"Mission Kashmir" (MK) was one of the most anticipated films of 2000. The film was hyped even before its release and compared to the other big-budget blockbuster of the year - "Mohabbatein". Frankly, I think MK has outdone "Mohabbatein" on most counts. The story of MK is about a Altaf, a small boy orphaned by masked police men headed by a dedicated officer, Inayat Khan (Sanjay Dutt) when they kill Altaf's defenceless family during a firefight with militants. However, Khan tries to make up for this tragedy by adopting Altaf as his son. Just as Altaf is slowly recovering from the terrible shock of losing his real parents, he realises that Inayat Khan is the same masked officer who killed them. In anger and frustration, he flees the house and grows up to be Altaf, the militant (Hrithik Roshan). Altaf is brought up by famed guerilla fighter Hilal Kohistani (Jackie Shroff) and returns to the beautiful valleys of Kashmir 10 years later to perform the top secret 'Mission Kashmir'.
What makes this is a great film to watch is its technical brilliance and good performances by its actors. Sanjay Dutt has given an outstanding performance in the film, supported well by Hrithik Roshan, Jackie Shroff and Sonali Kulkarni. Sanjay Dutt proves his versatility with this film and so does Hrithik Roshan. With just 2 films before this one, Hrithik exudes confidence equal to that of a veteran actor. Sonali Kulkarni, in her cameo role, has done a pretty good job, stressing the fact that if there are good roles in Hindi films, you can expect good performances. Preity Zinta, who plays Sufiya Parvez is also pretty good as Hrithik's childhood sweetheart. But Sanjay Dutt really steals the show. The action scenes are the one of the best I have seen in Hindi films and the film is technically sound. The music is satisfying, but could have been better. Having directed great films in the past (eg. Parinda, Khamosh and 1942: A Love Story) Vidhu Vinod Chopra does a great job once again.
Overall, this film is a welcome break from other Hindi action films. Although it did not do as well as expected at the box-office, I believe "Mission Kashmir" is worth watching!
