Uri: The Surgical Strike

*ing: Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Yami Gautam, Kirti Kulhari, Mohit Raina

Rated: 8/10

A war film on an event so near in time and territory is bound to be engaging and stoke a wave of nationalism, more so if it is Pakistan on the receiving end of India’s rare wrath. Only in the extreme case can this go wrong. The real surgical strike on PoK in retaliation to the terror strike in Uri had come as a surprise to the nation with most of the populace lauding the one-time invasion. Keeping it as a peg to pan out on the trials and travails of an Army family has worked.

This film works on many levels and that includes the controlled but brilliant acting of a simmering Vicky Kaushal who helms the surgical strike. The other characters, including veteran Paresh Rawal who essays the role of NSA head Ajit Dhoval with a cell phone breaking idiosyncrasy, are fully fleshed out and second to the plot which is a refreshing change coming from Bollywood.

The director has done well not to take too many cinematic liberties with the peg and keeps the action tagged to reality. Soldiers and commandos sent to the front are as sizzling as are the huddles in PMO giving shape to the idea of a never before strike.

The action looks well studied and researched. Silently intruding unmanned vehicles in the form of an eagle, choppers camouflaged in Indian colours, soldiers sneaking into Pakistan through dark caves lit only by night vision devises, slick shootings without much ado – everything inexorably builds up to a climax which we all know went in India’s favour.

The action on the other side of the border, with groovy spy ops and India blinding its neighbour with the unfathomable move goes a long way in punctuating this movie with a lot of ying and yang energy. The action blends beautifully with the dilemma Kaushal faces in choosing his duties between his mother and the nation.

The dialogues are to the point and sometimes jingoistic but it all goes well with the mood of the story which is otherwise reality meets reality on the big screen which is otherwise known to go OTT with song and dance around everything that Bollywood attempts.

A must watch by all ages.