Raazi Movie Review: Alia Bhatt in a poster of the film (courtesy Instagram)
Raazi movie review: Alia Bhatt and Vicky Kaushal (courtesy Instagram)
Raazi movie review: Alia Bhatt in a still (courtesy Instagram)
Raazi movie review: Soni Razdan in a still (courtesy Instagram)
Alia Bhatt, Vicky Kaushal, Soni Razdan, Rajit KapurMeghna Gulzar3 Stars (out of five)The year is 1971. An Indian intelligence official lays out a scheme to send his daughter - an untrained college-girl - behind enemy lines to Pakistan, smuggling her in to sneak out wartime secrets. His colleague naturally finds the idea rummy, and is expressing objections when the officer's wife insists they have dinner. "," she says, "Hopes aren't met on an empty stomach." She leaves the room, and the colleague, hoping better sense will prevail from this articulate woman, asks his friend what she would rather do. "She'd rather you eat," the officer smiles.Coming from Meghna Gulzar - the director of, a fantastic film about a true-life murder case that was brave enough to take a stand - this delicacy isn't surprising., based on Harinder Sikka's novel, is about the daughter of a spy strategically turned into the daughter-in-law of an opposing spy, and Gulzar keeps the storytelling cut and dry , draining the film of jingoism as she lets the young girl go about her work.The problem lies with the young girl herself. The first time we meet this character, Sehmat, she runs onto the middle of the road to rescue an imperilled squirrel - cute-meat if not a meet-cute - and the film's pitch changes immediately. Her father, normally restrained, starts speaking to her with overt exposition, suddenly parroting manipulative lines like a male Farida Jalal. "You know I work for the intelligence bureau," he tells his daughter, for some reason. ("?" is her line right after).was meant to be a realistic thriller but, thanks to Sehmat, it keeps spiralling towards cinematic melodrama.The film switches track every time Alia Bhatt, who plays Sehmat, appears on screen. Bhatt is an incendiary talent, butexposes how she overplays her hand. She is never bad here, but frequently does far more than needed, emoting for visibility rather than feeling. It is the kind of performance that may easily be mistaken for an impressive one - we do often treasure 'Most Acting' over 'Best Acting,' after all - but she is out of her depth, particularly because Gulzar surrounds the A-lister with a remarkably authentic ensemble. So we have a few solid beats, with officious gents opening files and discussing submarines, and then we have Sehmat, who suffixes every narrow escape with a hyperventilating shudder and moist-eyed shock - an indiscreet reaction that would be sure to raise an eyebrow. Bhatt has cornered the market on histrionics (and, indeed, hysterics) in this film.The plot in itself is quite compelling, with fine parallels between a daughter-in-law winning over and fitting into her household contrasted with the reasons a spy would have for the same, butfrequently makes itself hard to take seriously. For instance, despite her combat training, Sehmat can't seem to negotiate the climbing of a high stool, and there is also the niggling detail that nobody in this Pakistani family, a family of army-men and decoders of intelligence, ever thinks to suspect the Indian girl in their midst. As a result, the film is competently crafted but never gripping. The stakes feel dramatic but unreal, and the film feels slow as a result. It certainly doesn't earn its running time of two hours and twenty minutes. By the time the shrill climax comes around, dullness has set in.Besides the intriguing-spy premise, the film presents nothing new to inform the genre: spies have feelings, spies get sappy, spies cry. Even Bond films show us that these days. Gulzar does commendably depict how the other side is just like us - there is a rather clever use of the song Ae Watan , a patriotic track sung with equal fervour from both sides - but is the mere fact that this film does not thump its chest enough for applause?Raazi does impress, though. The film has some finely phrased Urdu lines, and there is poetry to be found in the accidental belling of a cat and the savagery of a speed-bump. Rajit Kapur, Shishir Sharma, Asif Zakaria and Ashwath Bhatt are consistently solid with their matter-of-fact portrayals of country-loving men, Vicky Kaushal is believably vulnerable as Sehmat's groom , and it is a treat to see Soni Razdan back on screen, albeit in a tiny role. The film is centred, however, by the spymaster. As the operative who trains Sehmat, Jaideep Ahlawat is exceptional, creating a character who is steely and unflinching while also one whose heart is never in doubt. A superb, delicately poised performance.With her innocent face and her round cheeks - that bounce with the recoil of the gun she fires - Bhatt really looks the part of the naive little operative, which is what makes it heart-breaking that she can't pull it off as well as she should. There is the constant sense of self-consciousness to her performance, making Sehmat seem like a girl playacting as a spy instead of an actual spy. That might clear the average bar for a mainstream Hindi film, but Gulzar and Bhatt deserve to be held to a higher standard. It's not enough to be
Alia Bhatt's Raazi - 5 Takeaways From New Spy Thriller Alia Bhatt's Raazi tells the story of Sehmat, a young Kashmiri woman married off by her father to a Pakistani army in order to spy for India
579 Shares EMAIL PRINT Alia Bhatt plays the role of Sehmat, an Indian spy, in Raazi (courtesy YouTube) New Delhi: Highlights Alia Bhatt's new film Raazi released on Friday Raazi is set during the India-Pakistan war of 1971 Vicky Kaushal co-stars with Alia Bhatt in Raazi Raazi is set during the India-Pakistan war of 1971 and tells the story of Sehmat, a young Kashmiri woman married off by her father to a Pakistani army in order to spy for India. Masaan, and Rajit Kapur co-star. Alia's mother Soni Razdan plays her mother in the film. Here are five things from Raazi that stuck with me after I watched it.
1) An Actor Is An Actor
Back in the days, actors were typecast in a certain kind of roles. Meena Kumari was known as the tragedy queen, Smita Patil was the face of parallel cinema, and then there were those like Parveen Babi who would act only in mainstream films opposite A-list male actors. Times have changed, and the lines between different kinds of cinema have blurred. Alia Bhatt is one such actress who cuts across different genres and performs depending on what the script demands. Her performance in Udta Punjab, where she played a rape survivor, was praised and so was her role in Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya where she was a small town girl with big dreams. Now in her very next release Raazi, Alia gets into something serious. She plays a timid Kashmiri girl who leaves school to obey her father's wish of
Alia Bhatt in a still from Raazi (courtesy YouTube)
2) Good Books Make Good Films
Chetan Bhagat is one of the bestselling authors in India. 3 Idiots and 2 States have been based on his novels. 3 Idiots turned out to one of the most successful films of all times and 2 States, which starred Alia Bhatt and Arjun Kapoor, was also a super-hit film. Meghna Gulzar's Raazi is based on Harinder Sikka's novel Calling Sehmat. It's a story of young braveheart who played a key role during the 1971 Indo-Pak war. This is a very important story in Indo-Pak war history. Because films have a wider reach, suddenly there is a huge interest in the story of Sehmat Khan, the unsung hero who was an Indian girl who was married to a Pakistani army officer and was told to spy on the country and pass confidential information to India. Meghna's execution and Alia's sincere performance makes this a good watch. Raazi is of course a dramatic version of the book but the director said this story moved her and she wanted to make into a film.
Alia Bhatt plays a spy-wife in Raazi (courtesy YouTube)
3) We Need More Good Thrillers
India makes the maximum number of films but only a handful of good thrillers. That's the reason audience is glued to Netflix, which offers a variety of thrillers - TV shows and films. Raazi is a good spy thriller. It makes you realize that it's not tough to make one if the makers find a good story. India has a lot of interesting stories - newspapers are full of cases that have a lot of public interest, and many of those can be made into good thrillers. Why would we look east or west if Indian filmmakers offered good home-grown thrillers?
Alia Bhatt in a poster of Raazi (courtesy Instagram)
4) Reminder Of The Rule Of War
. When you are at war, you do what you got to do. Rights and wrongs change depending on whom you are fighting for and against. And to protect your country you just have to do the job. A soldier in uniform has one job - that could mean executing the enemy by firing a bullet through his chest. Unsung heroes fight for the same cause, but their fight is different. He/she could be a spy or an informer; they risk their lives as well, every day and pass key information to the security forces. The army, navy and air force have to depend on these job roles to make plans and be ready to face unexpected attacks. Key information provided by Sehmat Khan prevented INS Vikrant from falling prey to the Ghazi Attacks. Indian security forces had no idea about it till this young 20-year-old passed on this valuable information to India.
Raazi reminds you about the reality of war (courtesy YouTube)
5) You Don't Have To Leave Your Brains At Home To Enjoy A Film
You are often told to leave your brains at home while going to the cinemas to watch a Bollywood film; I don't even know what that means. But what I do know is that many of us like to watch good stories and support good cinema. Often we complain about lack of good choices when it comes to Hindi films. Week after week films release but many are not worth your time and money. Raazi sure is! The great news is that you have to go to the cinemas with your brains to enjoy this film. While you are watching a young girl's story, you are very much involved in it. You want her to succeed in her mission. After the film when you walk out of the movie hall, the story stays with you and you think of the unsung heroes and why they do what they do. If a movie makes you think of them for a while, then that's a big job done.
Alia Bhatt's new film Raazi , in which she plays a spy, released today. Directed by Meghna Gulzar,is set during the India-Pakistan war of 1971 and tells the story of Sehmat, a young Kashmiri woman married off by her father to a Pakistani army in order to spy for India. Vicky Kaushal , who made his name with the film, and Rajit Kapur co-star. Alia's mother Soni Razdan plays her mother in the film. Here are five things fromthat stuck with me after I watched it.Back in the days, actors were typecast in a certain kind of roles. Meena Kumari was known as the tragedy queen, Smita Patil was the face of parallel cinema, and then there were those like Parveen Babi who would act only in mainstream films opposite A-list male actors. Times have changed, and the lines between different kinds of cinema have blurred. Alia Bhatt is one such actress who cuts across different genres and performs depending on what the script demands. Her performance in, where she played a rape survivor, was praised and so was her role inwhere she was a small town girl with big dreams. Now in her very next release, Alia gets into something serious. She plays a timid Kashmiri girl who leaves school to obey her father's wish of becoming a spy for India and serving the country. She gets into the skin of her character, and you forget you are watching Alia Bhatt.Chetan Bhagat is one of the bestselling authors in India. 3 Idiots and 2 States have been based on his novels. 3 Idiots turned out to one of the most successful films of all times and 2 States, which starred Alia Bhatt and Arjun Kapoor, was also a super-hit film. Meghna Gulzar's Raazi is based on Harinder Sikka's novel Calling Sehmat. It's a story of young braveheart who played a key role during the 1971 Indo-Pak war. This is a very important story in Indo-Pak war history. Because films have a wider reach, suddenly there is a huge interest in the story of Sehmat Khan, the unsung hero who was an Indian girl who was married to a Pakistani army officer and was told to spy on the country and pass confidential information to India. Meghna's execution and Alia's sincere performance makes this a good watch.is of course a dramatic version of the book but the director said this story moved her and she wanted to make into a film.India makes the maximum number of films but only a handful of good thrillers. That's the reason audience is glued to Netflix, which offers a variety of thrillers - TV shows and films.is a good spy thriller. It makes you realize that it's not tough to make one if the makers find a good story. India has a lot of interesting stories - newspapers are full of cases that have a lot of public interest, and many of those can be made into good thrillers. Why would we look east or west if Indian filmmakers offered good home-grown thrillers?4) Reminder Of The Rule Of War Raazi reminds you about the reality of war . When you are at war, you do what you got to do. Rights and wrongs change depending on whom you are fighting for and against. And to protect your country you just have to do the job. A soldier in uniform has one job - that could mean executing the enemy by firing a bullet through his chest. Unsung heroes fight for the same cause, but their fight is different. He/she could be a spy or an informer; they risk their lives as well, every day and pass key information to the security forces. The army, navy and air force have to depend on these job roles to make plans and be ready to face unexpected attacks. Key information provided by Sehmat Khan prevented INS Vikrant from falling prey to the. Indian security forces had no idea about it till this young 20-year-old passed on this valuable information to India.You are often told to leave your brains at home while going to the cinemas to watch a Bollywood film; I don't even know what that means. But what I do know is that many of us like to watch good stories and support good cinema. Often we complain about lack of good choices when it comes to Hindi films. Week after week films release but many are not worth your time and money.sure is! The great news is that you have to go to the cinemas with your brains to enjoy this film. While you are watching a young girl's story, you are very much involved in it. You want her to succeed in her mission. After the film when you walk out of the movie hall, the story stays with you and you think of the unsung heroes and why they do what they do. If a movie makes you think of them for a while, then that's a big job done. NDTV Beeps - your daily newsletter
