Raazi Review

Alia Bhatt’s latest flick – Raazi based on the best selling novel – Calling Sehmat by Harinder Sikka, has opened to rave reviews & great box office collections. Read our review of this espionage thriller.

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The movie starts off with an commander reminiscing about the many soldiers who played a vital role in India’s victory over Pakistan in the 1971 war. The story then moves to the year 1971, a double agent Hidayat Khan(Rajat Kapoor) proposing a matrimonial alliance between the Pakistani brigadier’s son(Vicky Kaushal) & his daughter Sehmat(Alia Bhatt). Sehmat a 21 yr old college student, studying at Delhi University has no clue about her father’s intentions. She is asked to return to Kashmir at the earliest.

Her father then goes on to reveal that he has a cancerous tumor, owing to which he barely has 4 months to live & that she will have to take their family legacy of being spies forward. She is then put on a one month training program, post which her handlers send her off on her mission. She then gets married into the influential army family. She has been given the onerous task of finding out the secret strategy of the Pakistani army to quell the rebellion in East Pakistan & destabilize India. Whether Sehmat succeeds is what the movie is all about.

The makers need to be commended for a tight script. The screenplay & the script are excellent. The movie is a gripping espionage thriller. Director Meghna Gulzar does a stellar job of keeping the audiences at the edge of their seats. The casting of the supporting cast which includes several known faces like Rajat Kapoor, Soni Razdan(who is Alia Bhatt’s mother in real life & in the movie), Vicky Kaushal, Jaideep Ahlawat, Arif Zakaria is bang on. The movie scores high on the romance department as well. While movies today are high on lost, Raazi introduces audiences to old world romance. The subtle romance between Alia & Vicky is very well shot. The lush green landscape of Kashmir is breath taking. The music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy is decent. But its an outright Alia Bhatt film. She is the centre of attention in every frame she is in. You can’t help but be amazed at her acting prowess at such a young age. She emotes brilliantly without over acting. She often gets compared to Kareena Kapoor. We say, she is even better. While Kareena has often been accused of over acting, Alia comes across as a nuanced performer. The scenes involving Alia sneaking into rooms, poring over secret files trying to get info are too good. The scenes around the secret red files are the best scenes in the movie.

A better background score would have created a better impact & a more enjoyable experience. The movie is not for lovers of masala cinema. It is an outright thriller. The movie doesn’t have cliched anti Pakistani dialogues. Pakistanis are portrayed as normal people, who are not as villainous as we may imagine them to be. It even subtly conveys a message to hindu RW’s – even muslims love our country dearly & are ready to lay their lives for us. The main protagonist & her handler boss, both are muslims.

The movie should be watched in theatres with your family. Go watch it for Alia. Go watch it for the brilliant script. It is one of the most gripping espionage thrillers Bollywood has ever produced.

Our Rating: (4.5 / 5)

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