Afwaah

Afwaah
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Sudhir Mishra
Written by	Sudhir Mishra Nisarg Mehta Shiva Bajpai
Produced by	Anubhav Sinha
Starring	Nawazuddin Siddiqui Bhumi Pednekar Sumeet Vyas Sharib Hashmi
Cinematography	Mauricio Vidal
Edited by	Atanu Mukherjee
Music by	Karel Antonin
Distributed by	AA Films (India) Reliance Entertainment (International)
Release date	5 May 2023 (2023-05-05)
Country	India
Language	Hindi
Box office	est.₹30 lakhs

Afwaah (transl. Rumour) is a 2023 Indian Hindi-language mystery thriller film written and directed by Sudhir Mishra. Produced by Anubhav Sinha and Bhushan Kumar under their respective banners Benaras Media Works and T-Series Films, the film stars Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Bhumi Pednekar and Sumeet Vyas. The film was released on 5 May 2023.

Cast

• Nawazuddin Siddiqui as Rahab Ahmed
• Bhumi Pednekar as Nivedita Singh
• Sharib Hashmi as Chandan Singh
• Sumit Kaul as Inspector Sandeep Tomar
• Sumeet Vyas as Vicky Bana
• Appurv Gupta as Bobby
• Carl Zohan
• TJ Bhanu as Riya Rathod
• Eisha Chopra
• Rockey Raina
• Kaviraj Laique
• Krishan Bhargav as Imtiaz

Production

The film was announced on 17 February 2022. Principal photography commenced on 21 June 2022 in Jodhpur, Rajasthan.

Reception

Afwaah generally received positive responses from critics. Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV praised the film and gave it four out of five stars, describing Afwaah as an indictment of politics that thrives on building divides amongst communities. While its blows aren't always stinging, the film chooses its targets and sides wisely, and it isn't afraid to go all-in on its hatred for forces that thrive in troubled waters. The film is positioned as being based on a real-life incidents, while the reliability of the statistics shown are not backed by any real evidence.

Anna MM Vetticad of Firstpost gave 3.5 stars out 5, and she stated that This film is about how a resourceful individual or group may spread a lie like wildfire on social media, exploiting the public's confirmation bias towards the underprivileged - religious minorities, women, anybody - until that deception is accepted as the truth. Afwaah is riveting cinema. Riveting and incredibly relevant.

Subhash K. Jha praised the film and write in revies that Sudhir Mishra's long-awaited new thriller Afwaah is a daring new thriller. It appears to be one of Mishra's most fascinating works to date. "It emphasises current issues, but there is [a] core of universality in the storytelling, in the structuring, where characters are caught in a situation created by a rumour."

Mayank Shekhar of Mid-Day gave 3.5 stars out of 5, he wrote that The 124-minute picture that follows is so intent on becoming a thriller that there is little, if any, room to stage a gripping drama between the leads, or any other characters.

Archika Khurana of The Times of India also gave 3.5 stars out of 5, and stated that This film does a good job of highlighting the impact of such afwaahs; yet, the climax feels a little too convenient and might have left us with a deeper impression. "Rumour hai par phikar kise hai, phailaane wale ko na sun wale ko." This is the unfortunate reality.

Zinia Bandyopadhyay of India Today gave 3.5 stars out of five praises the direction of Mishra and she stated in her review conclusion Afwaah is a fantastic picture of what our society has lately witnessed, and maybe, via this film, rumor-mongering and blindly spreading bogus news can be reduced! At the very least, that is what we can aspire for.

Alaka Sahani of The Indian Express wrote Afwaah is a reflection of the moral depravity that has occurred in society. It causes us to sit up and take notice of the 'rise of noise,' as well as the dwindling space for debate and rational thought as intolerance renders the people gullible. Afwaah shines a light on a society full of power-hungry guys with fragile egos. They gain disciples by intimidation and deception. A woman desiring independence, on the other hand, is ridiculed. Finally, the women of Afwaah discover means to assert their autonomy.

Monika Rawal Kukreja of Hindustan Times praises the caste performance and direction and she said Watch Afwaah if you want content-driven, important films that will make you think, ask the appropriate questions, and, in certain circumstances, be encouraged to do your part to bring about constructive social change. And if you take it seriously enough, you could just use common sense the next time you encounter a gossip on social media and determine whether or not you want to trust it.

Anuj Kumar wrote in The Hindu Sudhir Mishra, the director, has a habit of heaping our plates with seemingly incongruous items that come together to give a heady supper as a hectic night fades into darkness. This week, Mishra navigates yet another terrible night in which the dawn appears far as he dissects the anatomy of afwaah (rumour) and how it spirals out of control when social media is used to manufacture false narratives and create societal divides for short-term political advantages.

Deepa Gahlot of Scroll.in praise the story and direction of the film she said that, There's always an election coming up in the twilight world of Hindi films about politics, which explains the violent mayhem that occurs. Sudhir Mishra's Afwaah has an unusually high body count for a film that has liberal hearts breaking for an innocent butcher slain during a riot. (The image of the guy pleading for forgiveness with folded hands is meant to evoke the famous photograph from the Gujarat riots.)

Pratikshya Mishra of The Quint gave 3.5 stars and stated that Afwaah suggests a world in which a mob can be incited by tweets (as we've seen), and encourages viewers to ask and probe. 'Remember to ask questions when you see information on social media,' the film advises. But the real question is whether anyone would listen above the clamour of social media alerts.

External links

• Afwaah at IMDb