Plot: A terrible myth spread by the social media machine traps Nivi, a political heiress, and top advertising professional Rahab with nowhere to run. Take a look at how a “Afwaah” upends and alters their lives.
Cast: Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bhumi Pednekar, Sumeet Vyas, Sharib Hashmi, TJ Bhanu, Sumit Kaul
Director: Sudhir Mishra
Ratings: ⭐️⭐️⭐️
Review: Vicky Singh (Sumeet Vyas), the youth leader of the Rashtra Vikas Dal Party, starts the narrative of Afwaah by sparking a disturbance during a rally in a Sawalpur neighbourhood with a high concentration of Muslims. The story of the based-on-true-rumors thriller Afwaah, in which “love jihad,” IT cells, viral videos, Whatsapp forwards, racism, mobs, and lynchings shape the front of the picture, lacks subtext. The footage of Chandan, Vicky’s obedient goon (a superb Sharib Hashmi), killing a Muslim butcher goes viral. As a result, Nivi (Bhumi Pednekar), Vicky’s fiancée, becomes furious with him and queries his qualifications to serve as the party’s future president.
Nivi leaves her house without having any particular plans until she comes into contact with Rahab Ahmed (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), a New York-born adman who is travelling to a literary festival to attend the book launch of his wife.
The Hindu woman and the Muslim man quickly find themselves fleeing the system itself. To gain sympathy for Vicky Singh and incite the irrational masses of the city against them, the IT cell repackages their story as a case of “love jihad.” Chandan, Vicky’s dependable assistant, has embarked on his own adventure after being sacrificed by his adored superiors for electoral purposes. He keeps eluding Tomar, a dishonest police officer (Sumit Kaul), who is also involved in a passionate relationship with a disgruntled female employee (a scene-stealing T.J. Bhanu).
The concept of Afwaah is, to put it briefly, as obvious as it gets. With the thinly veiled stand-ins, there is no avoiding political jargon, no fear of censorship, and definitely no holding back in its pursuit of direct critique.
The movie’s execution could have been more clever for sure. Even tacky language evolves into a discourse language, where everything we condemn as nonsensical or poorly written may actually be a reflection of our own social training. Because that is ultimately what Afwaah aims to be—a rearview mirror in which things and people are always closer than they seem. But it fundamentally begs the question: Should we even believe in what the mirror shows us any longer? Although Sudhir Mishra might not have the time for nuance, Afwaah asserts that he does have a taste for the truth. Perhaps one is more important than the other at this juncture in history.
Although Mishra and Team Afwaah’s bravery is admirable, it is also true that courage cannot produce quality on its own. Afwaah is an exciting film, captivating and incredibly contemporary.
Stay tuned to The Filmy Charcha for more such honest reviews!