spacescreamer

The movie will serve as a reminder for some and as a Handy book for others as to how an article was used to keep India's territory separate via nefarious shenanigans by corrupt politicians.

It was very heartening to see the movie being carried by two capable female leads. A good choice to cast Mr Govil as the Prime Minister. The part + performance etched out for the Home Minister left a bit more to be desired though. Mr Raj Zutshi finally has a role in recent times that can be referred to. TV stalwarts showed their mettle as well.

Performance wise the movie should stand the test of times, however certain part are not devoid of slack but they are few, and are far apart. There was a GREAT opportunity to have two halves of the movie being distinct as action thriller and political thriller, but both halves had good bit of slack. More hand to hand combat, on foot chase sequences, better physical transformation of Yami etc would have cemented the first place. Second half having a strong Home Minister picturisation would have given the impetus for the highly charged scenes. The movie still being re-watch worthy means it has clocked a very coveted milestone.

Pick a hit movie, try remodel it with local sensibilities but fail.. cuz copywood, add what you can in oodles - Loud music and Vfx, in-house cheerleaders will post rave reviews... & Then leave it on the fanbois to take your movie through the critical week.

For good measures, throw in the tag line 'Don't Compare With The Original'

The immaturity mentioned leaves no doubts why the actors couldn't bring in the required nuances. The original too was a masala entertainer brought alive due to the chemistry between Madhavan & Setupaty. But when you bring in average to less than average actors in a REMAKE, with other parameters falling apart... You will, and have, fallen flat.

Anybody who has read up on the SEVEN Exoduses and Genocides of the Kashmiri Pandits would be able to recognize the scenes shown in the movie.

The movie attempts to show the horrendous plight of the Pandits (and the others who were persecuted) of their past and present. To depict the amount and types of atrocities that the victims had to go through is not possible due to the censoring and the restrictions a feature film's length poses. But despite these major stumbling blocks, the amount of information and hints strewn across the movie about the enormity of the situation is remarkable.

The performances by Mr Anupam Kher and Mr Darshan Kumar stood out. Ms Joshi played her role with aplomb and deserves fair share of the accolades. But Bhasha Sumbli, who played Sharda Pandit, emerged innocuously as a star. The direction was well done though the story appeared to have instances of slack and that of being rushed on a few occasions. Possibly, the censorship cuts played a role here but the movie is still supremely impactful.

The mainstream channels, OTT, and ofc 'bollywood' not only distanced itself but also actively worked against this project. All this amply shows how and why depicting the truth about one of the most heinous pogrom in the history of mankind had not been attempted till now. Salute to the brave Mr Agnihotri. Hopeful that the 'Director's cut' arrives in DVD+BD+Digital options.

This movie deserves the support not just in the present, but the future as well because the rivals of true cinema will not let this slide by just like that.