Shashiishere

Think it's about time that Bollywood gave us a gory, unapologetic, wild , action thriller which resonates with Indian audience at the same time is not inferior to the Korean or Hollywood flicks of the same genre.

The movies doesn't take a long time to establish characters which are so well sketched out and feal very real. It's claustrophobic in your face action makes your gut wrench (literally) considering almost the whole of it takes place in the aisle of a moving train.

The extended family dacoit gangs feel realistic and so does the army commandos to counter. The leading man is a hero and a becomes a monster too in the 2nd half finding innovative ways to "kill" which is wildly satisfying and seems justifiable. You can argue about the casting of the lead but he gives a credible performance.

The show stealers are the bad guys who actually make you feel unsafe sitting in the theatre and the director who gives a totally fresh Paisa vasool Raid style bloody(pun intended) action thriller with Desi emotions which works well.

When you move out of the theatre after watching the obscene gesture by an aged Ranbir you are really offended that the director tried to play a trick with the audience but it really isn't so throughout the movie at all. Yes the violence is excessive, unnecessary and glorified inspired by many Korean movies I'm sure but the writer director keeps you hooked on for the most part of this 3.21 hour extravaganza.

You wonder if this is the inflection point of Indian cinema post OTT revolution which has made the audience more mature and the routine stuff doesn't work anymore. Yes the movie has immense shock value right from guns, sex, unabashed talk which takes guts to produce in a mainstream cinema though it is meant for adults. A fantastic ensemble of actors make the characters lively and Ranbir probably gives his best lifetime performance as the grayest character ever written for him.

Yes the movie becomes illogical when you have people singing in the midst of a all out attack, absolute absence of law enforcement, miraculous recovery (though a sick Ranbir is believable) mindless butchering and shooting. The editing is up and down there are moments in the initial part when it elevates the tension and there are moments when it seems you are left wondering what the characters would be doing and feel interrupted in the 2nd half. It makes you think all that the protagonist did with his animal instincts was finally down the drain as nature takes its course(this could have been portrayed better).

Even with all the negatives the background score and music elevate the viewing experience manifold so does the black comedy. It seems as though this director is equally unabashed like his main character in his writing. The emotional scenes do make an impact and you can connect with most of the characters though the actions of these are outrageous and therein lies the movie's biggest strength.

Has enough infotainment to keep you engaged but cinematically could have been much better. scenes appear disjointed, poor background score, unnecessary shouting by characters to create impact. But if you want to enjoy a murder mystery with facts and conspiracy theories strung together to make sensible conclusions about a forgotten hero, this is your choice.