Raazi Review

Raazi is a film co-written and directed by Meghna Gulzar. The trailers seemed good to me and the ongoing positive reception, both, critically and commercially, compelled me to watch this film. And I can definitely say that this is one of the best of 2018.

Plot: Sehmat is married to Iqbal Syed of the Pakistani army, so that she can pass information about Pakistan’s actions against India during 1971.

Story and direction: This film is adapted from the novel ‘Calling Sehmat’ by Harinder Sikka. This film has been very beautifully adapted by Meghna and Bhavani Iyer. The writing of the film is spot-on and never is it felt that the story was dragging. The character work of this film is also so intricate and detailed that I was in awe. The film not only showed that how spies work but also put light on the fact as to how difficult is a spy’s work mentally. This aspect is highlighted most in this venture which was a risk and I salute Meghna and team for taking that risk. Here the Pakistani’s are not shown as the enemies but as humans who would do anything to protect their country. The scenery of Kashmir and Pakistan were very well captured. But I did feel that I could guess some scenes. I am thinking that is just me. The character choices seemed very guessable, which was my only flaw with this film.

Performances: Alia Bhatt once again proves that she is a great actress if given a compelling script. From the young college girl to the Indian spy, she played all the roles with ease. Vicky Kaushal was another of the gems of this film. Jaideep Ahlawat was an awesome mentor to Alia’s character. Rajit Kapur, Shishir Sharma and Arif Zakaria also provided come great performances.

Songs and BGM: This film has only three songs and all of them are good. Gulzar’s lyrics and Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy’s music were good. The songs never felt they were there to just fill in gaps. They moved the story forward and provided fuel to such a wonderful story. My favorite was ‘Dilbaro’. The BGM felt good to the ears and not irritable as most Indian BGM’s sound.

Favorite Scene: It would be the one in the beginning where Hidayat tells Sehmat to return to college and resume her studies. But then Sehmat replies that if her father can serve the nation why not her. The kind of maturity seen in that particular scene is what made an impression on my mind and my favourite.

Verdict: Meghna Gulzar is proving to be one of the compelling female directors of recent times. First Talvar and now Raazi. This film’s different take on a spy genre and Alia’s performance make this a must watch.

I am going with a 9/10 with this one.