There is a one-word summary for the movie, which you can very-well guess from its name, but we will choose to delve. In a nutshell, I’d give the movie a handsome 2.5 stars. As always, a detailed review follows…
The movie begins with a promise. The promise that the movie will be:
- Another movie on terrorism
- Terrorism is an “organized”, full-fledged business of, well, those who do not have a religion
- A lot of suspense revolves around the central plot, which isn’t blank (sorry for the pun)
- There will be a happy ending (this one, I guessed)
Considering this list, at least, the movie delivers on all promises; yes, with a lot of hits and misses, which is what this post is about.
First, let us take a quick look at what I liked:
The story is guessable, except for the ending, the plot is but tried and the actors are good enough for their roles, except for the find of the movie <drumrolls, please>: Karan Kapadia, who is the lead antagonist, sorry, the protagonist (spoiler alert!) of the movie. He is better at acting than many of those who have played roles in a dozen movies. He has rage in his eyes, which gives him the right intensity for the role. That is amazing for a newcomer. I’d like to see more of his work in 2019 and onwards.
Jameel Khan outshines Sunny Deol in the movie, barring one scene where they have their 1:1 for the first time. One dialogue from the Deol and you will know what timing is. It is impeccable. It is pure acting talent versus pure acting talent. And, sort of, a comfort zone for both actors who come out winners. For the rest of the movie, Sunny Deol is slouched and tired. But this has nothing to do with his election campaigns.
Ishita Dutta is all fine until her two sequences that take your breath away. First, her fight sequence with Karan, where even though he gets better of her, she makes her mark as a police officer. Second, toward the climax of the movie. The other actors have played their roles in proportion to the budget of the movie.
Don’t miss Akshay’s cameo after the movie ends. That’s a promotional song that connects threads from the movie. The music is thumping and is generally good.
A special mention for actors who aide Maqsood’s cause but aren’t mentioned on the Internet. We need to enlist the full cast so that such talent gets the limelight it deserves.
Now time for the misses:
The list is long, but I will keep it short. Please don’t go blank. <Sorry, another pun.>
That’s what happens when you first tell that the antagonist has lost his memory. Then, the antagonist makes a fool out of you and of the polygraph test. Then, he surrenders to Maqsood (Jameel Khan is the real antagonist), who in just two magic tablets makes him spit the truth, which isn’t really the truth. But you know it only toward the end of the movie. Are you with me?
Then, the bomb squad chief who is also a doctor, an agent, an expert and can tell the difference between drugs and explosives by merely smelling the stuff. Yet, he isn’t that qualified enough to use the information from X-rays and scans to safely remove the bomb from Karan’s chest? Stay with me, this is important. But, what humbleness and modesty, doctor, for you still aren’t the lead of the movie.
The bomb connects to Karan’s heart. “The heart is the battery of the bomb”, yes you heard it right. If you disconnect, it will go off. If he dies, it will go off. I am not sure, but his heartbeat is shown in a digital screen, which neither breaks nor cracks despite his surviving a road accident and at least three fight sequences. I know exactly what I need as my phone’s screen now — but I digress. Then, in the last scene, you have Karan who quite effortlessly unplugs the bomb from his heart — doctor, you need to learn this from Karan.
Basically, the movie is a lot like A Wednesday in its plot in terms of what it earns for you toward the end, minus its excellence. Amongst the mediocre screenplay, and amidst the actors who have earned accolades with their talent, here is Karan who manages to outshine. But there is still hope. Because SS Dewan (Sunny Deol) will continue to do his duty and Hanif (Karan Kapadia) will continue to do his. Wait, what about Husna (Ishita)? Isn’t she the surprise factor? Does she resume her police duty? I am blank.
The Wordsmith 