All India Rank skillfully strikes a balance between sensitivity and authenticity in the skillful depictions of both its young and elderly actors.
The soft pace of his filmmaking really got to me. In his nostalgic feature debut, the writer-turned-director explores some of his own experiences as an engineering student in 1990s India, a worldview in which wry and sentimental coexist peacefully.
In 1997, when gas connections and phone calls were still considered luxuries, young adults’ walls were adorned with Gabriela Sabatini and Jadeja (Ajay, not Ravinder), and Bollywood’s newest and sexiest face was showcasing her transformation in Rangeela and Phir Teri Kahani Yaad Aayee’s daring lip lock, sparking a sexual awakening in a room amidst piles of homework.
All India Rank may not be set in the past, but its self-aware voiceover, spoken by the main character, is unapologetically nostalgic while also being hilarious.
The country is commemorating its 50 years of independence, but 17-year-old Vivek (Bodhisattva Sharma) does not feel free from his middle-class father’s IIT ambitions.
Gaining admission to the Indian Institute of Technology, which is regarded as the holy grail of Indian engineering, is a first step towards guaranteed success. Of all its numerous qualities, the one that strikes Vivek’s father, R K Singh (Shashi Bhushan), the most is how an IITian says, “Bermuda chappal mein bhi sabhya lagta hai.”
In the age of time-bound and skyrocketing STD phone fees, his wife Manju (Geeta Agarwal), who works in a public phone booth and has a voracious sweet tooth, is depressed over her son’s leaving but is cautious about call time.
Films frequently depict children as the victims of their overly aspirational parents. However, All India Rank recognizes the value of experiences after Vivek leaves his comfort zone to explore a whole new world in all its bittersweet splendor, so it doesn’t dwell too much on the expectations.
Vivek experiences a range of emotions after traveling to Kota, where there was a pre-TVF documented level of rivalry and rat race, to prepare for the IIT entrance examinations at Bundela M’am’s (Sheeba Chaddha) highly sought-after coaching schools.
The socially shy teenager connects with mathematical equations more than with people, partly because he misses his home in Lucknow and partly because he is in awe of his star teacher’s astounding ability. However, he is hardly the only bright child in a room full with brilliance.
The key is to discover one’s unique sense of power over circumstances; this is a maturation lesson that determines Vivek and All India Rank’s ultimate goal.
However, he’s not the only one learning. Grover is equally worried about the challenges that the empty-nesters must endure in the absence of their only kid on a daily basis. Amidst the numerous pop culture allusions woven into this tranquil slice-of-life tale from the 1990s, Manju’s encounter with a shady phone stalker posing as Shawn Michaels is among the most telling of R K Singh’s office woes, which are subtly prophetic of the future tensions between Swatantra and Azaadi.
Once he finally makes friends and connects with Sarika (the gorgeous Samta Sudiksha), whose romantic grasp of physics has a life-affirming effect on everyone she meets, Vivek’s inert existence back in Kota is given a boost.
The character arcs that culminate in one character’s disappointment and another’s go-getter mentality, choosing to idolize Shah Rukh Khan of Darr over Shah Rukh Khan of Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa, are weakly developed in comparison to Sarika.
Nonetheless, Grover’s passion for language is flawless. His unusual word and phrase selections within the broad North Indian accent reveal his exquisite Hindi language proficiency, which gives the dialogue and soundtrack a unique melody.
All India Rank skillfully strikes a delicate balance between sympathy and sincerity in their representations of both their elderly and youthful actors. Bodhisattva Sharma has the aura of a Shyam Benegal discovery; his self-aware physique is reminiscent of Suraj Ka Satvan Ghoda’s Riju Bajaj. Sharma is the only one with an incredibly expressive and unabashed lack of inhibitions.
In addition to portraying a true picture of a middle-class marriage in their role as his parents, Shashi Bhushan and Geeta Agarwal frequently go beyond written words to show who they are as people. Though the role is brief, Sheeba Chaddha excels as a blend of wit and authority, using scientific references from Bollywood to keep her tired students’ attention in a warm, comforting way.
I loved his loving appropriation of the 1990s in all its nuanced and startling ways, as a fellow child of that decade. Whether it’s references to the erect collar of cricket player Mohammad Azharuddin, to Mansoor Khan’s Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, or the hilarious moment when Santoor and Nirma jingles blended together with banter.
It’s not only vintage accents and adornments. Beneath the deceptively serene façade of All India Rank is a deeply felt existentialism that both aches and soothes. Grover’s gentle portrayal of everyday lives evokes feelings of love and longing, as seen in the scenes as a youngster watches the train speed away to his hometown or a husband washes a ladoo in water and brings it to his diabetic wife.
And learning, of course.
As if to say, “adbhut nahi par theek hoga,” according to Vivek’s father. Everybody has to learn to live with that realization from time to time.
All India Rank Movie Rating By Gig Connects
I rate it 4.5 Stars because cant give 5 as there is always a scope for improvement in a movie. Hope varun Grover Reads the review.
