Srikanth Review: Rajkummar Rao starrer film is a heart-tugging and inspiring biopic

SRIKANTH – AA RAHA HAI SABKI AANKHEN KHOLNE

Producer- Nidhi Parmar Hiranandani and Bhushan Kumar

Director- Tushar Hiranandani

Cast- Rajkummar Rao, Jyothika, Sharad Kelkar, Jameel Khan and Alaya.F

Platform of Release- Theatres

Rating:

By Jyothi Venkatesh

A rotund but modest man from the fields of Machilipatnam (Andhra Pradesh) is overjoyed at becoming a father. When his wife delivers a boy, he arrives at his humble abode, holding the child in his arms, and proudly declares that he’s naming him after the swashbuckling Indian cricketer Srikkanth. It dawns upon the poor man that his baby boy is born blind. In a fit of sorrow, the inebriated father, who takes one too many from the local arrack shop, is on the verge of burying his new-born but is persuaded in time by the distraught mother to stop.

This gem of a film revolves around a visually impaired man called Srikant Bolla (Rajkummar Rao) and based on a true life story, Srikanth – Aa Raha Hai Sabki Aankhein Kholne follows an inspiring journey of a wholly blind but very intelligent student who challenges the education system for not allowing a visually impaired young student to get enrolled in a college just because he is blind, blazing a trail from rural India to becoming a successful businessman.

How Srikant builds his own Bollant Industries, with the help of his teacher Devi (Jyotika) and friend (Sharad Kelkar) and how his success brings along with it challenges galore for which he would not only chase personal dreams but also safeguard a shared future for the ones just like him forms the crux of the sensitive subject.

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Srikanth has always had bigger dreams, and he not only clears his tenth and twelfth standard exams with flying colours but also manages to be the first international blind student to study at the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA. A strong, trailblazing visionary as he firmly believes that vision is much more than eyesight, and has to do more with the mind! This is the tale of an entrepreneur`s triumph and sacrifice, both which he welcomes with open arms and a broad smile.

Writers Sumit Purohit and Jagdeep Sidhu’s narrative is simple and doesn’t have the scope for mainstream-like pumped-up energy or thrills of a sports drama or a historical event, but director Tushar simply scores with his extra ordinary treatment of the subject without resorting to melodrama of any sort.

As far as the performances are concerned, while Rajkummar Rao lives his role literally as the blind entrepreneur who challenges the establishment by going to the court, Jyothika as his teacher is a revelation. Alaya F impresses though her role is half baked while Jameel Khan inspires you with his portrayal as former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam.