Anek would have been a better non-mainstream movie. With Ayushmann Khurrana in the lead role, the movie remains on the fringes of Bollywood and doesn't really venture too far away from it, and that is the drawback.

Ayushmann (Aman, really?) is sent to watch and control the insurgency in North-east India. He, being a hero, pretty much has the carte blanche to control the political turmoil of the region. At least in the initial parts of the film, he is more a hero, less a diplomat. Slowly the chaos gets to him and he kind of goes rogue.

For a protagonist's story arc, it is as straightforward as it could be. However, the movie worked for me for its direction and on-location shoot. The film has been shot in Assam and Meghalaya and most of the cast have been engaged from there as well. That wasn't the only challenge the team faced while filming Anek. The crew had to persuade the locals that the subject of the film was about them and their representation in cinema.

Any on-location shoot brings its own challenges but if done well you have really good films like Amit Masurkar's Sherni. Many scenes from Anek are brilliantly done. Northeast India comes alive from those frames. At times the camera keeps the protagonist aside and takes a bit longer detours into the lives of the locals, and the torture of the civilians. But it appears that Ayushmann's star value keeps the film coming back to him and keeps him at the centre. Then the movie becomes his movie and not a narrative of the region.

Everyone has acted quite well. Kumud Mishra is effortless in the short screen time, but Manoj Pahwa takes the cake. Loitongbam Dorendra leaves a mark as Tiger Sangha as well. Andrea Kevichusa's story could have been a bit more compelling, but it remains in the typical Bollywood depiction of the northeast.

Despite its flaws, Anek still gets a recommendation from me.