“Azaad,” released on January 17, 2025, directed by Abhishek Kapoor and produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Pragya Kapoor under RSVP Movies, stumbled into theaters with the thud of a tired horse, marking the Bollywood debut of Aaman Devgan (Ajay Devgn’s nephew) and Rasha Thadani (Raveena Tandon’s daughter). This period drama, set in 1920s colonial India, stars Ajay Devgn alongside the newcomers, with Diana Penty and Piyush Mishra in supporting roles.

The storyline centers on Govind (Aaman Devgan), a stable boy smitten with Azaad, a spirited black stallion owned by rebel Vikram Singh (Ajay Devgn). When Vikram dies, Govind inherits the horse, sparking a predictable arc of rebellion against British rule and cruel zamindars like Rai Bahadur (Piyush Mishra). A romance with Janaki (Rasha Thadani), the landlord’s daughter, fizzles in the background, while a climactic horse race—ripped straight from “Lagaan”—aims for triumph but lands flat. It’s a tale that could’ve galloped with heart, but instead it trudges, bogged down by a script (Kapoor and Shridhar Raghavan) that’s as uninspired as it is derivative. The human-horse bond, meant to be the emotional core, feels like a gimmick, and the colonial backdrop is a moth-eaten trope dusted off for nepotism’s latest vanity project.

The real travesty here is the debutants. Aaman Devgan and Rasha Thadani, products of Bollywood’s relentless family tree, flounder miserably. Aaman’s Govind is a blank slate—his action scenes scream body double, and his emoting is stiff, like a kid playacting in a school skit. Rasha’s Janaki fares no better; her screen presence is a faint echo of her mother’s, and her dialogue delivery is wooden, barely rising above a whisper. Both exude the rawness of inexperience, but it’s their casting—smacking of privilege over talent—that grates most. Ajay Devgn, in an extended cameo, brings gravitas, but even his intensity can’t mask the stench of a film built to prop up his kin. Diana Penty and Piyush Mishra are sidelined, their skills squandered on a narrative that prioritizes its shiny new toys.

Visually, Setu’s cinematography offers sweeping landscapes, and the horse stunts—choreographed with precision—stand out as the film’s sole pulse. Amit Trivedi’s score, especially “Uyi Amma,” tries to inject life, but it’s drowned by a sluggish 132-minute runtime and Anand Subaya’s choppy editing. The action fizzles, the romance is DOA, and the rebellion lacks fire—leaving a film that’s as slow as a tortoise despite its galloping pretensions. Its clash with “Emergency” and a tepid Cinema Lovers Day boost couldn’t save it.

“Azaad” is a textbook nepotism flop—proof that lineage doesn’t guarantee talent. Aaman and Rasha’s poor showings scream audition bypass, and Kapoor’s direction feels like a favor called in, not a vision pursued. It’s not the horse that’s the hero here; it’s the gall of Bollywood to keep churning out such mediocrity under the guise of legacy.

Rating: 2/5

A dull, nepotistic misstep— “Azaad” frees no one, least of all its audience from boredom.