Scanialara You won't be disappointed!

2hotFeature one of my absolute favorites!

Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

filippaberry84 I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Vivekmaru45 The film deals fundamentally in two areas: personal privacy and sexual orientation. This film is about the true life story of Ramchandra Siras (1948 – 7 April 2010) was an Indian linguist and author. He was a professor at the Aligarh Muslim University specializing in Marathi literature and head of the Department of Modern Indian Languages.On 8 February 2010, two men forced their way into Siras' house and caught him having consensual sex with another man. On 9 February 2010, Siras was suspended by AMU for "gross misconduct" after having been ambushed by a local TV channel's camera crew, while having sex with a rickshaw puller.[1] The AMU public relations officer, Rahat Abrar, stated: "Siras was captured on camera having sex with a rickshaw-puller. It's a scandal no institution of repute can overlook. He was, therefore, placed under suspension by the order of the vice-chancellor, professor P. K. Abdul Aziz".The film starts off with the scene where Siras is exposed by two men in the company of another man. He is soon suspended by Aligarh Muslim University(AMU). Journalist Deepu Sebastian(Rajkummar Rao), Indian Post takes interest in Siras's story and goes personally to interview him. Soon a bond is forged between Deepu and Siras. Deepu sees the real side of Siras, a humble professor who has been cruelly victimized by members of his peers. Eventually Siras goes to court to fight the AMU. He won his case against the university in Allahabad High Court on 1 April 2010, and got back his job as professor, along with his accommodation, until his retirement. The case was exacerbated by the involvement of students in the covert taping and ambush of Siras and his lover. The case was fought on the premise that Siras could not be penalised for being homosexual as Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code, which criminalized homosexuality, had been declared unconstitutional by the Delhi High Court in 2009.On 7 April 2010, Siras died in his apartment in Aligarh. Police suspected suicide, and preliminary results from the autopsy showed traces of poison in his body. A case of murder was later registered and six people arrested. On 19 April, the Superintendent of Police stated that three journalists and four AMU officials were named as part of the crime. The case was closed without resolution after the police failed to find sufficient evidence.Siras was due to retire officially from academia in 6 months, and the letter officially revoking his suspension arrived at his office the day after his death.Verdict: The film is beautifully directed by Hansal Mehta, who is an Indian film director, writer, actor and producer. Mehta started his career in television with his show Khana Khazana (1993–2000) and later moved on to movies like …Jayate (1999) and Dil Pe Mat Le Yaar (2000). He is best known for Shahid for which he won the 2013 National Film Award for Best Direction. He then went on to direct City Lights (2014) and Aligarh (2016). Also superb music by Karan Kulkarni and excellent cinematography by Satya Rai Nagpaul make this film really stand out. Note that this film has some soft sex scenes and might be unsuitable for younger viewers who are under eighteen.Thank you for reading my review may you live long and prosper.More films to see: Midnight Cowboy (1969), Cruising (1980), Longtime Companion(1989), And The Band Played On (1993), Philadelphia (1993), Priest (1994 film), The Price Of Love (1995), Get Real (1998), Brokeback Mountain(2005), I Love You Phillip Morris (2009).

Jay Mehta Riding on a strong casting, Aligarh is a must-watch movie throwing the light on everything that is wrong with public attitude towards the LGBT community. I loved the direction and the plots that the story covered. Brilliant acting by Manoj Bajpayee and Rajkumar Rao, something which was expected as well.Story (10/10): The story is written beautifully, not just focusing on the main plot but also two subplots. The main plot is based on the 2010 AMU (Aligarh Muslim University) incident where the renowned Indian linguist, author and a professor at AMU, Ramchandra Siras, was suspended due to his homosexuality. However, the story delves deeper than that into the life of the professor to depict that the lives of such people with a different sexual orientation are not as different as we think they are - be it with respect to intellectualism, hobbies, habits or the routine way of life. However, due to societal, their day to day life becomes a nightmare. There are two other subplots. One focuses on the evolution of AMU, which was once known for bringing out the best intellectual talents in the country, has now been a victim of local politics which has tried to stifle every attempt of developing intellectual diversity that leads to debates. Debates have been replaced by violence now, thanks to the politics entering the campus. The second sub-plot focuses on the media attitude towards the issue and a complete insensitivity towards the community that leads to a lot of bad press. The character of Rajkumar Rao has been beautifully utilized in bringing out more from the story. He plays a budding journalist, untouched with the current sensationalism and TRP-oriented journalism, who actually is interested in bringing out the true story of what actually happened instead of just focusing on the homosexuality angle. However, he also represents, in the movie, an average Indian, for whom, homosexuality is a new concept - very tough to understand. Through the conversations between Rajkumar Rao and Manoj Bajpayee, the writer explained that not everything wrong with a homosexual's life is because of his sexual orientation. Overall, a very well narrated story. Acting (9/10): The movie has only three big names, as long as casting is concerned. Manoj Bajpayee plays the lead role of the professor and is absolutely brilliant in the character. Playing a role of a character, 14-15 years older than his actual age, is definitely challenging and he pulls it off very well. His expressions are absolutely spot on. Rajkumar Rao does an excellent job with his natural acting. However, Ashish Vidyarthi ends up being unnoticeable, something which is very unexpected even though he plays a key role of the lawyer representing the professor in the court. Director (9/10): Hansal Mehta is a renowned name as a director and he lives up to his reputation. He has little weird ways of projecting things on the celluloid, which is difficult to understand for an average audience. His use of above average length of scenes in the movie to stress on a particular aspect (with absolutely nothing significant happening in the scene besides that one thing) does make it a point at the end but it tests your patience a lot. His use of Rajkumar's character was very smart and efficient. The courtroom drama was not overly dramatic but still managed to convey the point. His effort to show how the entire issue was blown away in a different direction than what it should have been, is very commendable. Overall, a great job. Overall (9/10): Aligarh is a must-watch for its plots, acting and great direction. Definitely one of the best by Manoj Bajpayee.

namashi_1 Hansal Mehta's 'Aligarh' is a lot of things, but firstly, its a Near-Masterpiece. Mehta's Direction captures a true-story, that causes repulsion, anger & sympathy while the narrative flows. This is indeed Powerful Storytelling.'Aligarh' is The true story of Dr. Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras, who was suspended from his job because of his sexual orientation.'Aligarh' is challenging as well as affecting. You watch the protagonist struggle for being who he is. His journey, with great support from a reporter, who befriends him, is quietly devastating. 'Aligarh' is about the devils in our society, about the bigots, the merciless that exist among us. This is an important story, that's been told sensitively.Apurva Asrani's Screenplay is excellent. Sure, its slow-moving, but the affect it leaves, is brilliant. Mehta's Direction is fabulous. 'Shahid' & now 'Aligarh', Mehta has found his voice in these true-stories & has depicted them with masterful treatment. 'Aligarh' is rested on the shoulders of Manoj Bajpai and Rajkummar Rao. And the SUPREMELY Talented Actors are dueling Brando's here. No Kidding, this is Acting in its purest form. Bajpai's portrayal of Dr. Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras, is graceful, devastating & a definition in subtlety. You watch a man broken, & his body-language, as well as his soft dialogue-delivery, left me awe-struck. Rao isn't far behind. As Journalist Deepu Sebastian, Rao gets a lesser showy role, but he delivers an effortlessly natural performance, that packs a solid punch. Bajpai & Rao are so committed in their parts, I forgot I was actually watching two actors performing parts. National-Awards, are you hearing? A Special Mention for Ashish Vidyarthi, who enacts the righteous lawyer, extraordinarily. Dr. Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras was questioned for being who is was. The late teacher was found dead in 2010. But, didn't the people around him kill him way before that? Of course, he found friend in a reporter & got further support from a lawyer who screamed for justice, but did the people who respected him for years, eventually respect him? Being Gay isn't Criminal, Being Homophobic is. 'Aligarh' painfully captures a man's secrecy being questioned, ridiculed. Are we really gonna judge people even now for their sexuality? Are we again going to stay silent when our hogwash law criminalises Homosexuality? Are we going to tolerate bigots? My Answer Is NO. What's yours?Until then, Watch 'Aligarh'.

chemingineer Aligarh is a study of loneliness; loneliness brought on by shame and guilt; loneliness that makes you avoid eye contact; loneliness that transforms your walk into a shuffle; loneliness that makes you drink alone while listening to soulful melodies; loneliness that turns your eyes into liquid pools; loneliness that makes you startle at shadows; loneliness that makes you live behind doors with triple latches.Essaying this loneliness is Manoj Bajpayee, who delivers the performance of his lifetime as Prof Siras, a Marathi poet and teacher at Aligarh University, who has been hounded out because he is gay. The film is based on a true incident that ended in tragedy. In a totally convincing performance, Bajpayee delineates a character with which one can so readily and fully empathize. His are most melancholic pair of eyes that I have seen in a long long time.Siras's dark secret surfaces in a sting operation, allegedly instigated by his jealous rivals in the university. While the film plays itself out against the backdrop of judgments on Section 377 and the right to privacy, Siras battles the demons within him and the deep sense of embarrassment as he repeatedly finds the spotlight trained on him. It is a performance that towers above DiCaprio's in The Revenant.For a subject that is being passionately debated in the country and rest of the world, Aligarh is a gentle and muted film, with long silent pauses. Siras is totally uncomfortable about being branded as gay. The reticence of the soft-spoken professor is broken only by the pushy, yet sympathetic reporter, Deepu Sebastian, who manages to bring out the real story to light. The many conversations between the two are the most delightful morsels of the film.