Mission Majnu

Parveez Shaikh and Aseem Arrora's story is excellent and has all the ingredients required for a patriotic, commercial film. Sumit Batheja, Parveez Shaikh and Aseem Arrora's screenplay is very gripping. There have been similar films in this space in recent times like D-DAY [2013], RAAZI [2018], PARMANU [2018], and ROMEO AKBAR WALTER [2019]. But the script is written in such a way that one doesn’t get a déjà vu of any of these films. Moreover, the writers have peppered the narrative with some nail-biting moments that keep the interest going. Sumit Batheja's dialogues are conversational and a few of them stand out as they are applause worthy. Shantanu Bagchi's direction is praiseworthy, especially considering that this is his first film.

The film starts off well where we are introduced to Tariq and Nasreen. But as the plot progresses and things get serious, the direction feels out of focus. A spy thriller like Raazi is proof that you can make a film about a serious subject without making it feel like a documentary. Shantanu Bagchi’s treatment of the subject in MM feels a bit lost and confused in places. Does he want to make a gripping spy drama or is this a vehicle to cater to star power and weave in the cliched commercial elements like song, romance and an action-glazed climax? Also, real life personalities like Pakistan’s General Zia-ul-Haq and India’s then Prime Minister, India Gandhi, look like caricatures more than identifiable characters.

Spy movies need not follow a set pattern or temperament. They can be slow (The Conversation, The Lives of Others), fast (The Man from U.N.C.L.E, Mission: Impossible – Fallout), moody (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Munich) or extravagant (take your pick). But one thing they must all unerringly be is smart. Mission Majnu fares miserably on that front. Tariq has a soft smile and an ingratiating manner that makes everyone he approaches spill the beans, from a small child to a military chief. You wouldn’t believe it, but one of his initial quests involves tracking down the owner of the singular western toilet in Rawalpindi. Inexplicably, Shantanu saves the cleverest detail for the last: the amazingly real-life story of Indian agents confirming the existence of the nuclear base by stealing hair samples from a barber shop.