Aligarh (2015)

A gay, linguistic professor living in a small orthodox city must deal with the aftermath of a sting operation that puts his sexual orientation in front of the entire nation.

Director:

Hansal Mehta

Writers:

Apurva Asrani (story), Apurva Asrani (screenplay and dialogue)

Stars:

Manoj Bajpayee, Rajkummar Rao, Ashish Vidyarthi

Top Rated Indian Movies #178 | 4 wins & 6 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Manoj Bajpayee	...	Professor Ramchandra Siras
Rajkummar Rao	...	Deepu Sebastian
Ashish Vidyarthi	...	Advocate Anand Grover
Balaji Gauri	...	Nita Grewal
Sukhesh Arora	...	Tahir Islam
Nutan Surya	...	Anjali Gopalan
Dilnaz Irani	...	Namita
Ishwak Singh	...	Arvind Narayan
Sumit Gulati	...	Tashi
K.R. Parmeshwar	...	Prof. Sridharan
Suman Vaidya	...	Shadab Qureshi
Saptrishi Ghosh	...	Nita Grewal's Assistant
Eisha Chopra	...	Sonali
Farrukh Jaffar	...	Deepu's Landlord
Sachin Parikh	...	Anuj

Storyline

Set in the state of Uttar Pradesh and based on true events, the plot revolves around Dr Shrinivas Ramchandra Siras who taught Marathi at Aligarh Muslim University. He was sacked from his position of Reader and Chair of Modern Indian Languages, on charges of homosexuality. A sting operation was conducted by a TV channel which showed him in an embrace with a rickshaw puller, at his house inside the campus.

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Plot Keywords:

homosexuality | homosexual | love | gay | poetry | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

On January 31, 2016, a controversy broke out as the film's trailer was rated with an "A" certificate by India's Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), which would allow the trailer to be screened on television only after 10 PM IST, citing that the film's theme and subject, which is related to homosexuality, is against India's culture, and kids and teenagers should not be allowed to view it. Film's director, Hansal Mehta took to social media and press to vent his anger, threatening that he will go to the Appellate Tribunal and appeal the adult rating of the trailer arguing that an "important subject like his film's should reach everyone (sic)." Pahlaj Nihalani, the Chairman of CBFC, ignored the threat saying that it was all publicity stunt.

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Connections

Featured in 62nd Filmfare Awards (2017)

User Reviews

It more than a legal battle or coming out, its more about the self acceptance

As his character 'Siras' says that the poetry lies in between the words, in the pauses, to me, true moments of 'Aligarh' lies in between the dialogs, in silence. Manoj Bajpayee, take a bow. Every frame of him is a personification of crumbling, vulnerable and fragile lonely personality.

The movie revolves around the legal battle of revocation of suspension, but there is one moment which sums up the character. In the court room, among the legal arguments, Siras goes into sleep, totally disinterested. What a poignant moment, let you guys fight over legality, morality, but tell me where is my fault. And if that is not your discussion point, I am not interested.

Details

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Release Date:

26 February 2016 (India)

Also Known As:

Алигарх

Filming Locations:

Bareilly, India

Company Credits

Production Co:

Eros International, Karma Pictures

Technical Specs

Color:

Color