Afwaah Review – Evocative Look At Rumor-mongering
Whenever we visit our hometown, it feels like stepping into a time machine and traveling to a distant era. It’s a small town where internet services were suspended and prohibitory orders were in place over a month ago due to protests over a murder case. We weren’t there back then, but many other family members and I are here right now because my grandmother passed away. With several people at home, the conversations range from the mundane to the bizarre. More often than not, marriage & religion always find their way into these discussions. So, I couldn’t have watched the 2023 movie “Afwaah” at a better time.
Directed by Sudhir Mishra, “Afwaah” literally means ‘rumor’ in English and has been written by Apurva Dhar Badgaiyan, Shiva Shankar Bajpai, and Nisarg Mehta. The film follows Nivedita Singh (Bhumi Pednekar), the daughter of a top politician, who runs away from home to avoid marrying her bigoted fiancé, Vicky Bana (Sumeet Vyas), a rising local neta who gains attention for giving an inflammatory speech at a rally, resulting in communal tension in their town. When Nivedita’s escape makes it to the news, both she and a stranger who helps her fight Vicky Bana’s goons become targets of a malicious online campaign to discredit them.
Set in a fictional town in the state of Rajasthan, “Afwaah” begins with a political rally led by Vicky Bana elsewhere, which quickly escalates into violence. The scene soon shifts and we are introduced to Rahab Ahmed (Nawazuddin Siddiqui), an advertising professional addressing a group of students before leaving to meet his wife. On the way, he runs into Vicky’s fiance while she is being chased by goons. Their paths soon become intertwined, and the rest of the movie traces a tense set of events unfolding in the same night. Rahab’s act of coming to Nivedita’s aid is twisted into a narrative of “Hindu girl entrapped by a Muslim man.”
The cinematography captures Rajasthan in all its facets, both its beauty and its ugliness. There is the witty juxtaposition of a literary festival unfolding at a fort, where the intellectual class blissfully enjoys dances and talks, while the world outside their walls burns in communal hatred. The creators skillfully portray how politicians manipulate the police, people, media, and everyone else around them to further their own agendas. “Afwaah” serves as a cautionary tale against blindly believing whatever one comes across on social media and is backed up by gripping performances by the lead cast. Sumeet Vyas is despicably good as a young politician willing to go to any lengths for power, while Bhumi Pednekar is feisty as the ballsy Nivedita who refuses to sacrifice her ideals. Nawazuddin Siddiqui subtly portrays Rahab, toning down his presence to fit the part of an unsuspecting man reduced to a political scapegoat. A parallel sub-plot about Vicky Bana’s fanatic sidekick Chandan (Sharib Hashmi) running amok and a corrupt cop trying to rein him in adds another intriguing layer to the tale.
For most of the runtime, the film is tightly paced and gripping. Although some scenes may not make sense initially, they eventually fit into the larger scheme of things towards the climax. The last few minutes are slightly over-dramatized and could have benefited from more nuance. However, overall, “Afwaah” is an excellent tale that explores the power of rumor-mongering and religious divides.
Stream the film on Netflix.
