Azaad movie review: Rasha Thadani's debut role looks like a cameo in a film focused on Aaman Devgan

In Pic: Azaad poster

Director: Abhishek Kapoor
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Aaman Devgan, Rasha Thadani, Mohit Malik, Diana Penty
Runtime: 2h 25min

Azaad marks the debut of two star kids, Rasha Thadani, daughter of Raveena Tandon, and Aaman Devgan, nephew of Ajay Devgn, who make their big Bollywood debut with the Abhishek Kapoor directorial. If you think Azaad is a story of a boy with the same name, then you are highly mistaken because Azaad is the name of a horse owned by Vikram Thakur (played by Ajay Devgn).

Azaad's plot

The story of the film is set in the 1920s when the country was fighting against the British, and slavery and atrocity were at their peak. The movie stars Aaman (Govind) as the son of a farmer, while Rasha (Janki) plays the daughter of the landlord of the village.

The film starts with Govind shown as a stable boy who takes care of horses owned by landlords, who also act as brokers to the British and sell men from their village to go to Africa for slavery. While Govind wishes to ride horses, these privileges are only given to people at the top of the hierarchy.

Meanwhile, Ajay Devgn plays a baaghi (rebel) who saves the lives of Indians and owns a horse named Azaad. Azaad is Vikram Thakur's companion who has been with him forever. While the British government has placed a bounty on Vikram, some instances lead Govind to join Vikram's gang of rebels.

The movie technically has Ajay Devgn in a cameo role, but it is surely more than that. Meanwhile, it looked like Aaman Devgan's film where Rasha was just his love interest.

Strengths and Flaws

No doubt, for a debut film, both actors performed well, and Rasha Thadani literally "ate and left no crumbs" in the Ui Amma song, but this film came with its flaws. If you go in with low expectations, the first half will impress you, but the second half will crush those expectations with an unnecessarily stretched build-up.

The first half is mostly about a cold war between Govind and Janki, along with Ajay Devgn carrying the story on his shoulders. In the second half, his death not only breaks hearts but also the spine of the film, as the biggest chunk of the second half falls flat.

Now, who was the best performer? Azaad, the horse. How Abhishek Kapoor managed to make the horse act is something we couldn't understand, but it did give us some humorous punches. Azaad is not just another horse; he fights, makes fun of you, and, most importantly, loves to drink - not just water, but alcohol too.

The second half of the film revolves around Vikram Thakur's death, Govind trying to build a bond with Azaad, Janki and Govind growing closer, and lastly, Govind and Azaad saving the villagers by winning the final horse-riding race.

Songs and Technical Aspects

Now, the story was simple, the songs were nice, and the performances were good. So, what went wrong? Let's dissect. It was the unusual placement and dragged scenes that took the well-made story downhill.

The songs in the film are actually amazing as they make you want to dance. The first song in the film, which came during the Holi celebration, Birangay, is indeed one of the best dance numbers in recent times. Amit Trivedi showed his versatility, and what came as a surprise was Aaman's mind-blowing performance. The Ui Amma song has been one of the audience's favourites since its release, but the biggest USP of the movie was wasted because of its wrong placement. The song came just when we least expected it.

The movie has a few interesting roles that are equally important for the storyline. While Mohit Malik played Rasha's brother who had a face-off with Aaman during the final race, Diana Penty as his wife and Ajay's love interest added another layer to the movie.

Final Verdict

Azaad is one of the few decent films that have been released recently. It is one of those films that can interest you, but you might not want to spend money on tickets and would rather wait for it to come on streaming platform. While Aaman Devgan proved himself and was a perfect fit for the film, Rasha could have chosen a better movie as she didn't have a big role. To conclude, Rasha's character looked like a cameo. The screen time she got was somewhere equal to Ajay Devgn's.