Movie Aalaap Event at Raipur

The band takes to stage to promote “Aalaap” a film on naxal issues and its only solution.

Star Cast : Amit Purohit, Aabid Shamim, Pitobash, Raghuvir Yadav, Onkardas Manikpuri, Rituparna Sengupta, Harsh Rajput and Murli Sharma.

Imagine this: A balmy evening at Raipur’s Pragati Maidan. A crowd of over 30,000, quietly gathering. The stage with his equipments all set to burst in action. Suddenly there’s a strum of a guitar, a low voice saying check. And then euphoria!

It was Agnee on stage! What transpired after that could only be called ‘mass frenzy’ for the lack of word. With all minds, ears and faces glued on stage, it looked very much a scene from ‘Rockstar’. Only better. Mind you though, this was no ordinary rock concert, but a preview of the band’s compositions for a Hindi film, ‘Aalaap’. Or as lead vocalist Mohan puts it: ‘The emergence of Agnee’s real music’.

Amidst mass frenzy and fans asking for more, the band sung some of their favourite composition from the film including past hits like Sadho Re and Aahatein.

Co- produced by educationists Abhishek Mishra and Nishant Tripathi and directed by Manish Manikpuri, ‘Aalaap’ tells the story of the ever-increasing naxal issue in the country. Based in Chhattisgarh, the film through its storytelling visits the cold, dark recesses that force a common man to become gun trotting, fighting naxals.

Says co-producer Tripathi, “Aalaap’ is a baby of destiny. It was destined to be born now, amidst the current scenario of this state. The idea to do this film emerged from my love to do something for our state and for our society at large. I believe cinema is the only medium through which you can spread awareness to the widest possible audience and hope for change.”

However for director Manikpuri, a native of Bhilai, the  film is more personal. Says the director, “Even as a kid, I had this longing to travel to the naxal-infested areas, but was never allowed. My family was scared that I would never make out of the place alive. But that didn’t deter me as I continued dreaming that someday I will be able to go to such places and bring out the real truth.”

Manikpuri believes that naxal issue is the “bitter reality we all are living in today, with no solution in sight.” But try hinting at ‘Aalap ‘ as a possible solution and he says, “ ‘Aalaap’ isn’t a solution. We haven’t given guns to our heroes like it case of ‘Rang De Basanti’ and instructed them to kill. Our weapon here is music. When you put on music, people forget their worries and problems. And that’s the message of ‘Aalaap’.”