The 1993 train bomb blasts, 26/11 terrorist attack on the city that never sleep and Hyderabad blasts prompt us all to think that why the roots of all these evils can't be destroyed. We start to wonder that if America can assassinate the terrorist Osama Bin Laden who brought about the attacks of twin towers in USA, why can't we take down the country's most old and dangerous enemy. The answer to our question pops up after watching this movie 'D-Day' directed by Nikhil Advani.
The filmmaker who made romantic comedy films like Kal Ho Na Ho, Salam-E- Ishq & Patiala House steps out of his genre and delivers an outstanding film based on the world's most wanted criminal mastermind. Artistically crafted on celluloid, D-Day lives up to its expectations which were looming amongst the audience as soon as the promos released. You would expect a fantastic spy thriller on the parallel lines of 'Zero Dark Thirty' (obviously eliminating its hollowness) and I am sure you won't be disappointed.
A beautiful wedding scene at the beginning which happens to be the underworld Don's son's wedding reception is located in a beautiful 5- star hotel in Pakistan. Splendidly decorated wedding hall, guests arriving in rich & grand outfits and a short Rajpal Yadav singing ' Damadam Mast Kalandar' in background witnesses an infiltration by four agents on a mission. A thrilling scene shot perfectly without any ambiguity shows how the four agents successfully captivate the Don who happens to arrive at his son's wedding.
The film flies back 40 days before the Goldman operation ( as it is so named after the Don) where Irrfan Khan (Walia) as an undercover RAW agent working as a barber in Pakistan lives with his wife Nafisa and his son Kabir who are kept in dark from his original identity. This part shows affection he had for his wife and his children and a fear that this affection somehow can prove his big weakness in future starts to haunt him. The former half of D-Day mainly introduces the main characters of the film in a well-defined manner.
Arjun Rampal plays Captain Rudra Prasad Singh, an ex-Army officer who is dismissed from his military duty because of an undisclosed reason. Of all the four agents participating in this mission, Rudra is the most short-tempered and eccentric one. He walks with a well build stature reflecting his army officer persona wherever he goes. The film is not just mere hyped action film but also involves a romantic angle between Rudra and Suraiya (Shruti Hasaan), a prostitute in Karachi's red light district. Rudra lives in red light area in Karachi to conceal his true identity from Pakistani locals and ends up falling for Suraiya.
Huma Qureshi as Zoya Rehman is beautiful, determined, intelligent and straight forward agent. She has the capability to camouflage easily and successfully with the local Pakistan people so as to not arouse suspicion. The fourth agent is played by Aakash Dahiya as Aslam who is charged of three murders and is offered a release in exchange of helping RAW in their secret mission by chief of RAW, Ashwini Rao.
Just as the Goldman operation goes abruptly wrong, Goldman escapes from the scene, just inches after being captivated and turns his sources after these four agents. These agents are searched for by Pakistan's ISI agency and also by Goldman's men as they their lives are turned upside down after their unfortunate failure in the operation.
Rishi Kapoor playing the underworld Don could have been the pivotal part of the film but unfortunately he is not. Irrfan Khan and Arjun Rampal happen to be high points of the film as each of them handles their role effectively. We have some smart dialogue writing by Niranjan Iyengar who had contributed large to dialogues in Once Upon A Time in Mumbai also making an equally vital contribution to the D-Day.
The film could have been emotionally stronger and the conclusion could have appeared more convincing than it appears to be. But apart from it, the film is phenomenal and outstanding if we overlook its slight deviation to a personal angle at its end. Just like most of the Hindi films, D-Day symbolizes Bollywood's long standing fascination to Dawood Ibrahim. However it showcases the slight swagger and invincibility, this movie possesses.
But overall, a great work by Nikhil Advani in his first ever spy thriller action movie. A 6/10 stars for D-Day from me.
