# Aurangzeb (औरंगज़ेब) (film)
**Aurangzeb** (औरन्गज़ेब) is a 2013 Hindi-language action crime thriller directed and written by Atul Sabharwal for Yash Raj Films, in which a police officer plants an undercover lookalike inside a Gurgaon crime family to expose its boss.[1](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/movies/aurangzeb) • [2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/aurangzeb) It was Sabharwal's feature directorial debut after the YRF Television series *Powder* (2010), and it was produced by [Aditya Chopra](https://www.edgepedia.org/aditya-chopra).[3](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/yrf-alumni/atul-sabharwal) The film was a box office flop.[4](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=1271)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 17 May 2013, worldwide, by Yash Raj Films[1](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/movies/aurangzeb) |
| Director and writer | Atul Sabharwal, his feature directorial debut[3](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/yrf-alumni/atul-sabharwal) |
| Producer | Aditya Chopra[1](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/movies/aurangzeb) |
| Lead cast | Arjun Kapoor in a double role as twins Ajay and Vishal; Prithviraj Sukumaran as ACP Arya Phogat; Rishi Kapoor as DCP Ravikant Phogat; Jackie Shroff as Yashwardhan Singh[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2804026/fullcredits/) |
| Debut | Sasheh Aagha launched in her first film[6](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/news/detail/2016/07/15/yash-raj-films-aurangzeb-to-release-17th-may-2013) |
| Runtime and certificate | 2h 17min; U/A in India[7](https://tv.apple.com/in/movie/aurangzeb/umc.cmc.1m973azi114utv7fxfw34r0mf) |
| Box office | Budget ₹220,000,000; total nett gross ₹227,425,000; verdict: flop[4](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=1271) |
| Critical scores | 40% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (5 reviews); 6.4/10 on IMDb[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/aurangzeb) |
## Spoilers
### Plot
The story is set in Gurgaon, described by the studio as a boom-town of "India Shining" where law and order has yet to catch up with the real estate boom.[1](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/movies/aurangzeb) Yashwardhan Singh ([Jackie Shroff](https://www.edgepedia.org/jackie-shroff)) runs a parallel world of illegal business under the guise of a respected citizen.[1](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/movies/aurangzeb) To expose him, DCP Ravikant Phogat ([Rishi Kapoor](https://www.edgepedia.org/rishi-kapoor)) captures Yashwardhan's son Ajay and plants his twin brother Vishal in his place as an informer.[8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/aurangzeb_2013) The twins, both played by [Arjun Kapoor](https://www.edgepedia.org/arjun-kapoor), were separated as babies when their mother Veera (Tanvi Azmi), who became a police informer against her own husband, fled with one of them.[9](https://filminformation.com/reviews/aurangzeb-review/)
The police family is itself corrupt: Ravikant raised his nephew Arya Phogat ([Prithviraj Sukumaran](https://www.edgepedia.org/prithviraj-sukumaran)) because the boy's father Vijaykant ([Anupam Kher](https://www.edgepedia.org/anupam-kher)), a police inspector, had lost interest in life after a failed operation against Yashwardhan.[9](https://filminformation.com/reviews/aurangzeb-review/) The film's tagline, "Son. Brother. Successor. Emperor.", and its title invoke the Mughal emperor [Aurangzeb](https://www.edgepedia.org/aurangzeb), whose philosophy the Times of India summarized as "kinship shouldn't come in the way of kingship".[10](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/aurangzeb/) • [11](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/aurangzeb/movie-review/20082528.cms) Rediff's Sukanya Verma described the film as being about the inheritance of character from parent to child, opening with a quote from the Roman poet Horace.[12](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/review-aurangzeb/20130517.htm)
## Cast and crew
The ensemble cast includes Rishi Kapoor (DCP Ravikant Phogat), Jackie Shroff (Yashwardhan Singh), Arjun Kapoor (Ajay/Vishal), Prithviraj Sukumaran (ACP Arya Phogat), Sasheh Aagha (Ritu), [Amrita Singh](https://www.edgepedia.org/amrita-singh) (Neena Wadhwa), Sikandar Kher (Dev Phogat), Anupam Kher (Vijaykant Phogat), Tanvi Azmi (Veera), Swara Bhaskar (Suman Phogat), Sumeet Vyas (Vishnu), Kavi Shastri (Inder), [Deepti Naval](https://www.edgepedia.org/deepti-naval), and [Rasika Dugal](https://www.edgepedia.org/rasika-dugal).[5](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2804026/fullcredits/) • [13](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/aurangzeb/cast/) Anupam Kher made a special appearance.[1](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/movies/aurangzeb)
Behind the camera, N. Karthik Ganesh handled cinematography, Niraj Voralia edited, Mustufa Stationwala was production designer, Sham Kaushal directed the action, [Remo D'Souza](https://www.edgepedia.org/remo-dsouza) choreographed the songs, and Shanoo Sharma was casting director.[1](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/movies/aurangzeb) The music was composed by Amartya Rahut and Vipin Mishra, with lyrics by Puneet Sharma, Manoj Kumar Nath, and Vipin Mishra.[1](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/movies/aurangzeb)
## Reception
**Critical response was mixed.** The Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer stood at 40 percent from five reviews, with an audience score of 44 percent.[8](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/aurangzeb_2013) A critics' consensus on TheReviewMonk summarized the pattern: reviewers acknowledged a strong premise and an engaging first half but faulted a weak, dragged-out second half.[14](https://thereviewmonk.com/movie/aurangzeb/) Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave 2 out of 5, writing that the film had too many subplots with threads hanging around a main plot that was "over baked and undercooked".[15](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/aurangzeb-review-it-is-trying-for-too-much/) The Times of India gave 3.5 out of 5, noting that Arjun Kapoor was "still raw" in the twin role.[11](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/aurangzeb/movie-review/20082528.cms) Rachel Saltz of The New York Times wrote that the film paints "a more complex picture of villainy" than a 1970s Hindi film would, and found Rishi Kapoor and Jackie Shroff well cast and well matched.[10](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/aurangzeb/) The trade magazine Film Information, by contrast, called it "a dull, dry, convoluted and boring drama" and predicted a dull box office.[9](https://filminformation.com/reviews/aurangzeb-review/)
## Box office
The film opened poorly. Box Office India lists a first day of ₹38,200,000 on about 1,200 screens, a first week of ₹18,56,00,000, and a total nett gross of ₹227,425,000 against a budget of ₹22,00,00,000, with India gross of ₹30,70,00,000, overseas gross of $790,000, and worldwide gross of ₹350,252,500; the site's verdict is "Flop".[4](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=1271) Bollywood Hungama's midweek trade report recorded an opening weekend of ₹128.6 million (₹12.86 crore) nett (Friday ₹39.2 million (₹3.92 crore), Saturday ₹39.6 million (₹3.96 crore), Sunday ₹49.8 million (₹4.98 crore)) and judged the film below par, noting it lost sheen after the interval.[16](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/amp/news/bo-trade-top5/midweek-aurangzeb-is-below-par/)
## Availability
The film streams on Netflix in the United States and can be rented or bought on Apple TV; it was added to American Netflix on 18 December 2025 after having been removed in April 2016.[2](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/aurangzeb) • [17](https://usa.newonnetflix.info/info/70276010)
## References
1. [Aurangzeb Movie – Yash Raj Films](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/movies/aurangzeb)
2. [Aurangzeb streaming: where to watch movie online? – JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/aurangzeb)
3. [Atul Sabharwal – Yash Raj Films Alumni](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/yrf-alumni/atul-sabharwal)
4. [Aurangzeb – Box Office India](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie.php?movieid=1271)
5. [Aurangzeb (2013) – Full cast & crew – IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2804026/fullcredits/)
6. [Yash Raj Films' "Aurangzeb" to release 17th May 2013](https://www.yashrajfilms.com/news/detail/2016/07/15/yash-raj-films-aurangzeb-to-release-17th-may-2013)
7. [Aurangzeb – Apple TV](https://tv.apple.com/in/movie/aurangzeb/umc.cmc.1m973azi114utv7fxfw34r0mf)
8. [Aurangzeb (2013) – Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/aurangzeb_2013)
9. [Aurangzeb review – Film Information, Komal Nahta](https://filminformation.com/reviews/aurangzeb-review/)
10. [Aurangzeb – Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/aurangzeb/)
11. [Aurangzeb Movie Review {3.5/5} – Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-reviews/aurangzeb/movie-review/20082528.cms)
12. [Review: Aurangzeb is VERY engaging – Rediff.com](https://www.rediff.com/movies/review/review-aurangzeb/20130517.htm)
13. [Aurangzeb Cast & Crew – Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/aurangzeb/cast/)
14. [Aurangzeb (2013) Movie Reviews – TheReviewMonk](https://thereviewmonk.com/movie/aurangzeb/)
15. ['Aurangzeb' review: It is trying for too much – The Indian Express](https://indianexpress.com/article/entertainment/movie-review/aurangzeb-review-it-is-trying-for-too-much/)
16. [Midweek: 'Aurangzeb' is below par! – Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/amp/news/bo-trade-top5/midweek-aurangzeb-is-below-par/)
17. [Is 'Aurangzeb' on Netflix? – New On Netflix USA](https://usa.newonnetflix.info/info/70276010)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Hindi films of the 2010s › Hindi films of 2013*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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