Tag: #war

Romeo Akbar Walter (2019)

Our Hero. Their Spy.

Romeo Akbar Walter is an espionage action thriller film written and directed by Robbie Grewal.

The film sets in 1971, when India was on the verge of a war with Pakistan. The film centers around Romeo Ali (John Abraham), an Indian banker, with patriotic family background, get recruited as an undercover agent by RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) for a top-secret operation inside Pakistan.

The story of the film is pretty straight-forward and predictable. This film sets at the same time in which the events of the film Raazi (2018) took place. Even this film has a similar story, characters, and situations as that of Raazi, but unfortunately not that intriguing. All the character performances in the film are worth appreciating. The film is all about John’s character and he justifies it by giving an intense performance. Besides John, the character played by Jackie Shroff as Shrikant Rai, the head of RAW, is also excellent.

The first half of the film feels a very slow burning and lazy, in the second half, the things start moving with some pace and maintains the same towards the end, but even climax doesn’t make an impact which it should have actually made. The film is an interesting attempt to make a drama-driven espionage film by breaking the stereotypes of action-packed film, but it lacks the grip it needed the most. The film has its own moments and patriotic feel to keep the audience engaged, but dull storytelling, an unnecessary romantic aspect & music tracks make it an average film.

Verdict : A patriotic film should make us feel proud and it surely does the same, but only when you endure its slow pace. A one time watch film.

Rating : 3.3/5

Check the trailer here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSHjC8VdzCM

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Kesari (2019) – Movie Review

The story of Valor and Sacrifice.

Kesari (a saffron color representing bravery and sacrifice) is a period action-drama film written and directed by Anurag Singh.

The film depicts the events leading to the Battle of Saragarhi, a battle between 21 Sikh soldiers of the 36th Sikhs of the British Indian Army against 10000 to 12,000 Pashtun Orakzai tribesmen. The film stars Akshay Kumar in a lead role of Havildar Ishar Singh, who led the battle at Saragarhi.

The Battle of Saragarhi is considered one of history’s longest hold against the enemy and one of the greatest last stands. If we read history, we can actually see the valor and renunciation of those 21 Sikh soldiers. But this film hardly captures that. In the process of dramatizing and making it an entertaining one, the makers have totally ignored the crux of this historical event. The film lacks the authenticity and the rawness, which needed the most for a film like this. Everything in the film was just polished, for instance, the uniforms of the soldiers were looked like brought straight from the designer shop.

The film is a two and a half hours long, and out of which less than an hour was actually about the battle. In the remaining time, it focuses on some unnecessary subplots, the deceased wife of Ishar Singh played by Parineeti Chopra (the most irritating part of the film), and too many slow-motion shots. Some of the moments in the film will definitely make you remember the superhit war film Border (1997).

The film feels really slow and boring in the first half and comes to life only in the second half. The performance of Akshay Kumar is worth appreciating in a film. The film also has some interesting and compelling characters with apt comic timing, which makes the film watchable.

Verdict : Kesari is definitely not the best patriotic film of Bollywood but it surely worth a watch.

Rating : 3.2/5

Check the trailer here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFP24D15_XM

Uri: The Surgical Strike (2019) – Movie Review

How’s the Josh?

Uri: The Surgical Strike is an action drama film written and directed by Aditya Dhar in his debut. The film is based on a true story of India striking back as the retaliation to the 2016 Uri attack.

The film follows Major Vihaan Singh Shergill (Vicky Kaushal) of the Indian Army, who has successfully lead many field missions and now has taken a desk job at New Delhi to take care of his mother who is suffering from Stage VI Alzheimer’s disease. On 18 September 2016, four well-armed militants attack the army headquarters at Uri, Jammu & Kashmir, killing 19 Indian soldiers in their sleep. Vihaan’s brother in law Major Karan Kashyap (Mohit Raina) also dies in a grenade explosion in this unfortunate attack. The Indian government decides to take strict action against this attack, and National Security Advisor Govind Bhardwaj (Paresh Rawal) comes up with the idea of a surgical strike. Eventually, Vihaan leaves his desk job and once again lead a team of elite commandos to carry out a covert operation to avenge the Uri attack.

The film’s story is nicely divided into five chapters. At the end of every chapter, there is a sense of fulfillment. And with this chapter-wise narration, the story gets more and more gripping, and keeps the audience on the edge of their seat. The soul of the film is its compelling story; the enthralling characters and engaging background score makes it even more enjoyable. Besides Vicky Kaushal and Paresh Rawal’s powerful performances, Yami Gautam as RAW field agent Pallavi Sharma and Kirti Kulhari as Captain Seerat Kaur are worth mentioning. The film has its own moments, the patriotic ones, the thrilling ones, the grieving ones, and cheering ones, all full of JOSH.

Verdict : If we ignore the political propaganda, this film is an official first hit film of 2019 of Bollywood in all aspects.

Rating : 4.4/5

Check trailer here : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVY3do673Zc

Padmaavat (2018) – Movie Review

Obsession vs. Honour

Padmaavat (formerly titled Padmavati), is a classic period drama film co-written and directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, who is one of the most critically acclaimed filmmakers in Indian cinema, and well known for his astonishing filmmaking styles filled with huge sets, powerful performances, soothing music, and epic storylines. The film is based on the epic poem Padmavat (1540) by Malik Muhammad Jayasi, and that’s where protests and bans on this film have started, stating that the film is deteriorating the history and hurting the sentiments of the Rajput community in India. After facing so many controversies, after making the required cuts (even the name of the film has changed), and then after getting a green signal from Supreme Court of India, the film has finally arrived at the movie theatres. The film has released in three different formats as 2D, 3D, and IMAX 3D, and this is the first Indian film to be released in IMAX 3D format.

Set in 1303 AD, the film tells the story of bravery and sacrifice of exceptionally beautiful Rajput Queen Padmavati (Deepika Padukone), the wife of Rawal Ratan Singh (Shahid Kapoor), a righteous king and the noble ruler of Mewar. Alauddin Khilji (Ranveer Singh), the power-drunk ruthless Afghan ruler of the Delhi Sultanate, who hears about Padmavati’s beauty, and lays siege to Chittor fort to obtain her out of his obsession. Before Alauddin Khalji could invade Chittor, Padmavati and her companions commit Jauhar (self-immolation) to protect their honor. The story of the film is not so convoluted, but the artistic directional approach, rich set designs, finest music, and theatrical performances are worth experiencing in cinema halls.

In the final moment, the film has literally given goosebumps to the audience, the chants, the visuals, the sound, just takes over the audience. The background score of the film is splendid. The film is a truly cinematic experience with breathtaking visuals that it does not let the audience to take their eyes off the screen. The storyline of the film is pretty straightforward but the characters are compelling enough to drag the audience totally into the film. The film has some really powerful performances. In particular, hats off to the portrayal of menacing and barbaric Allauddin Khilji by Ranveer Singh, which is truly outstanding and deserves all appreciation, he steals every scene he is in, audience hates his character and likes his performance at the same time. Shahid Kapoor as the noble ruler is shining in his own moments, he can talk so much with his eyes. Deepika Padukone as Queen Padmavati is to the point, not more, not less. The supporting roles by Aditi Rao Hydari as Mehrunissa, Raza Murad as Jalaluddin Khilji, and Jim Sarbh as Malik Kafur are surprisingly impacting, and seeing all these characters coming together is a delightful treat.

Verdict : The story of Obsession and Greed versus Bravery and Sacrifice is worth watching. Bollywood at it’s best.

Rating : 4.2/5