Hindutva Reviews

Movie Plot

The primary characters' portrayals of friendship, love, and student politics highlight the spirit of Hinduism.

Reviews

Times of India

Despite coming from different religious origins, Bharat (Aashiesh Sharma) and Sameer (Ankit Raj) had been close friends since they were little. However, Sameer is influenced by dishonest leaders while in college, who feed his rage, which prompts him to run for the student union presidency. Sameer promotes minority rights and other social causes with the assistance of his girlfriend Sapna (Sonarika Bhadoria) and other like-minded students. A devoted Hindu, Bharat, disagrees with Sameer and Sapna's cause and accuses them of inciting conflict and poison in a popular video.

A right-wing politician named Krishnakant Bhalerao (Govind Namdeo) then offers Bharat the chance to run for president; he eventually accepts with the support of his father (Anup Jalota) and advice from his Guru Maa (Deepika Chikhalia). The two friends clash over competing ideas and religiously motivated politics that are dividing the nation's youth as Election Day draws near and Bharat realizes that Sameer has turned extremist and is reluctant to back down.

Although writer-director Karan Razdan tries to provide a balanced story, the movie ends up stereotyping members of one community and making them out to be the bad guys. Despite the fact that there are a few good characters, they are outnumbered, and their representation is biased.

The lead performers, Aashiesh Sharma, and Ankit Raj, give respectable performances in each of their parts. Sonarika Bhadoria has a gorgeous appearance and gives a strong performance within the constraints of her role. Deepika Chikhalia, a seasoned television performer, Anup Jalota, and Govind Namdeo portray clich�d roles that speak for a particular societal group.

The North Indian scenery in the movie makes it visually appealing, and the production quality is above average. However, the movie's overall writing is superficial and lacks nuance for such a multi-layered and difficult problem. Karan Razdan cannot dive more into the subject or offer insightful analysis. The fight is set against significant issues like the Citizenship Amendment Act and Article 370, yet there isn't a compelling undertone.

The narrative of the movie swings considerably towards hyper-nationalism and seems to be a reaction to previous major events. While the climax partially makes up for the film's shortcomings and the writer-director Karan Razdan's obvious message is conveyed through the film's key characters, it falls short of being completely enjoyable. Before digging further into the story, the title already suggests a biased viewpoint.

Bollywood Hungama

"Hindutva explores the complexities of Hinduism via its primary characters while telling the tale of today's youth. The fundamental themes of this story are friendship, love, and student politics. Hindu student Bharat Shastri (Aashiesh Sharma), who attends the prestigious university in Uttarakhand, is an example of a typical Hindu boy from central or northern India. Bharat sets out on a quest to understand Hindutva and its actual meaning as he engages with many personalities nearby, including his father, a pandit and temple priest (Anup Jalota), his Guruma (Deepika Chikhlia), and right-wing politician Bhalerao (Govind Namdeo).

Growing up in the West and leaning left, Sapna Gupta (Sonarika Bhadoria) views Hinduism as a strong right-wing doctrine that puts her at odds with Bharat. The popular student activist Sameer Siddique (Ankit Raaj), who is battling for the rights of his community, is in love with Sapna, which adds another level of complexity to the narrative.

Despite having grown up together, Bharat and Sameer are now estranged due to their divergent ideals. With the arrival of Bhalerao, Bharat is inspired to run against Sameer in the university elections, setting off a chain of events that causes Sapna to change her allegiance and Sameer to suffer heartache. In the movie, Bharat goes deeply into the fundamental parts of Hinduism while examining ideas of patriotism and nationalism. Bharat aims to demonstrate that the true essence of Hindutva is "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" (the world is one family).

Film Information

The movie Hindutva, which was made by Jaikara Films and Pragunbharat, tells the tale of boyhood friends Bharat Shastri (Ashish Sharma) and Sameer Siddique (Ankit Raaj), who practice different religions. As Sameer advances in college leadership, he uses his authority from a maulana to inflame tensions between Hindus and Muslims. Sameer is sent to Kashmir to stir up trouble by opposing Article 370 without realizing his mistake. His Hindu sweetheart Sapna Gupta (Sonarika Bhadoria), learns of his actual motivations.

In the course of the narrative, Sameer's family abandons him because of his anti-Hindu views and the cunning maulana also deserts him since he has incited the Muslim youth.

The plot and script by Karan Razdan appear to be an effort to capitalize on Hindutva sentiments among the Hindu audience. The drama, however, lacks emotional heft and is unable to make viewers cry. Even if Karan Razdan's conversations about Hindutva are noteworthy, the film's climax might not be felt by those who identify as adamant Hindus.

Overall, the performances are good, with Ashiesh Sharma giving a good performance as Bharat and Ankit Raaj giving a convincing performance as Sameer. Sonarika Bhadoria gives a passable performance as Sapna, and she maintains a pretty demeanor on screen. In his brief appearance as Pandit Shastri, the father of Bharat, Anup Jalota plays an ordinary supporting part, while Dipika Chikhalia plays Guru Maa. In the confined context of his character as Bhalerao, Govind Namdeo creates an impression, and other supporting actors turn in passable performances.

Ravi Shankar's music is merely adequate, with space for growth in the background soundtrack, but Karan Razdan's direction is generally commended. Sujit Kumar's choreography accomplishes its objectives, while Shweta Raj's lyrics are acceptable. Both the cinematography by Pradeep Khanvilkar and the art direction by Akhilesh Kumar are of high caliber. Rajesh Pandey's editing, nonetheless, should have been more precise.

Overall, a segment of the audience that strongly identifies with their faith may find Hindutva to be appealing. But because few people are aware of the movie's release, it is unlikely to have a big impact on the box office.