Underworld and terrorism has always been a tantalizing topic for Bollywood film-makers and this time, its Nikhil Advani who plunges into this dark and alien terrain with his modern spy thriller,D-Day. With a great deal of implicit
inspiration from the much-acclaimed,Zero Dark Thirty, D-Day is about the hunt for India's most wanted man,Sultan(played by Rishi Kapoor) called operation Goldman.
An undercover RAW agent in Pakistan ,Wali(Irrfan Khan) comes close to pinning Sultan, when the latter comes out of hiding to attend his son's wedding.Things get doubly interesting when Rudra Pratap(Arjun Rampal)an ex-army official , Zoya Rehman(Huma Qureshi)RAW Explosives agent and Aslam(Akash Dahiya),a petty crook from the streets of Mumbai are deployed by RAW Chief,Ashwini Rao(Nasser) to join the operation.However, their mission takes a wrong turn and things go south making their lives irreversibly intertwined.
A script centered around India's most wanted, with obvious references to the mafia king,Dawood instantly generates immense curiosity but Nikhil surprises us with his ferocious detailing and technical finesse.His migration from the comfort zone(sentimental flicks like Patiala House, Kal Ho Naa Ho) is a testament to his maturity and growth as a director.With some raw and gritty action sequences,stirring some facts with fiction, he not only sets the perfect recipe for a nail-biting thriller but also laces them with intense emotional interludes.Specially, the brief sequences of Irrfan and his family bring a lump in your throat.Cinematography is top-notch which makes us believe that it is really shot in Karachi.Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's music is seamlessly integrated with the gripping narrative.'Alvida' is arguably the best soundtrack of the movie , most hauntingly yet beautifully picturized.Dialogues are superb.
D-Day boasts of an ensemble starcast.Rishi Kapoor plays a negative character yet again and he amazes us with his venomous intensity and wit.Arjun Rampal,with his brooding looks and menacing physique is outstanding.He speaks volumes with his silence which is going to shut the critics' mouth who labeled him as wooden.Shruti Haasan, in a cameo, lends a lot of vulnerability to her character.Irrfan Khan is amazingly consistent and gets to deftly depict the character of the man torn between duty and family.Huma Qureshi and Dahiya are very much competent in their respective roles.Shreeswara,playing Irrfan's wife is quite a revelation !Nasser and KK Raina are adequate.
On the whole, D-Day is an earnest attempt to make a fictionalized potboiler, the finale might boast of jingoistic overdose but its certainly worth a watch.Alert : Not for the weak-hearted(a bit high on blood and gore).
My Rating : 3.5/5
