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.
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This from me is a One Time Watch.
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