Movie Review: India's Most Wanted

 India's Most Wanted: Not So Thrilling!

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"The object of terrorism is terrorism. The object of oppression is oppression. The object of torture is torture. The object of murder is murder. The object of power is power. Now, do you begin to understand me? " -- George Orwell

Raj Kumar Gupta's film 'India's Most Wanted' is about one of the dreaded terrorists Yasin Bhatkal and his arrest from Nepal's Pokhara in 2013. Based on the true story on how Yasin, the NIA Most Wanted, was traced and arrested by a bunch of daring and committed intelligence officers, the film obviously generated much amount of curiosity among the public before its release.

The plot on paper is definitely interesting and sums up for a good crime thriller movie but unfortunately Raj Kumar Gupta who gave us films like Aamir, No One Killed Jessica and the last year's hit film Raid fails us by presenting a placid and sluggish not so thrilling film. The film is not so impressive in many fronts like -  the storytelling is slow, lacks momentum and suspense of a crime thriller; the casting of actors are not so convincing as investigative agents and officials; the villain is mentioned as a Ghost and the scenes where he is nabbed by the officials is laughable and funny, the wig of the villain looks like he has just walked out of a school's skit and the list is more...   

 

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Arjun Kapoor as the police officer in charge, to nab the most wanted has tried his best to underplay his role and not to be loud but in his deliberate effort to be so, he turns out to be unimpressive and ineffective. Most of the time he is found pleading to his seniors contrary to his portrayal that he is the one who carries out his covert operations without the consent of his seniors, if required to safeguard the country's interest. His body language, dialogue delivery and his leadership lacks the punch of an Ant-Terror Squad Leader who is on a most important hunt to nab the 'Osama' of India.

The team that accompanies Prabhat Kumar (Arjun Kapoor) are found most of the time in panic, confused, self-doubting and often looking for answers from their boss. It is like Prabhat picked up people from the streets to experiment with to execute the most crucial and challenging operation to nab the dreaded criminal. For instance, even if that is the case there is nothing to substantiate and justify it. Prashanth Alexander as Pillai has nothing to do like his other teammates except mouth Malayalam dialogues. Sudev Nair who had won the Kerala State Award for Best Actor for his debut film 'My Life Partner' should have verified, checked and explored the role before he signed the dotted lines to play the dreaded criminal because he is most of the time masked and have little to say and do. I wish him better luck next time.

 

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Rajesh Sharma as the boss of Prabhat is the one who tries his best so that he ups the ante on suspense and thrill. But even he keeps stopping Prabhat from taking up this dangerous job by being too protective and calling him back now and then. Rajesh Sharma's efforts to influence the higher levels to garner support to make the operation successful is portrayed with no amount of twists and turns that result in no thrilling experience.

The climax scene is childish and very raw. The police force and the army waiting at the Indo-Nepal border and the transfer of the dreaded terrorists to the Indian hands finally is shot so dismally that the NIA officers are found running towards the terrorists for no reason  to catch hold of them who are already under control, They still pull, drag, shake them and the two with black goggles and weird wigs look like two blind men being brutalized by some men in uniform.

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I think, Raj Kumar Gupta missed a great chance to tell a story about a youth Mohammed Ahmed Siddibappa aka Yasin Bhatkal from South India who was doctored to commit heinous terror attacks on innocent people at various parts of India that made the soul of India tremble with fear. He failed to even say why this man is called the 'The Most Wanted' and how this man executed such series of blasts with precision across the country; and where and how did the government machinery fail.  This man was on news once again for being a protest leader in Tihar jail in the month of April 2019, though lodged in an isolated high-security cell he still manages to interact and instigate other prisoners. Raj Kumar Gupta also missed a chance to truly hail the unsung heroes/the faceless heroes who play significant roles in ensuring peace in the country by not handpicking the best to write, act and execute the plot on the big screen.  

If you are looking for a crime thriller that shall keep you glued at the edge of your seat then this is not the one for you. Give it a pass.

PEN Movie Rating: 1.5/5

Cast: Arjun Kapoor (Prabhat), Rajesh Sharma (Rajesh Singh), Prashanth Alexander (Pillai), Shantilal Mukherjee (Shaumik Biswas), Sudev Nair (Yusuf)

Genre: Crime Thriller

Director: Raj Kumar Gupta

Producer: Fox Star Studios, Raj Kumar Gupta, Myra Karn

Written by: Written By Raj Kumar Gupta

Music by: Amit Trivedi

Cinematography: Dudley

Edited by: Rakesh Yadav, Bodhaditya Banerjee

Production Companies: Fox Star Studios, Raapchik Films

Distributor: Fox Star Studios

Release Date: 24 May 2019

Duration: 123 Minutes

Language: Hindi