Did you notice that if you reverse the word RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) you get WAR, and WAR was released on 2nd October, the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, a champion of non-violence? The probable commercial success of a film can be guessed when you book tickets in advance. When my wife booked 4 tickets for the 3-35 PM show on the first day, she said that most of the seats had already been booked. That didn't happen in case of Saaho, which had a budget of Rs 350 crore. I had a lot of enthusiasm about the film as it had the famous Bahubali star Prabhas. But, I was frustrated, as the film could not meet the expectations. This time, naturally, I was a bit sceptical about this Rs 200 crore budgeted film.
But this action thriller, produced by Yash Raj Films and directed by Siddharth Anand does not disappoint the viewers. In fact, the film starred by Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Vaani Kapoor, Ashutosh Rana, and Anupriya Goenka was so engrossing that sometimes I forgot to munch the popcorn or take a sip at my cold drinks. I have seen a lot of action films in both Hindi and English, but have never seen such breathtaking actions in any Hindi film. Be it the Dhoom series films or the Race series films or Bang Bang or whatever, this had to be the best. The action directors of the film, Sea Young Oh, Parvez Shaikh, Franz Spilhaus and Paul Jennings, have to be given full credit for producing something which is almost at par with any top Hollywood action film. This film reminded me of the kind of actions that we have seen in the Fast and Furious series or the Mission Impossible series.
This is the first film of Tiger Shroff that I have seen. The nimble-footed guy with a 6-pacs abs seemed to have mastered the WWE signature moves of various superstars, like the Superman punches of Roman Reigns or the Sweet Chin Music of Shawn Michaels. Had it been only him, he would have stolen the show. Unfortunately, he had to match his every step with a guy who is taller, more muscular, more handsome and most importantly more experienced in acting than him. He is definitely not dwarfed by Hrithik, but surely fell short in every aspect throughout the movie.
The story is about liquidating a super spy agent Kabir (Hrithik), who went rogue for reason which no one seemed to know. The spy chief Col Luthra (Ashutosh Rana) after receiving a mouthful of denunciations from the Nirmala Sitharaman look-alike defence minister, handed the assignment of assassinating Kabir to one of Kabir's protege Khalid (Tiger). Kabir was like a demi-God for Khalid. Khalid was keen on knowing the reason which turned a bona fide patriot into a turncoat.
The story went backwards to show how Kabir trained Tiger, who was the son of a traitor whom Kabir himself had killed in a shootout. It didn't take too long for Khalid to understand that Kabir was doing something just, which he couldn't have done remaining in the system. But, there are other players like Sanjeev Vasta as Rizwan Iiyasi, a major threat to India, a fellow RAW agent Saurabh for whom Rs 7 crore is good enough to sell his allegiance and Dipannita Sharma as Dr. Mallika Singhal, a plastic surgeon with magical abilities. These characters bring a lot of twists and turns in the film which keep the viewer glued to his chair.
There are some great action scenes from the war-torn Iraki city of Tikrit or the Moroccan city of Marrakesh. There are picturesque shots from Valetta in Malta, where for the first time but not for too long, we see the main female character of the film Vaani Kapoor who plays the role of Naina. I am not a movie buff: this was the first time I came to know that there is a heroine named Vani Kapoor. I tried very hard to adjust to the fact that she is a heroine, but, unfortunately, she never looked more than an ordinary-looking neighbourhood lady to me. She should have been treated only as a civilian asset, but our hero, up to a small extent, fell for her.
In his effort to make the film flab-free, the director has included only two songs. Hollywood action thrillers do not incorporate unnecessary songs, but Hindi movie without a song is unthinkable. The crowd wants it. Melodically, the songs might not have been of very high quality, but the choreography compensates that. You get to see the super performances from the two top dancers among the heroes in the Hindi film Industry. In the dance, Tiger has outperformed Hrithik, in my view. The climax of the movie, shot in the Arctic circle, is perhaps a cut above even Hollywood films.
The film deliverers a much needed social message that Muslims are no less patriot than Hindus, and there are traitors from both communities.
If you have to find a fault with the film, it has to be the story. Some of the scenes are not logical or practical. But who cares? When you go for entertainment, you don't mind it. So, if you have time, go and watch it. It's worth the money.
Pictures taken form the Internet
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