Raazi (2018)

Oh dear god. I can not understand the Positive comments on this movie.

Fmovies: The movie was average, however, the information they gave in the movie about Ind-Pak war in 1971 is wrong. In 1971, The war was between Bangladesh-Pakistan. They represent it in wrong way. I could have rated it higher but the information they provide is wrong and misleads the audience.

Had the second half of the movie been executed a bit more efficiently, this could've have been an outstanding spy movie from bollywood, after a very long time. The movie takes us into the life of a 20 year old college going girl, Sehmat. The story revolves around the Indo-Pak war of 1971 from a perspective unknown to the common man. How suddenly things fall apart and this young girl's life changes drastically with choices beyond her reach is what unfolds in the movie. THE BACKGROUND SCORE & MUSIC The trio of Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy yet again pulls off a musical treat. The background score is aptly fitted. Every scene is filled to it's highest thrill with just the perfect blend of music and songs. Though the songs haven't been in the buzz much yet when it reflects in the movie, it just seem a pretty decent job. SCREENPLAY & DIALOGUES The writing duo here of Meghna-Bhavani, seems almost flawless and picture perfect in the first half. The story is in just the fine pace, with sufficient fillers to fill in. The dialogues are written very well by Meghna gulzar. She has adapted the urdu language very efficiently in the dialogues, keeping in mind the audience and their ability to interpret. With the second half, the narrative slightly looses it's track. It fails to maintain that grip over the audience. As we descend towards the climax, I even felt like it started to slightly diverge from its abstraction. CINEMATOGRAPHY The era of 70's has been showed pretty decently in the movie. Jay patel doesn't disappoints with his work. His shots and perspective of some intense scenes were really an asset to the movie. There are few close up shots, if I knew any better, still I'll admit to this fact that those shots completely changes the momentum of the impact of the scene over the audience. Capturing many low light scenes with such mastery, this man has done his job very profoundly. ACTING If I be very honest then this section absolutely grabs a full star. Alia Bhatt has yet again proved her worth in the industry, she's far more than just a cute face! Her acting is simply an excellence. She is so mesmerizing to watch that a lack of a male lead and the fact that this is a female centric becomes completely oblivious, if it at all is a bother to anyone in the very first place. A huge salute to the casting director Jogi. His works reflects effortlessly on the screen, with every actor fitting just so fine in their given character's shoes and also delivering it with so much conviction. Vicky kaushal, Arif Zakaria and Shishir Sharma are exceptional on screen, their work is truly outstanding. Special mention to Rajit Kapoor, having so less a screen time yet managed to leave a hard impact. Truly exceptional. After 'Talvar' (2015), I really liked Meghna's work. She really knows her way around the script, she knows how to and when to play what. Yet it was hurtful to see the second half slipping out like that. Nevertheless it's a brilliant work by her in bringing the world of sehmat alive on screen. It's definitely a must watch if you are a person with high patriotism and/or a great fan of Alia Bhatt. (Also check out 'movifeed' on instagram.) This from me is a One Time Watch.

Raazi fmovies. Until the interval, the film was slowly boiling but felt like something was missing. But a powerful scene just before the interval explained the whole film in a go. Sehmat undresses herself after a killing, stands under the shower and cries - the cries crack up the heart. One surrenders to the nation irrespective of the in-depth emotions, until Raazi came up the films relied more on nation. But, Meghna Gulzar proves, Emotion is greater than Nation.

The complex nature of the film might come across as a defect, beneath the surface the heart is rapidly beating and the conflicts underline every character. The borders cease to exist, writers Bhavani Iyer and Meghna Gulzar team up to built a strong sense of emotional play. And this is just what I always expected from a war-torn film. The dynamics of "Ae Watan" play in context to both the countries, there's no hero or villain - humanity is. Bollywood has often patronised the term "patriotism", Raazi steps beyond it by taking up the humanistic approach brilliantly. And then, the following dialogue works as a paradox- "Watan Ke Aage Kuch Bhi Nahi, Mohabbat Bhi Nahi (there's nothing beyond a nation, not even love)", says Iqbal Syed.

Sehmat played by Alia Bhatt carves into emotion during the shower scene, often her anxiety comes across childish which just stands as a mould. Watching the film with a peaceful mind might help to digest the thought properly, and I guess, our nation needs such a thought owing to the present "nationalist" agenda.

Misinterpretation of history about Bangladesh vs Pakistan in 1971.

**Minor spoilers**

We often laud our soldiers who have died trying to protect our Nation from enemies.Poems and songs are written.Laurels are given.Deservedly so.However,what about the people who are unnamed(and will probably remain so),but still served a pivotal role in protecting the Nation..and maybe even died doing so? 'Raazi' tells the story of one such character.

Among other things,the central purpose of 'Raazi' is to outline the sacrifices spies make.As one character complaints in a rather vicious manner,"Na rishton ki qadar hai..Na jaan ki"(you neither care for relationships nor life) The Nation comes first for these people.So much so,that even some personal relationships need to be sacrificed(atleast in this movie's case)

It is very,very rare to find an Indian movie that doesn't callously demean the 'enemy'.Usually,the audience is just supposed to hate the other side.Our side is always the best and the people involved think the same.Manipulative music,spoon-feeding the audience,cliched dialogues and extremely one-sided narrations usually plague Bollywood's attempts at patriotic movies.'Raazi' steers clear of all these issues.On the contrary,this movie demands an attentive viewing.The viewer is expected to remember certain details.The movie is buoyed by a taut screenplay and a brilliant central performance.Interestingly,this movie respects the patriotism on both sides.Neither side is made out to be a villain or a Hero.All characters are trying to do what's best for their country(ies)

I am delighted that such a movie has come out of India.There are some minor plot holes,but they don't affect the movie in any important way.Kudos to Meghna Gulzar for trusting the audience with such a screenplay and Kudos for bringing such a story to the public.

P.S.: There is something for Breaking Bad fans here too.I also got Homeland vibes from some scenes.