Anek Movie Review: Ayushmann Khurrana, Anubhav Sinha’s political thriller has its heart in the right place

Filmmaker Anubhav Sinha’s films often come with an agenda – to be the cinema of change. And Anek is no different. The film, focussing on the discrimination against Northeast India, has its heart in the right place. It aims to leave viewers with a pertinent question apart from encouraging them to be empathetic towards Northeastern Indians. It also makes one wonder as to what it means to be Indian – is it decided by language or region.

“Peace is a subjective hypothesis… One person’s peace can be another person’s chaos,” says a particular character in the film. That perhaps sums up the film aptly. The film looks at peace through the lens of different parties involved and throughout its journey asks several pertinent questions.

As an undercover agent, Joshua (Ayushmann Khurrana) has been many people. His real name is Aman, which is aptly decided given the role he plays in the film. Currently, he is stationed in Northeast India to restore peace. Aido (Andrea Kevichusa), an aspiring Northeastern Indian boxer wishes to represent India. She harbors this dream not just for her love for boxing but also because she is certain this will give her a platform to voice her community’s issues. Her father Wangnao (Mipham Otsal) is a school teacher, who also leads a rebel group against the official government. There’s also Tiger Sangha, the political rebel leader of the Northeast region, who Joshua is tasked to bring to the table for negotiation with the centre, led by Manoj Pahwa’s character Abrar.

Ayushmann delivers an understated performance. He is pitch-perfect in its part and adds a powerful character to his filmography. He is not the hero that relies heavily on jingoism, a flavour Bollywood has loved for ages, but a regular man who uses simple questions to drive home important messages. His heroism is one that’s relatable, and that’s what helps his character stand on its own. As Aido, Andrea Kevichusa makes a promising debut. Her character, however, could have had more meat, in terms of her boxing journey.