Reviews & Ratings for
Parmanu: The Story of Pokhran (2018)

Directed by Abhishek Sharma, Parmanu is a film based on true incident of nuclear testing in India (1998). Film features John Abraham, Diana Penty, Boman Irani and Anuja Sathe in prominent characters. It speaks about the historical event of India becoming a nuclear state.

First of all, let me tell you frankly that I was not going for this movie till the last night. Somehow I felt that it's going to be a boring film as what will they show about nuclear test! But last night, I read one tweet praising about it. So I made up my mind to take a risk. Believe me, I am extremely satisfied now!

What went through during the test of nuclear, that also with super secrecy from entire world, especially CIA. There is a constant pace that the film continues on with lot's of happening in between. There is a strong emotional factor, too. And above all, the patriotism makes it a worthy watch for every Indian.

John Abraham is at his best. Many will say that this is his best film in the entire career. Also, he is a producer of this film. There were some issues, and because of that the film's future went in danger. But he somehow manages to break all the odds and Today he made it to the theatres as well. Kudos to him for lifting up such a story which the entire nation needs to know.

Diana Penty looks perfect for the role. She acts beautifully and looks charming. Anuja Sathe delivers a solid performance as a wife of John. Boman Irani is excellent. His conversation scenes with John are the best! Supporting cast, especially the Pandavas have done a great job. They keep you engage as well as entertain throughout.

Music by Sachin-Jigar adds an element of Rajasthani touch. Folk tunes and voices are very much relatable to the story and situation. Sapna by Arijit is my favourite from this album.

Location adds thrill to the story. Storms and sands are captured well. The whole setup of plant was developed superb. It is hard to crew for the setup pf 1998 in the current year, but they have done it nicely. Though, the blast could have been shown better. Although, it is nice now. Usage of old footage such as speech by Bajpayee is also good.

Overall, this film should not be missed. You will feel proud for sure. This film is an ode to our engineers and scientists. And that too in a thriller format. John Abraham and Abhishek Sharma deserve applaud for making such a wonderful film. And I wish John will make such films in future as well (like his production house did in the past). So, a must watch story of Pokhran. 4/5.

Parmanu – The Story of Pokhran is a film co-written and directed by Abhishek Sharma. I had an idea about the film when it was announced a year ago but didn’t follow any of the promotions the film did. I watched it since I heard the praises for this film (which I knew somewhere down my heart).

Plot: Ashwat Raina is appointed as the lead for a team to conduct a nuclear test at the testing site of Pokhran in 1998.

Story and direction: With films based on real life stories/incidents, it is bound that the creative team will take certain liberties to make the film viewable for the audiences. Sometimes those liberties work, sometimes they just don’t. But in this film, I would prefer saying the latter (for the most part). The build-up and suspense is maintained all throughout the film although we know what the end result we be. I was especially caring for the lead characters for the entire runtime. And that is where this film wins. Abhishek Sharma and his team were able to bring me into the environment of tension the film is in and grasp my attention for all the 122 minutes of the film. The production values for the film are good (considering the tight budget of the film). The makers successfully transported me back to 1995 and 1998. Even the subplots that are introduced are not just for the sake of it. It meant something. I felt the makers have extensively researched the film and presented it to us, which is commendable. My only small issues were the tid-bits of commercialism that were thrown into the film, but that is fine.

Music: The film has music composed by Sachin-Jigar and Jeet Ganguuli with BGM by Sandeep Chowta. While the later was good and tuned in with the film, I did have an issue with the former. The songs felt just like additions which were not so good. The film could have just done it without them. But still I did have a favorite song. And that was ‘Thaare Vaaste’ by Divya Kumar.

Performances: A good film is defined by its actors. And this film has a good number of them. John Abraham did good on his part. Diana Penty was fabulous in her role. Aditya Hitkari, Yogendra Tiku, Vikas Kumar and Ajay Shankar performed with ease as if they were really the characters they portrayed. Anuja Sathe and Boman Irani did add their talent to this film.

Favorite Scene: It would be the one where Prem and Ashwat during their first meeting say that all differences don’t matter, and we should be concentrating on the work as hand. This scene was very important in establishing the relationship these 6 charcaters would embark on and how it would affect their work culture.

Verdict: I would go on to say that this is Abhishek Sharma’s best film as a director. With this film he proved that not only he is a good director but can also dabble genres other than comedy. This film was great from start to finish.

I am going with an 8.5/10.