Director: Varun Grover
Cast: Bodhisattva Sharma, Samta Sudiksha, Sheeba Chadha and others
Where: In theatres near you
Rating: 2 stars
A film like All India Rank, touted to be a hidden gem amongst rest of the theatrical giants, is nowhere close to a decent watch. Primarily a brilliant writer, Varun Grover steps into the shoes of a filmmaker for the first time ever but disappoints highly in every way possible. All India Rank is dull, flat and filled with boredom. The only saving grace of the film is its humour and nostalgia.
A clueless boy Vivek (Bodhisattva Sharma) from Lucknow has to leave his city and ailing mother to study in Kota, only to fulfil his father’s wish. In no mood for the IIT race, Vivek somehow pulls himself up until he meets Sarika (Samta Sudiksha), a physics nerd from Patna. Love blooms and then goes nowhere.
Varun’s motive for making All India Rank is absolutely blurry. He handpicked portions of 3 Idiots, 12th Fail and Kota Factory and weaved into his so-called directorial debut. The film is nothing but a mix of everything. Since Varun has a knack of tickling the funny bone, humour gives a huge comic relief. Besides this, the only highlight of the film is that Varun sheds light on the pre-established culture of coaching centres.
A journey of a boy, who is also experiencing certain things during his adolescence is crushed to a small room and a pile of books but what’s new? Followed by his regular love story and a mandatory suicide ritual, All India Rank has everything ordinary. In 12th Fail too, the source of inspiration was the love story and it is questionable. It all boils down to winning a girl’s heart to achieve status and fame.
In the backdrop of a small town, Varun surely narrates the story aptly. He stirs nostalgic memories with great production design and a fabulous connection with the movies of the '90s era. However, Varun seems to have a smaller release with minimum marketing and with no biggie to hold the film, All India Rank is an aimless pseudo-intellectual drama.
All India Rank is passable even on OTT.
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