Director Robbie Grewal handles the subject very well but the paper-thin story line and screenplay, especially in the first half, is below average and very tedious. John Abraham acts quite well and all his get-ups are truly amazing. He is well supported by Jackie Shroff, Mouni Roy and Sikandar Kher. The locations are just perfect and the era of 1971 is well created and captured by the cinematographer. For such a theme, the dialogues are also just ordinary. Although the first half is extremely slow-paced testing one’s patience, the second half of the film is fast-paced which culminates into the climax, which is quite interesting and gripping. The film has enough twists and turns to keep the audience engrossed in the last 25 minutes. However, the editing should have been sharper as it needs at least 20 mins of trimming. The story is too complicated and is devoid of thrills (like other spy dramas like ‘Raazi’ and ‘Baby’) on which the entire plot is built. The entry scene of Akbar into Pakistan in the top military is manifested childishly. For the masses, it certainly lacks entertainment and emotions. Music is another big let-down. It could have been a very good human/psychological drama that understands the emotions of unsung RAW agents, but it is unfortunately not! Appealing mostly to an elite audience, people may fall for the patriotic trap, but will return with great disappointment.
Rating: 2/5
As the film is likely to appeal a very thin section of the audience, it will find rejection from the masses.
