D-Day
Year: 2013
Director: Nikhil Advani
Cast: Irrfan, Arjun Rampal, Huma Qureshi, Shruti Hassan, Rishi Kapoor

Nikhil Advani has had a checkered career after a sparkling debut through Kal Ho Na Ho. His next films Salaame Ishq, Chandni Chowk To China and Patiala House did little to enthuse. But then he once again showed promise with a winsome animated feature Delhi Safari. So when he announced a film, a spy thriller about an imaginary plot about nabbing India’s most wanted terrorist criminal Dawood Ibrahim, it evoked mixed reactions. So did he manage to pull it off?

What’s the plot?

The chief of India’s spy agency RAW (Nasser) has been single-handedly plotting a secret mission to nab India’s most wanted terrorist-cum-mafia don (Rishi Kapoor), who has been hiding for years in Pakistan. For that the RAW-chief has planted a special agent (Irrfan) in Karachi who has been staying there for nine years having established an identity as a small-time barber with a Pakistani wife and a son. The extradition is planned at the time of the don’s son’s upcoming marriage and three more agents are sent to Karachi; an ex-convict (Aakash Dahiya) who joins as a driver in the don’s household; a London-based lawyer-cum-explosive expert (Huma Qureshi) who checks-in in the hotel where the marriage celebrations are planned and an ex-soldier-turned-hitman (Arjun Rampal) who bides his time in the city’s red-light area. Will this crack team succeed in bringing the dreaded criminal back to India to face justice for his heinous crimes? What if the mission fails for some reasons? Will India stand by these spies who have put their lives on line?

What’s hot?

·         A taut plot with plenty of twists and turns.

·         Believable situations and characters.

·         Excellent performances all around, with Rishi Kapoor being the stand-out performer.

·         Superb recreation of Pakistani locales.

·         Well-shot action sequences.

What’s not?

·         The Rampal- Shruti Hassan sub-plot slows down pace in the first half.

·         The ending is a bit confusing and melodramatic.

Verdict

From its appealing core theme of getting the don back from his den to its well-executed cinematic portrayal, D-day does most of the things right. It is an interesting, intriguing spy thriller well worth a watch.

Rating

3 and ½ stars.