The Ghazi Attack

The first Indian submarine war film the tag is enough to pull the audience to the theaters but Sankalp Reddy doesn't want to disappoint the audience only with the tag line. Ghazi attack is one of the best patriotic films in the recent past.

Ghazi Attack is a great watch for a movie lover. From the word go it engulfs the audience, no commercial elements to boost the box office (Thank god). The first few minutes of the movie is enough to guess the story, but the screenplay plays the hero here.

A captain with 'attack first' mind, a rule breaking is offense kind of Lt.Commander, a good supporting second in command captain are great add. The first half was a bit slow comparing the second, but it doesn't bore.

The second half owns the whole movie. The war sequences are gripping; especially when the Indian submarine faces an uphill task the audience might feel the pressure (Though predictable).

Each move by the submarines, be it the Indian's or the Pakistani's will keep the audience hooked. The unusual situation and the way the soldiers come out of it were pictured well (Though a bit cinematic). The climax and the national anthem were enough for Goosebumps.

Cast performance: Cast selection was great, Kay Kay Menon as the Captain Ranvijay Singh has lived the role throughout the movie. Being a politically correct officer is not his cup of cake and he does it with ease. His acting and expressions plants him as one of the favorite characters form the movie.

His second in command Atul Kulkarni (Devaraj) was equally good. He scores in every frame he is present. Though his expressions are controlled he delivers what he has to. A perfect addition for the character.

Rana Daggubati as the Lt.Commander takes the back seat until the war is way out of hand. His expressionless face bores for sometime but once he takes the control of the submarine he excels both in war and in acting.

Tapsee Pannu doesn't have much screen presence, but justifies her role. She should have got a little more screen presence (after all she is the only female in the crew). All the other characters have done their part, but don't fit the navy dress.

Team review: Sankalp Reddy in his first directorial has impressed with a great story and a first of its kind movie. He has to relay mostly on his story and the cast in which he manages to excel. He didn't waste time in any unwanted songs or commercial elements (Kudos bro). Though he was given limited resources , he has done a great job.

K's music was the pulse of the story. His BGM creates a great cinematic experience. Cinematography by Madhie has another plus of the movie.

Thought the movie has few sidelines like the VFX it's a great attempt for a debut director. He manages to keep the audience engaged throughout the movie. The whole team needs a pat on the back for bringing in the first of its kind movie.

While leaving the theater everyone would feel proud of the country and the soldiers who die for the nation.

Seldom do we have amazing war dramas made in India. The Ghazi Attack breaks the mould to give us an edge of seat, gripping movie. Not many know about this war and I'm among them. Though the movie is a work of fiction and the events have been dramatized, the premise is the same.

The movie has an ensemble cast consisting of Kay Kay Menon, Atul Kulkarni, Rana Duggabati. All 3 deliver power packed performance which add to the amazingness of the movie. We also get to see how a submarine works with detailed sets of the interiors of a submarine. Most of the other underwater scenes are courtesy special effects which are mildly average to be very frank. The movie is very tight with just a little over 120 minutes and does not feel stretched even a bit.

The movie beautifully shows the internal conflict in between the indian naval officers. It adds to depth of the film . Sankalp Reddy does a fine job considering this is his directorial debut. He lets the movie stay in its genre and does not indulge in mainstream elements to try and sell the movie. Patriotism and nationalism is high in the film as expected. The unique experience the movie offers being an underwater film is reason enough to watch it.

The buzz around the movie was unmistakable. The attempt was first of its kind, and for once, everybody expected a tightly woven tale with worthy gfx in tow. But if one thought that even after a rich history and experience of producing movies since decades + advancements in affordable gfx will finally deliver a tout all time hit, those people need to think again.

The movie starts off nicely. First the baritone of Mr Bachchan, and subsequently the scene involving (Late) Om Puri and Nasser looked like the harbingers of a successful venture. The movie looked en route to a successful journey from the word go. Even after a few minutes had lapsed, one could sense that this is not going let up, as there was very less margin to do so. It had a dash of history, backing of good actors, and tech advancements on its side. But things started to nose dive soon.

While KK Menon looked set to deliver a powerful performance, and ditto for Mr Kulkarni as well, the talent available at hand was not utilized fully. Tapsee Pannu's role could have been managed via an anecdote. The direction just was not able to pull off a nerve wracking thriller expected out of it. Add to it the penchant to include queasy melodrama, and reluctance to learn from existing epic projects, all these became the undoing of a potential hit. There were moments where the direction could have been tighter, and some slick editing would have at least saved the day, but it seemed as if the movie tried hard to include the forced antics. The graphics are good, but do not hold a candle to the ones people are now accustomed to. The maker(s) must have been counting on the emotional + 'its one of a kind' sentiment to see the movie pull itself over the line.

Rana Daggubati does well in bit n pieces, but lacked the aura expected from a defense personnel. Making matters worse, the predictable nature of some of the key scenes stuck out like a sore thumb. They just had to bring in some clichéd stuff and forced suspense.

The audience is now much more mature, and the movie makers have repeatedly failed to acknowledge this fact. The dangerous trend of declaring a movie 'hit' based on box office collection and paid reviews may give such films a fake certificate of success, but unfortunately for the team, such movies will not morph quality-wise in the future and will be panned even more.

I expected a natural progression from the days of 'Lakshya', which was a brilliant movie, but was left sorely disappointed. The Ghazi Attack goes down not mainly due to the weight of a debutante director, but due to the act of pandering to the lowest common denominator.

Still after so may years Indian filmmakers fail to appreciate originality. "The Ghazi Attack" blatantly plagiarizes "Das Boot", a WW2 epic about a U2 submarine and its crew. If you are lucky enough to have seen "Das Boot" you shall share the same animosity for "The Ghazi Attack".

Though it casts some good actors the dialogues are very weak. Even the intense situations fail to thrill. The plot of the movie is to show a cat and mouse game between Indian and Pakistani Submarine. The two rival captains are supposed to be intelligent but its hard to find even a trace of it, all owing to poor research and script.

All in all it is an ambitious attempt but the execution is below par.

5 star out of 10

When was the last time Bollywood thought of not going by the winning formula of Song-dance-revenge formula or following the way of being over intellectual? The Ghazi Attack marks the beginning of a new era, heralded by the young directors like Sankalp Reddy. Tense from the word go, the movie is a captivating tale of patriotism,one's duty to his nation and victory at the cost of sacrifice.Throughout the movie you root for the Indian forces and for the tri-colour. Unfortunately this movie has not minted money like the way Bahubali or other movies have done.But for a connoisseur of movie, it is a wonderful gift. go and enjoy with your family.This is going to stay in your heart for long.