It’s election time soon and of course, the patriotic movies are back. And before you start a war in the comments about whether this one’s a propaganda film or not, I’ll ask you to calm down. Movie achhi hai ya buri, ye discuss karte hai na bass. Well, I watched it toh main batata hoon mujhe kaisi lagi. The trailer was pretty average for me tbh, so wasn’t expecting much. But the movie turned out to be better than my expectations. It definitely ain’t another URI, but it is on my list of the best Kashmir-centric movies out there. Even though you get the ‘every move by the ruling party is a masterstroke’ vibe, the movie makes sure to serve the thrills and more importantly, educates people about the Article.
Plot
The plot is literally a 2 hr 30 min crash course of India’s history and politics (boards waale bacchon, kyu nahi ho rahi padhai?). We start right from the partition era and zoom past all major events to finally stop in 2019, months before Article 370 was removed. Wahaan se, it is the story of our badass Zooni Haksar, an Intelligence Field Officer, who has been assigned to stop all criminal activities in Kashmir. And boy does she understand the assignment. Add politics into the mix and there you have this vvv engaging combo of diplomacy, conflict, and some serious undercover action, all leading up to the big Article 370 showdown. Pretty entertaining, ngl.
Performances
It is a shame that Yami Gautam, even after delivering some amazing performances, is sidelined when it comes to the best actresses of Bollywood. She nails it once again as Zooni, bringing that fierce energy needed to fuel the character. She has so many ‘yass kween slayyy’ moments bhaiii, loved ittt. Secondly, Priyamani as Rajeshwari, the deputy secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office brings calm to Yami’s storm. Together, they complement each other vv well… it’s a nice partnership. The supporting cast, especially the ones playing politicians of the ruling party pull off some amazing cameos. But once again it is the cast of the ‘opponent leaders’ that have no choice but to play caricaturish roles that simply feel like mockery. Idk kab Bollywood ko ye realise hoga.
Direction and Writing
I mean, when you have the director of URI working on your movie, you expect excellence. But do we get the URI-level excellence in Article 370? Nope. But does that mean this ain’t gonna keep you entertained throughout? Also no. He does a pretty good job as the director, and idk but did you guys notice how Army accurate the movie URI was? Aditya Dhar tries to maintain that sense of discipline here too, but thode mass moments are also in the mix. The writing though is a mixed bag— there are no unnecessary time jumps to confuse you or cringe deshbhakti dialogues to irk you. But they do fck up when it comes to writing the antagonists. Matlab on one hand, you show them to be the dumbest and most caricaturish people in the country, and on the other hand, you straight up declare every decision of the ‘ruling party’ a masterclass? Really hate it when they do such things tbh. I’m pretty sure fans would rather enjoy a tough competition rather than this. But yeah, apart from that, they try to keep things simple and it works in the favour of the film.
Screenplay and Cinematography:
I think one of the best parts about the film is its screenplay. The movie is divided into chapters and each one of them revises the history of a particular era in our country. So it keeps building up the hype and right before the interval, when you’ve just started thinking about your nachos, it destroys you with an emotional scene and never really lets you get up from the edge of your seat after that. Kashmir is shot beautifully bhaiii>>>. The intense, gritty action shots are okay for the most part… mujhe climax waali scene chor kar baaki sab meh hi lage. The editing is pretty smooth, and you don’t feel jarred when we move from one chapter to another. But I wanna talk to the guy who came w that one vvv cheesy action sequence toward the end where a whole-ass grenade bursts right next to Yami Gautam, and she escapes without a scratch???? Kya ho raha bhai???
All in all, it is a nice movie that you can watch on the big screen. Yami Gautam is a badass kween, but the action is okayish mostly, so zyada expect mat karna. Yeah, I really hate the number of creative liberties the movie takes, but entertainment ke pov se you have nothing to lose. Could’ve been wayyy better, and is definitely not another URI, but is not a bad watch either! Would def recommend it. I’m not satisfied, but I’m not disappointed either.
