Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa Movie Review: Anwar (Nawazuddin Siddiqui) isn't really a good detective. A private tracker (or as the movie's English title calls him, a 'Sniffer') working for a detective agency called Inner Eye in Kolkata, Anwar might make his clients happy by getting the necessary info they need. His clients mostly hire his agency to find if their prospective sons-in-law or daughters-in-law or spouses are 'pure' in essence (most aren't) or in some cases, find their missing relatives. Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa Trailer: This Nawazuddin Siddiqui-Pankaj Tripathi Is One Unreleased Jewel That Looks Like A Must Watch.

While we do see him have a good track record with his cases, Anwar doesn't know how to do his job in a stealth manner. Forget being Karamchand (though he likes his black hat and shades), Anwar can't even be Madhu Mangal Rane!

Anwar's biggest fallacy, however, is that he becomes close to his targets and even get them to share their stories, connecting with them in the process. A lonely person with only dog Lalu for company, Anwar finds it hard to believe that we are turning into a world distrustful of even our loved ones, while he is haunted by his own past memories, of a life he could never have, of a romance (Niharika Singh) that he could never fulfil.

Watch the Trailer:

Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa is directed by the acclaimed Bengali filmmaker Buddhadeb Dasgupta in one of his rare Hindi outings (his last Hindi film was way back in 1984). If you are surprised about finding the film being released all of a sudden on Eros Now, within a day of releasing its trailer, there is a good reason. Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa has been completed way back in 2013, after the country beckoned a post-Gangs of Wasseypur Nawazuddin Siddiqui. It even screened at BFI London Film Festival in 2013. Nawazuddin Siddiqui Birthday: 8 Lesser-Seen Films of the Ghoomketu Actor That You Didn’t Know Are Available Online on Netflix, YouTube and HotStar.

I had visited the CBFC website to check details of when Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa had been censored, and even that was done back in 2014! So why did the film took so long to come out on Indian screens?  Interestingly, we had added this movie among the films that had been completed but are languishing in the cans, and therefore, should be released on OTT soon. BTW, Eros if you are reading this, also consider releasing Vasan Bala's Peddlers on your platform.

Returning to the film, Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa isn't everyone's cup of tea. Even compared to Buddhadeb da's previous works, Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa feels far more languorous and often bizarre, and deserves a patient watch. The focus is on how the cases that Anwar investigate make him contemplate on his own self in his lonely universe. Each case turns into a plotline, some easily forgotten, while some lingers. For the latter, I can pinpoint the case of a family whose patriarch commits suicide, and Anwar finds out that he has been leading a dual life. These investigations also lend to some doses of humour, mostly courtesy how Nawaz, who is splendid in the role as always, approaches the scenes. However, I felt that the comic tone clashes roughly with the introspective nature that the movie adopts. The beautiful Ananya Chatterjee and a subtle Pankaj Tripathi, before he achieved his cult status, appear in memorable cameos.

As Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa proceeds, the lines between real and imagination blurs for its protagonist, to the point that we do not know if the different encounters he has (including that random kiss with his old flame) happened or not, whether the people he meets randomly are even real. The long undisturbed shots and Anwar's frequent monologues are proof of how the veteran filmmaker wants us to connect with Anwar's psyche, but the languid pace doesn't exactly make things easy for the viewer.

Yay!

- Nawazuddin Siddiqui

Nay!

- Not Everyone's Cup of Tea

Final Thoughts

Nawazuddin shows his ghazab range in a film that is as Ajab as the title says, which means Buddhadeb da's film isn't everyone's cup of tea. Do give Anwar Ka Ajab Kissa a watch on Eros Now, if you love offbeat cinema or are a fan of the director's sublime legacy.

Rating:2.0

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Nov 20, 2020 11:01 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).