Ankhon Dekhi

Aankhon Dekhi (English: Through My Own Eyes) is a 2014 Hindi film written and directed by Rajat Kapoor[3][4][5][6] and Produced by Manish Mundra . The film stars Sanjay Mishra and Rajat Kapoor in lead roles. The movie was released on the 21st of March, 2014.It was the opening film at the 8th annual Mosaic International South Asian Film Festival (MISAFF) 2014 to be held in Toronto from August 7.[7] It is Rajat Kapoor's 5th feature film, and was dedicated to his idols and teachers, filmmakers Mani Kaul and Kumar Shahani. At the 2015 Screen Awards ceremony, the film won the awards for Best Supporting Actress for Seema Pahwa, Best Story and Best Ensemble Cast.[8]

Plot

Raje Bauji (Sanjay Mishra) is a man in his late fifties, living out a dreary but eventful life in a small house in old Delhi- where he lives with his extended family. A random incident is going to change his life in a dramatic way- though he does not realize at the moment. Bauji’s daughter has been seeing a boy of ill repute. When that fact is revealed to the family, after much deliberation they decide to do the obvious- lock up the girl and go beat the willful boy. It is a funny old journey of this man, this old fool- who is both Lear and the fool.[9]

Cast

Sanjay Mishra as Bauji

Rajat Kapoor as Rishi Chacha

Seema Pahwa as Amma

Namit Das as Ajju

Manu Rishi as Sharma ji

Brijendra Kala as Shibbo Babu

Maya Sarao as Rita

Taranjit Kaur as Chachi

Chandrachoor Rai as Shammi

Alka Chawla as Sarup Bua

Mahesh Sharma as Bagga

Anil Chaudhary as Chaudhary Saab

Shrikant Varma as Master Ji

Manish Karnatak as Jeevan

Dhruv Singh as Dhruv

Saurabh Shukla as Boss

Danish Hussain as Gopi

Yogendra Tiku as Pandit

Chaitanya Mahawar as Ashok

Chetan Sharma as Anil

Shivam Sethi as Arun

Ranvir Shorey as the tourist photographer

Yadvinder Singh Brar as Goon

Critical Response

Aankhon Dekhi opened to immense critical appreciation. Most critics praised all the performances in the film, and the deeply rich philosophical undertones of the movie's script.

Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN gave the film 3.5/5 stars stating, "Through the wonderfully whimsical Ankhon Dekhi, writer-director Rajat Kapoor shows us how the journey could be more meaningful if we lived life the way we choose to."

Anupama Chopra of Hindustan Times gave the film 3.5/5 and mentioned, "the strands come together with such a heave of emotion that I found myself wiping away tears. Ankhon Dekhi is a lovely respite from the formulaic fare that clutters our multiplexes week after week."

Aniruddha Basu of Dear Cinema was very positive about the film particularly Sanjay Mishra's lead performance, stating "As the quixotic patriarch, Sanjay Mishra hits just the right notes, making Bauji consistently unpredictable and engaging but never wholly sympathetic."[10]

Independent film scholar Bharadwaj Rangan praised the acting and casting of the film stating "Watching Rajat Kapoor’s marvellous Ankhon Dekhi, you may find yourself wishing that we had one of those “Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture” awards. The casting is perfect, the performances exquisite. It’s a cliché to say that an actor has “lived” his role – but that sense of not-acting-but-being is all-pervasive here."[11]

Sukanya Varma of Rediff went with 4/5 stars, saying "For all its existentialism crisis, Aankhon Dekhi’s heart lies in Kapoor’s affectionate depiction of humdrum living, the tender father-daughter relationship between Bauji and Rita (Maya Sarao), the unspoken attachment between him and his younger brother and the concerned anxiety of his rock solid wife."

Shubra Gupta of Indian Express usually a very harsh critic, gave the film a surprising 4/5, mentioning in regards to the central character, "He is fool, clown and man, all in one. He is us. I have seen it with my own eyes, and I can tell you that Aankhon Dekhi is a fine , fine film."

Soham Gadre of film blog ExtrasensoryFilms gave a positive review stating "It’s definitely a movie to ponder over, and it will take some time to really appreciate what Rajat Kapoor is trying to say. I certainly haven’t fully digested the film’s message yet, but like I said, it’s a very strange movie, and I guess when compared with the rest of Bollywood’s cinema (almost all of it tawdry and nonsensical), that alone is enough to recommend it to all."[12]

One of the few differing voices on the film was Madhureetha Mukherjee of India Today who gave 2.5/5 stars stating "What doesn't work for the film is the fact that it borders on abstract at regular intervals and lacks continuity, making a few scenes and conversations seem out-of-context." However, she still recommended that people watch the film.

Awards

Won – Star Screen Award for Best Story – Rajat Kapoor[13]

Won – Star Screen Award for Best Supporting Actress - Seema Pahwa [Shared with Tabu who won it for Haider][14]

Won - Filmfare Award for Best Film (Critics) 2014 [15]

Won- Filmfare Award for Best Actor (Critics) 2014 - Sanjay Mishra [15]

Won- Filmfare Award for Best Story 2014 - Rajat Kapoor [15]

Music

Ankhon Dekhi features a very unique soundtrack combining Indian classical melodies with modern rhythms. The score was composed by Saagar Desai, and the lyrics written by Varun Grover.[16] The soundtrack was well received with many calling it a 'breath of fresh air' due to the melodies being composed with classical instruments.[17]