Raazi
Year: 2018
Director: Meghana Gulzar
Cast: Alia Bhatt, Vicky Kaushal

Within no time, Alia Bhat has risen to be the best young actress on the scene. The glamour doll in Student Of The Year, the tormented abductee in Highway; the confident MBA in Two States; the tortured laborer in Udta Punjab; the fun-loving romantic in Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania; the ambitious girl in Badrinath Ki Dulhania; the confused lover in Kapoor And Sons and the heartbroken nerd in Dear Zindagi….the sheer variety of her screen portrayals and the conviction she brought into them already has made her one of the all-time greats in my book. So when talented director Meghana Gulzar (with an acclaimed crime saga Talwar in her kitty) decided to present Alia as an undercover intelligence agent in Raazi, I was really looking forward to the matchup. And what a match-up it has proved!

What’s the plot?

Based on Harinder Sikka’s book- ‘Calling Sehmat’, a true story, Raazi is about a young Indian college student girl (Alia Bhatt), who agrees to marry a top Pakistani army officer’s son to fulfill her dying father’s wish. There is a specific reason behind the proposed alliance.

It is 1971. The Pakistani army is trying to crush the Mukti-bahini rebels led by Mujibur Rahman. With India covertly supporting the Bangla rebel movement, an Indo-Pak war is looming on the horizon. A surprise strike from Pakistan is on the cards but it is a highly guarded top secret.

The bride’s cancer-ridden father, who all his life has been secretly working as an Indian intelligence agent, now wants his daughter to use her presence in Pakistan’s top military family to get these secret plans.

With just a month’s quick training under her belt, will this callow young girl manage the dangerous task?

Verdict

Raazi is an engrossing spy thriller with a compelling human drama. What makes it a great film to watch is the palpable tension that Meghana Gulzar manages to create throughout the film. There is a constant sense of intrigue and danger, as the young girl, under the guise of being the sweet new bride in the family, goes about setting up her intelligence network and taking risks to lay her hands on the information. The breathless climax and its mind-numbing aftermath is a perfect ending.

The 70s feel is convincingly recreated and the characters are etched out with finesse. Alia is wonderful as always. She beautifully brings out the central character’s vulnerability and moral conflict. Vicky Kaushal as the shy, loving husband; Jaideep Ahlawat as the tough spymaster and Arif Zakaria as the suspicious house-servant leave an impression in a fine supporting cast.

For the sensitive and the sensible, there is a somber message that comes across subtly yet effectively. Rather than ending on a jingoistic high, Raazi shows the futility of war and enmity; and makes you question your priorities. It is not a chest-thumping ‘Indian heroes versus Pakistani villains’ story. There is no glamour and glory in this spy story; just a heartbreaking truth that in this ruthless under-cover profession one is but a mere disposable pawn; where a lofty ideal like patriotism may end up as the reason for blatantly betraying love and trust!

It is not to be missed film!

Rating

4 stars