Raakh

Raakh (transl.Ashes) is a 1989 Indian Hindi-language action crime film^[2][3] directed by Aditya Bhattacharya, starring Aamir Khan and Supriya Pathak in the lead roles with Pankaj Kapur, Gajanan Bangera and Jagdeep.

The film was Aamir Khan's first movie after Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak and it received much critical acclaim and subsequently three National Film Awards in 1989 and developed a considerable following over the years.^[4][5][6] The film also marked the Bollywood debut of ace cinematographer Santosh Sivan and film editor A. Sreekar Prasad.^[7]

As declared in the subtitles of the opening scene, the events of the film take place in a big city in India. After the police riots of 1990, the State Forces were disbanded and replaced by a central one. The police now had more powers. The crime rate continued to escalate. In the wealthier quarters of the city, though, life went on... but it was an uneasy calm.

Aamir (Aamir Khan) had just turned 21. He is from a rich family. The only colour in his otherwise mundane life was his obsession for Neeta, an older, more pragmatic woman, who likes him, but does not share his plans for their future.

One night, on their way back from a party, Neeta is molested by a local crime boss, Hassan Karmali, and Amir intervenes violently. On their way back home in their car, they are intercepted by Karmali, and his goons, and Karmali rapes Neeta, with Aamir watching helplessly. Unknown to Aamir, an off-duty police officer is a silent witness to the incident. Frustrated, possessed by impotent rage and a sense of injustice, Aamir has to find release. He leaves home... he turns to Sub-Inspector Kapoor – the silent witness. Kapoor, pretending to be unaware of the incident, agrees to help Aamir, as, in spite of dancing to their tunes, Kapoor hates the Karmalis and his inability to act against them. (Years ago, Kapoor had taken on the Karmali clan, an unwise move that nearly destroyed his career.)

Aamir now feels he has a friend. Till one day, realising the truth, he is shattered. Soon after, S.I. Kapoor is suspended after he loses control in front of his superiors at a party thrown by Karmali and tries to shoot him. His life begins to spiral downwards. Now alone, frightened, without a job, and with nothing to lose, he sees in Aamir the means to fulfill his dark, unresolved dreams, which have by now taken the form of an obsession.

Juntos se proponen eliminar a su enemigo común: los miembros de la temida familia Karmali. Kapoor, el policía resentido, se convierte en un mentor oscuro para el inocente pero intrépido Aamir. Neeta, ajena a los cambios en la vida de Aamir, ha decidido dejar atrás su pasado. Comienza, lenta pero dolorosamente, a reconstruir su vida.

Mientras tanto, Aamir se hunde en un torbellino de violencia aterradora, un camino hacia una muerte segura. Si bien el primer asesinato que comete lo vuelve casi loco de culpa, poco a poco se acostumbra e incluso empieza a disfrutarlo. La suya es una guerra sin vencedores, una batalla sin gloria. En medio de las mentiras de una vida lógica, a veces la única verdad reside en la locura, en perder el control. Finalmente, Kapoor y Aamir logran acorralar a Karmali en la boda de su hermana. Cuando Kapoor dispara a Karmali, uno de sus excompañeros corruptos le dispara y lo mata. Tras la muerte de Kapoor en sus brazos, Aamir toma su arma y supuestamente dispara al policía corrupto. La última escena retoma la secuencia inicial, donde Aamir, ahora en el corredor de la muerte, reflexiona sobre los acontecimientos de su corta y conmovedora vida.

• Aamir Khan - Amir Hussein
• Supriya Pathak - Neeta
• Pankaj Kapur - Inspector PK
• Jagdeep - Ustad
• Gajanan Bangera - Inspector
• Naina Balsaver - Naina
• Homi Wadia - Hassan Karmali
• Madhukar Toradmal - Karmali Seth

• Dirección de arte – Partho Sengupta ^{[ 8 ]}

Esta película iba a ser reestrenada en cines de la India el 12 de junio de 2009, después de 20 años, con copias remasterizadas digitalmente, por los productores de la película junto con Palador Pictures . ^{[ 9 ]} Posteriormente, se lanzaría en DVD en agosto de 2009. ^{[ 9 ]} El reestreno programado finalmente no se produjo debido a ciertas razones no reveladas, aparentemente porque coincidió con un conflicto entre el productor y el propietario de un multicine durante ese período. ^{[ 10 ] [ 9 ] [ 11 ]}

36ª edición de los Premios Nacionales de Cine :

Ganado

• Mejor actor de reparto : Pankaj Kapur
• Mención especial (largometraje) – Aamir Khan
• Mejor montaje : A. Sreekar Prasad

35ª edición de los Premios Filmfare :

Nominado

• Mejor actor : Aamir Khan
• Mejor actor de reparto : Pankaj Kapur
• Mejor historia : Aditya Bhattacharya

• Raakh en IMDb