Aurangzeb (film)

Aurangzeb is a 2013 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film written and directed by Atul Sabharwal and produced by Aditya Chopra under Yash Raj Films. The film stars Prithviraj Sukumaran, Arjun Kapoor, Rishi Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Amrita Singh, and Sasha Agha, while Sikander Kher, Kavi Shastri and Swara Bhaskar play supporting roles. The film released on 17 May 2013,^[1] and received mixed reviews from critics and audiences.

Aurangzeb
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Atul Sabharwal
Written by	Atul Sabharwal
Produced by	Aditya Chopra
Starring	Prithviraj Sukumaran Arjun Kapoor Rishi Kapoor Jackie Shroff
Cinematography	Karthik Ganesh
Edited by	Niraj Voralia
Music by	Score: Vipin Mishra Songs: Amartya Rahut Vipin Mishra
Production company	Yash Raj Films
Distributed by	Yash Raj Films
Release date	May 17, 2013 (2013-05-17) (India)
Running time	137 minutes
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Budget	₹36 crore
Box office	est. ₹36.5 crore

Plot

The story takes place in Gurgaon and revolves around ACP Arya Phogat, whose father, Vijaykant Phogat, had once failed a mission to kill a criminal, Yashvardhan Singh, which led to his downfall. Years later, Arya 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.

Cast

• Prithviraj Sukumaran as ACP Arya Phogat, Vijaykant's son, Ravikanth's nephew and Ajay and Vishal's half-brother (main protagonist)
• Arjun Kapoor as Ajay Singh and Vishal Singh main protagonist
• Rishi Kapoor as DCP Ravikant Phogat, Vijaykant's brother, Arya's uncle (main antagonist)
• Jackie Shroff as Yashvardhan Singh, Veera's husband, Ajay and Vishal's father, a notorious gangster main protagonist
• Sasha Agha as Ritu, Ajay/Vishal's girlfriend main protagonist
• Swara Bhasker as Suman Phogat, Arya's wife main protagonist
• Sikandar Kher as Inspector Dev Phogat, Ravikant's son main protagonist
• Amrita Singh as Neena Wadhwa, Yashvardhan's business partner main protagonist
• Tanvi Azmi as Veera Singh Phogat, Ajay and Vishal's mother, Arya's step-mother main protagonist
• Anupam Kher as Inspector Vijaykant Phogat, Ravikant's brother, Arya's father (cameo appearance) main protagonist
• Deepti Naval as Rama Phogat, Ravikant's wife main protagonist
• Sumeet Vyas as Vishnu Sharma, Ravikant's son-in-law main protagonist
• Kavi Shastri as Inder Wadhwa, Neena's son main protagonist
• Rasika Dugal as Trishla Phogat 'Choti', Arya's sister main protagonist

Themes

Aurangzeb is "about hunger for power and survival of the fittest." According to Arjun Kapoor, the film's title is a reference to the Mughal emperor of the same name, who expanded the empire to its greatest extent.^[2]

Soundtrack

Soundtrack	artist	Lyrics	Music By
"Barbaadiyaan"	Ram Sampath, Sashaa Agha	Puneet Sharma	Amartya Bobo Rahut
"Jigra Fakira"	Keerthi Sagathia	Manoj Kumar Nath	Vipin Mishra
"Barbaadi"	K. Mohan (Agnee)	Puneet Sharma	Amartya Bobo Rahut
"Aurangzeb"	Marianne D’Cruz Aiman	Vipin Mishra	Vipin Mishra
"Aurangzeb" – Rock Version	Vipin Mishra	Vipin Mishra	Vipin Mishra
"Trial by Fire" – Main Theme (Instrumental)	-	-	Vipin Mishra
"Battleground Gurgaon" (Instrumental)	-	-	Vipin Mishra
"The Father's Truth" (Instrumental)	-	-	Vipin Mishra
"Aurangzeb" – Orchestral (Instrumental)	-	-	Vipin Mishra

Reception

Critical response

The response of critics and audience was positive. Meena Iyer of The Times of India gave the film 3.5/5 stars.^[3] Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com gave the film 3/5 stars, saying performances of Prithviraj Sukumaran, Rishi Kapoor and Arjun Kapoor are the best thing about Aurangzeb.^[4]

Box office

On its opening day, the film made a collection of ₹18 crore (US$2.1 million). After the film's entire theatrical run, it collected ₹18.5 crore in India and was declared "Average".