The Ghazi Attack

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.

First review of the year, second month of the year and probably the most celebrated movie of the year not in terms of financial budget, but in terms of story line up. Since years, I saw lots of Hollywood movies on War on all three wings of Defense Forces. Famous Bollywood movies were, Border, Lakshya, LOC Kargil and many more (I don't remember much). All these years I was thinking why there is no movie based on Indian Navy and today I got the answer to this question. First thing first, few key points to be noted: 1. Well scripted story. 2. True patriotic movie, would have released on 26th Jan or 15th Aug. 3. Technicality of submarine is well explained on screen. 4. Hats off to VFX director who made look things utmost real. 5. Please appreciate the people who were involved in the development of submarine prototype.

Now not in detail, but overview on movie. The Ghazi Attack starrer Famous Kay Kay Menon (S21 submarine Capt. Rann Vijay Singh), Rana Daggubati (Lt. Commander Arjun), Atul Kulkarni (Exe. Officer Devraj) and Tapsee Pannu (Bangladeshi refugee). This movie is battling with two other simultaneous releases Running Shaadi & Iraada. This is the first Indian War film at Sea.

Movie starts with the ongoing civil war between East (Now, Bangladesh) and West Pakistan in 1971. As Pakistan wants to put firm hold on Bangladesh, they launch an offensive confidential mission to eliminate INS Vikrant. Few of the intercepts are decode which clearly indicated that Indian Navy will go for search operation only, not on attack mode. So S21 Indian Navy submarine was deployed to monitor the location at Bay of Bengal covering East coast of India. Hence during several search operations they detect nothing but yet they find PNS Ghazi is on some mission to Chittagong even though war wasn't declared from both the sides. So there was a tense situation of ethics, rule book theories and orders.

All characters, dialects, interior were so well crafted that there is mere possibility of finding mistakes. And yes audience of India, they take lots of time in accepting these kind of movies. Kay Kay Menon - superb, Rana Daggubati - making a mark, Atul Kulkarni - support to both mentioned characters, Tapsee Pannu - mere role but justifiable.

Defence forces implies on Leadership skills, Team work, Ethics, Valor, Confidence, Decision taker, Discipline and Patriotic. Because of these warriors only we could spend our day peacefully. Must watch movie for everyone. Movie making is an art, not a joke so respect it and appreciate it if possible. See it on big screen only not on your laptop or mobile devices. STOP PIRACY.

"Bold" "Motivating" "Patriotic" "Must watch" Rating: 4/5

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.

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

You don't get bored any time. You can enjoy more if you don't know the actual story. The movie builds up good till interval and runs parallel to history, but towards the later half, in process of adding thrill to the original story, the depiction becomes a bit unrealistic and hard to digest and ends up being over-dramatised! Nevertheless, the cast is great. KK Menon is once again phenomenal. Tapsee takes mannequin challenge into the movie. Rana plays fine. Conclusively, the movie can be called a one-time watch for the sake of portraying the pivotal mission triggering 1971 war.