Aurangzeb is a classic case of a two-minute trailer being better than a two-and-half-hour film. Packed with potential, this tale of power and politics squanders what could have been a gripping take on ambition and betrayal, lies and deception and relationships on the edge to come up with a film that is so complex and chaotic that one often tends to lose track of — and interest in — the numerous characters, plots and subplots.

Aurangzeb is a great idea on paper: a cop on the verge of retirement and seeking a final flourish infiltrates a gangster’s camp using the kingpin’s own given-up-for-dead son. With shades of Don, a bit of The Departed, a tinge of Trishul and a whole lot of The Devil’s Double, the Aurangzeb script must have looked like a winner to producer Aditya Chopra. Just as the promo did to us.

But director Atul Sabharwal is unable to make his cop-and- criminal story as compelling and thrilling as the premise demanded. The old-school style of storytelling does make an impact, but the meandering pace and scattered screenplay is a #fail, with the film seeming much longer than its 140-minute running time.

Aurangzeb does start off with a lot of promise. A gangster masquerades as a real-estate tycoon. A family of cops, seemingly upright, operate an extortion business on the side. No one is clean in the world of Aurangzeb with shifting loyalties and the constant movement of power from one hand to another. The setting is Gurgaon, a nondescript village till a few decades ago that has now become a power hub infested by the rich and powerful. Here land sharks abound and corporate honchos moonlight as political agents.

It is here that the Phogats — top cop Ravikant (Rishi Kapoor) and his nephew Arya (Prithviraj) — zero in on Vishal (Arjun Kapoor), the son of crime lord Yashwardhan (Jackie Shroff). Rumoured to have been killed many years ago in a police encounter, Vishal and his mother (Tanvi Azmi) are in hiding, but are persuaded by the duo to help them infiltrate Yashwardhan’s empire. The big idea? Vishal will take the place of his twin Ajay (Arjun Kapoor), a waster given to a life of alcohol, women and cocaine. Even as Ajay is kidnapped and packed off to an undisclosed location, Vishal makes his place in the Yashwardhan household, slowly calling the shots in the business, even as he does double duty as a police informer. However, very soon he realises that things are not what they seem on the surface and that he isn’t the only one with a dual identity.

A film of this genre needed to be edge-of-the-seat with a constant game of cat-and-mouse being played out, much like what Leonardo DiCaprio’s William Costigan encountered in The Departed. However, Sabharwal gets lost in a maze of too many plots and sub-plots and by the time he gets around to tying the loose ends together, Aurangzeb degenerates into a mess. The over-extended climax is unintentionally funny in parts and the constant shifting of allegiance and agendas doesn’t help the film’s cause.

If Aurangzeb isn’t an altogether useless watch, it is for Rishi Kapoor. As the double-faced cop with dubious intentions who manipulates people and situations to suit his own, the veteran is in great form. His Ravikant is the real Aurangzeb of Aurangzeb, a man for whom kingship knows no kinship. Kapoor is ably supported by Prithviraj who, after a disastrous Bolly debut in Aiyyaa, finds his bearings here with a top act which is marked by an assured confidence. Jackie Shroff has very little screentime but does well and Amrita Singh has the manipulative mistress act down pat.

Saddled with a double role in just his second film, Arjun Kapoor looks awkward in parts, the rawness showing through. Even as he holds his own as the restrained Vishal, he comes across trying too hard as the rowdy bloke Ajay. But all said and done, this is definitely a star to watch out for. Debutante Sasheh Aagha’s (yes, Salma Agha’s daughter) unabashed skin show, however, can’t make up for her utter lack of acting skills.

In the end, Aurangzeb just remains a film with great potential and good intentions. It could have been more. Much more.