received mixed reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 40% of 5 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 4/10.^[10]

Meena Iyer of The Times of India gave the film 3.5 out of 5 stars, praising the performances of Rishi Kapoor, Prithviraj Sukumaran, and Jackie Shroff.^[11] Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, writing that the performances of Prithviraj Sukumaran, Rishi Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor are the best thing about Aurangzeb.^[12] Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, writing "On the whole, Aurangzeb has a great premise, but great plots don't generally translate into great films. This one's way too lengthy and mediocre to leave any kind of impression whatsoever. Disappointing!".^[13] Mohar Basu of Koimoi gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars, praising the script and performances, but criticised the length and poor editing.^[14] Ravina Rawal of Firstpost wrote "Aurangzeb is a story of potentially epic proportions but its struggle to be coherent and its final conclusion is unable to match the build-up and premise".^[15]

The film collected ₹18.5 crore domestically, and was declared as a flop by Box Office India.^[16][17]

• Aurangzeb at IMDb 
• Aurangzeb at Bollywood Hungama