All India Rank review: Varun Grover narrates a familiar story wrapped in 90s nostalgia

Had writer-turned-director Varun Grover's All India Rank released a few years back, the film would have been termed as groundbreaking. But it releases at a time when OTT has spread its wings in India far and wide and given us (and continues to) stories from every corner of the country. All India Rank also releases months after the stupendous success of 12th Fail, which takes you back in time and tells you the story of the Indian middle class and its ability to fight the odds, face hardships, and still work hard to realise its dream. Set in 1997, Grover's film talks of wide-eyed Vivek and his parents and their contrasting dreams. The film gets a lot of things right but treads familiar territory- one that has been shown to the audience quite a bit in the past few years.

Lucknow's Vivek is packed off to Kota by his middle-class parents to prepare for the IIT entrance exams. He is told that he needs to work hard for a year and crack the exam and life will be rosy once he is in one of the premier engineering colleges of the country. His father, RK Singh (Shashi Bhushan) has lofty dreams for his son and is holding his breath till Vivek gets into IIT. Vivek meanwhile, isn't too convinced about the plan himself. He is diligent, obedient, and a loner - who is ok to follow what his father has decidedfor him, but in his heart not sure where he wants to be.

The narrative switches between Lucknow and Kota- both strikingly different in the ways the people live- but both rapidly changing and adapting to the ways of the world as India celebrates its 50th Independence Day and liberalization is knocking at the door. Parents represent the more settled Lucknow, where Singh and his diabetes-stricken wife (Geeta Aggarwal) hustle daily in the hope that the son in Kota gets to study properly. They have altered their lifestyle to afford the expensive coaching that Vivek is undergoing- a fact that is reminded to him in every conversation over STD calls. Kota, meanwhile, serves as a place where Vivek, a loner, and an introvert, finds himself and comes of age. He hates the place initially and longs to be back home but over time finds his space there. He befriends Rinku, Chandan and Sarika who seem to be living their life with more calrity than Vivek ever has. All students in the coaching institute, all hustling to crack the coveted test- but still knowing how to live life.

The film's actors are mostly new faces. Bodhisatva Sharma (who plays Vivek) seems too raw to take on the weight of the entire film on his shoulders. His chemistry with Sarika (Samta Sudiksha) seems rushed and predictable. His bond with Chandan and Rinku is also not well-established or explored. The young actors try to deliver to their parts but patchy writing makes their characters limited. Meanwhile, Bhushan, and Aggarwal - who play Vivek's middle-class parents, feel more real almost as if they are a married couple who tread a difficult life together to make a family, a home together. Their scenes are more authentic, feel more genuine.

That being said, the production design and Gorver's eye for details put a smile on your face as All India Rank takes you back to your childhood (I grew up in the '90s). A shot of school students lined up for morning assembly in the sun is aimed at showing Vivek's academic accomplishments through the years is striking due to a minute detail of a child fainting in the heat- a very common sight in all school assemblies across north India. Such moments make the screenplay so special. Then a local pervert called 'Shawn Michaels' - a wrestling star back when WWF ruled pop culture- traumatizes Vivek's mom who runs a PCO booth- something that has faded away from the fabric of India with mobile phones becoming accessible to all strata of the society. The detailing is what makes All India Rank an endearing film. It may be slightly half-baked in terms of the plot, but when you see it in its entirety, it steals your heart for its little moments and its nostalgia.

I do wish Grover, one of the most talented and sensitive writers in the Hindi film industry right now, had narrated a more coherent story. It's a sweet slice-of-life film but its meandering plot never elevates the film to a level one expects it to neither does it leave a defining impact.