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★ 6.220112h 44m

Reservation

DramaThriller

The decision by India's supreme court to establish caste-based reservations for jobs in education causes conflict between a teacher and his mentor.

Title overview

Core release details, quality markers, and stream status stay together here instead of floating below the fold.

DramaThriller

Year

2011

Duration

2h 44m

IMDb

6.2

Playback

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Release2011

Runtime2h 44m

IMDb★ 6.2

Cast

Prakash Jha

Director

Amitabh Bachchan

Prabhakar Anand

Saif Ali Khan

Deepak Kumar

Manoj Bajpayee

Mithilesh Singh

Deepika Padukone

Poorvi

Prateik Patil Babbar

Sushant Seth

Tanvi Azmi

Kavita P. Anand

Saurabh Shukla

Mantri Baburao

Darshan Jariwala

Anirudh Chaudhary

Yashpal Sharma

Shambhu Yadav

Mukesh Tiwari

Police Inspector

Rajeev Verma

Damodar

Indira Tiwari

Tabela Topper Student

S.M. Zaheer

Prof. Kantaprasad

Chetan Pandit

Prof. Dinkar

Vinay Apte

Neta Bhishamber

Aanchal Munjal

Muniya S. Yadav

Hema Malini

Shakuntala

Prakash Jha

Writer

Anjum Rajabali

Writer

Trailer

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Comments

10 Comments

Abimael_AduMar 28, 2026

Ahmad JaberMar 28, 2026

pas de nom 🤭😝💙Aug 20, 2024

I expected a well researched movie about the Aarakshan from Mr Prakash Jha after Raajneeti but it's not about reservation as story was lost in the very first 30 minutes and never found again. It digs into the decayed foundation of educational system. How the coaching system has affected, commercialized and immersed in India. Amitabh Bacchan gives a powerhouse performance, his on screen presence is enigmatic and dialog delivery is Eminent. Saif Ali Khan is good but not convincing as a dalit with muscular body. Deepika padukone has done a nice job. Prateik Babbar has guts to be a good actor in near future. Manoj Bajpai is fabulous as rival and greedy human being but his role has gone too far as a villain. Rest of the cast has done fantastic job. Prakash Jha chose very sensitive issue but could not elaborate it, despite all the controversy this movie is not going to be big hit.

Elrè Van wykAug 20, 2024

Prakash Jha has had a track record in making movies like 'Gangajal', 'Rajneeti' among others that are hard hitting and have got something to do with issues that make news. His latest is a movie whose title 'Aarakshan' suggests that it has something to do with caste-based reservations in India, an issue that raised a storm about five years ago. If the promos were to be believed, Jha had a winner in hand. But, in reality, the title is a misnomer as the principal plot in the story seems to deal with commercialization of education which is portrayed to be somehow strangely linked to reservation. Also, while this was a burning issue following the Supreme Court that was discussed in the movie, it may not have as many takers today. So, what's the story? Prabhakar Anand (Bachchan) is the principled Principal of a prestigious private college in Bhopal who treats all his students equally. He coaches weaker students in his verandah for free and the classes allow enough opportunity for his favorite pupil Deepak Kumar (Saif Ali Khan) to romance his daughter Poorbi (Deepika Padukone). Sushanth Seth (Prateik) also has his eyes on Poorbi. When the reservation issue heats up, people are divided along caste lines and suddenly the relations between them are strained. Anand has his adversary in Mithilesh Singh (Manoj Bajpai) whose commercial coaching classes clash with his principles. A twist of events puts Prabhakar Anand's beliefs to the test. And in the meantime, the film loses its way completely on what it wants to talk about. The very fact that caste inequality persists even decades after independence is shameful. But, it is sad to see that a sensitive issue has been used only to promote the movie. Well, the movie does not take sides; whether pro-reservation or anti-reservation since it would not have been without commercial repercussions. Obviously the title and some provocative language were meant to only rake in the moolah. On education its commercialization, if Prakash Jha wants people to believe that the proliferation of coaching classes has its origins in the nation's reservation policy, he has definitely lost the plot. As a result, what you get it a 'Baghban'esque lengthy film that seems to go nowhere. It has lectures on principles, conniving villains, treacherous friends and some kind hearted souls who attempt to engage you with some drama. To its credit, its actors do a good job. Amitabh Bachchan successfully plays the idealistic disciplinarian and a committed teacher who is complemented by Saif Ali Khan as the feisty youngster working his way though a biased system and Manoj Bajpai, as usual is a bankable actor to play the villain. As usual, Deepika Padukone sleepwalks through her role and the script didn't have much in store for Prateek. I'd recommend that you let this one pass. It neither has a consistent storyline nor memorable songs nor a tight script. So, don't reserve your seats for Aarakshan!

𝗠𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘆𝗼𝘂Aug 20, 2024

During a humid winter in the mid 1980s, in a small town in the remote Indian North-East, many people waited for a movie named Billa-Ranga to arrive. The memory of the rape-murder of Geeta and Sanjay Chopra was still relatively fresh, and Billa-Ranga were the epitome of evil for most people. Finally, the movie arrived, and lots of people, including many senior citizens covered in shawls or blankets, flocked to the cinema hall, which were screening it only for the night show. Interestingly, though, this was a South Indian movie dubbed into Hindi, where Ranga And Billa sang and danced, wooed women, turned out to be undercover cops and ended up getting special Police medal for bravery and achievements. While watching Aarakshan, I had deja vu; it was as if I was re-watching Billa-Ranga (which, to me, has been a cruel joke played on us poor fellows!). This movie could as well have been named "Infrastructure Problem in the Chambal Region" or "General Theory of Relativity" or "Autobiography of Idi Amin" or the "Health Benefits of Yoga" or anything one may think of the top of one's head. This is because Aarakshan has as much to do with the issue of reservation in India, as with any of the titles that I have at random mentioned. Probably Jha was aware of what was going on, and that is why the waiter brings two glasses of Limca (or some such whitish thing) when our hero clearly orders two cups of coffee. You do not get what you expect to be delivered! This also reminds me of a couple of interviews of Naseeruddin Shah, where he steadfastly proclaimed his love for movies of Dara Singh; after watching Aarakshan, I have a gut feeling that I understand why!

TrishieAug 20, 2024

Let me make it clear, Aarakshan is not about reservation or caste feuds but its more about the existence of two coaching centers although based out of different ideologies. The circumstantial controversies were false and farce. Prakash Jha failed to raise the social issues like he did it before in Damul, Mrityudand, Gangajal or Apaharan . The title is misleading and the biggest disappointment. One may feel cheated , expecting the big battle of Indian caste system and reservation of SC/ST/OBC. One may expect some great screenplay of both sides but the movie and Jha falters completely and is in lack of words when asked whose side the protagonist is? The film opens very poorly in an interview room where the questions are asked about the mother who is maid in a sarcastic way by so called high castes interviewer. It was so unreal that the mood was set to be not in sync with the director's view. The honor was lost with the dialog of Tehzeeb. Within the 10 minutes of beginning you were bombarded with two useless songs, defying the mood further. Jha was never good with songs earlier and still he is not. All the characters were introduced slowly without a clear explanation. There were some good exchange of words to arouse the heat but it all fell flat on the ground like a fallen ash. It explains that even a good topic can be worthless without the good narration and script. The Film looses plot of reservation and started churning the illogical fight between two coaching centers. Definitely the second plot was based of Anand's Super-30 which churns IITians from the poorest family of Bihar with 100% success rate. Even Prakash Jha inspired the name of lead protagonist as Prabhakar Anand , played by Amitabh Bachchan. But in real Mr Anand didn't face any competition from any commercial coaching institutes neither from any College nor politicians. The characters were not sketched clearly and lacked commitments. Deepika Padukone was too unreal for city like Bhopal where she was seen moving around with a Dalit Saif, hand in hand wearing designer salwars. Saif role was too short for any comment. His UK migration and abrupt end of his Phd was never explained. The mustache looked good on him. Praetik Babbar failed again with his way of mouthing dialogues. He has lost confidence and that shows that why he was not at all liked. Manoj Bajpayi was a caricature with a funny wig. The last 15 minutes of the movie, he literally lost it all. The strong character was turned into a caricature. Amitabh Bachchan had nothing new to offer, he played the extension of his role from Mohabbatein. His wardrobe was changed with his voluntarily retirement in a drastic manner and his only saving was a house which was given on rent to provide a platform for this circus. Overall movie has only few scenes which touched the right cord, when a lost daughter comes back to home and hugs her father saying sorry and confessing that she is hungry was brilliant coming out of jha's brilliant past. The whole plot of STM college and KK coaching center was so unreal as if only these two sources of education exits in a city like Bhopal. Where you will find and education minister playing all sort of smaller games. The audiences were hoping something big. The film also lacks historical correctness and chronographical sequences. This issue based movie changed its issue amidst of the movie and became a thudddddd....

Tik Tok MalawiAug 20, 2024

Why does a movie literally called "Reservation" degenerate into a fantastical clash between personalised and commercialised education? Because Prakash Jha is a mad genius whose realisation that they are actually the same problem is only one of the brilliant insights that animate this film, which goes from eighties camp to the very heart of the political and ethical mire that is the issue of reservation and comes back, very carefully laying the breadcrumbs behind it: the fairy tale ending is actually lent credence by the (stated) fact that the power of the rich rests on the cooperation of the poor and finally transcends its seeming idiocy to become a version of a model for the future that can be accommodated into the public imagination.

James ReidAug 20, 2024

movie lost track in the 2nd half. it was a movie about aarakshan which was truly portrayed in the initial part of the movie but lost its track in the 2nd part. Aarakshan follows the same rules of the games, where the filmmaker attempts to take an incisive look at India's policy of reservation and its impact on the Indian education system. At least that's the issue he begins with and focuses on in the first half of the film.As long as the film concentrates on the key concern, it is full of high drama, with powerful encounters between the prime players.As a film on the issue of reservation, Aarakshan was rocking till the first half. But as an omnibus on the travails of India's education system, it flounders into no-man's land. Watch it for the intermittent high drama and the gritty performances, scattered as they are

Poppington_1ZAug 20, 2024

When i went for this movie, i had zero expectations. But i was blown away by the movie. The movie starts with building each character slowly and then the story premise. With time, the movie's momentum builds further and at interval, you have a real cracker of a movie on. Post interval, the movie proceeds on the momentum built before interval giving lots of twists in the story. The Climax is a masterstroke and the movie finally ends on high note. Of all the performance, Amitabh steam rolls and holds the movie completely like a rock. Can't imagine anyone could have done justice to this role. Saif and Deepika also excel in their respective roles. The director's screenplay is another thing that impressed me. He does not over dramatize any scenes but stills keeps the impact strong. I do have to agree with others who say that this movie is less about reservation and more about the commercialization of education in India, but the director beautifully conveys how the reservation(or aarakshan) is resulting in commercialization of education. People who say the trailer of the movie conveys different thing about the movie, they should go and see the trailer correctly once more. The trailer tells exactly the correct preview of the movie, which includes the commercialization of education. This movie tells a story where it tells one the bad result of reservation. Go and see the movie, i can tell you wont be disappointed. Its a gripping story.

Olivia Chance PatronAug 20, 2024

In short, Praksh Jha should not play with our emotions and feel ashamed. The movie name should not be Aarakshan, it may be Shiksha ki Rajniti (Poltics in Education). Manoj and BigB did act very well, Others like Saif, Prateek and Dipika did not get the opportunity. If you would not go into the title of the movie and watch it as you don't know anything about it, you might enjoy the first part. There is no timing for the songs in the movie, the second song de de mauka sucks and out of context. Second part is too boring. As like many others, I was desperately waiting for this movie for last two months. In last two weeks, so many many conferences, SC/ST commission report and ban of the movie in three states UP , AP and Punjab. When you watch the movie, first thing, you will laugh on our poor politicians who were in favor of banning this movie. This shows the intellectual level of all these stupid reservation supporters. Even after watching this movie, they are banning this. This movie is in favor of reservation and just show one side of the coin but Praksah Jha...shame on him...This guy so called raising the public issue talking like a great guy in press conferences and making the point of anti-reservation just to get publicity. As an IITian, I have faced this reservation myself and I am in favor of anti-reservation and strongly believe that it should be based on economic status not on caste. Do you want reservation for the kids of Lalu yadav, relatives of Mayavati and Karunanidhi. Come on and give me a pause?? I feel that Praksah Jha owe an apology to young generation and so Mr Bachhan who were going with their press conferences on NDTV and IBN with students across the nation and constantly trying to make their stand on anti-reservation. Please, do not watch this movie, they have just played with us on the name of "AARAKSHAN".