Azaad Wins The Race, The Film Loses

RATING – ⭐ ⭐ 2/5*

Azaad Review Movie Talkies:

Azaad is a handsome horse, and this is his film—that’s why he wins the race! The film, however, suffers from a poor plot and outdated execution by Abhishek Kapoor, who has made some modern films already. The film is stuck with the horse, and maybe that’s what causes us to lose interest in the film because, in today’s times, as an audience, we are not even watching human films; then forget watching a film based on a horse. The idea might have been fascinating back in the ’80s when the regular masses were somewhat interested in such movies—similarly to how Hollywood was doing in the ’50s by making films about dogs. Azaad is made in 2025, and that’s the problem.

Set in the 1910s, the film is about a young villager, Govind (Aaman Devgan), who has been hearing stories of a black horse of Maharana Pratap and is now dreaming of getting one for himself. A rebel named Vikram Singh (Ajay Devgn) has one such horse named “Azaad.” During Holi celebrations, Govind puts color on Janaki’s face (played by Rasha Thadani) and then runs away to join Vikram Singh’s group. He tries to create a rapport with Azaad, but Azaad is too loyal to be won by anyone other than his owner, Vikram Singh. In one of the attacks, Vikram loses his life, and by default, Azaad has to stay with Govind. Both must now work together to defeat the British and the landlord, but will it be easy?

Thankfully, Azaad isn’t boring. That’s probably the only thing I am thankful for because the rest of the narrative hasn’t got much. The love story between Govind and Janaki is poorly written and even worse when it comes to picturization. Their bonding, those conversations, and the scenery all lack substance. Azaad has a very predictable storyline, but more than that, it’s the outdated and melodramatic presentation that hurts it. In the climax, everyone knows that Azaad will win the race; then why waste time with other useless things for almost half an hour? The last jump Govind takes is shocking and clap-worthy, though it’s only a waste that the whole scene was like that. Govind and Azaad‘s training scenes and the love story between Azaad and the mare were too bad to watch. That’s where the film lost both logic and interest.

Aaman Devgan debuts on a low note. This wasn’t a charming hero role; it was rather rusty and rough. That’s why he didn’t appear to be “hero material.” He needs to work on his expressions and dialogue delivery in emotional scenes. Rasha Thadani also struggles with her accent and expressions; moreover, this role wasn’t well-defined. She has a long way to go as this performance was somewhat amateurish. Ajay Devgn steals the thunder with his one-liners, and he has a larger role in the first half of Azaad than he had in Singham Again. The first half truly belongs to Ajay, while the second half belongs to Aaman and Azaad. Diana Penty’s dull face actually made the character look better, even though I didn’t particularly like her. Piyush Mishra didn’t have much to do, and Mohit Malik was merely okay. The supporting cast, especially the villagers, were decent.

Azaad falls short on technical aspects as well. The cinematography and sound design are not up to par. The color grading was meant to suit a period drama, but still, something didn’t look right. Azaad also lacks good music, although the choreography for each song is much better. Abhishek Kapoor’s film shines in moments, but most of the time, he fails to deliver with conviction. We can’t really connect with many scenes because they lack emotional weight and logic. Kapoor’s outdated vision and old-fashioned theories won’t find any admirers in today’s era, where filmmaking and scene-making have become so advanced and smart. Overall, Azaad centers around Azaad, the horse, winning it all, but sadly, nobody is interested in that. We are interested in cinema and actors, and they disappoint here.