In her first full-length movie of 2018, Alia Bhatt plays an Indian spy in Raazi married to a Pakistani officer. Produced by Karan Johar and Junglee Pictures, Raazi is directed by Meghna Gulzar and is based on the book, Calling Sehmat, by Harinder Sikka. Vicky Kaushal plays the male lead. So can Meghna out-best herself after her dark crime drama, Talvar? Can Alia outperform her own act in Udta Punjab? Read our review to find out,

At the onset of the 1971 war between India and Pakistan, Sehmat Khan (Alia Bhatt), a Kashmiri girl, is married off to the younger son of a Pakistani Brigadier. She is, however, a spy for the Indian army, looking to carry forward her father's (Rajit Kapur) legacy. As she leaks military secrets using her wits and the devices she has at hand, she is also falling slowly in love with her gentleman husband Iqbal (Vicky Kaushal), who is an officer himself. As the war becomes more intense and her task becomes arduous by the day, Sehmat finds out that most dangerous battles are not fought at the borders but with people's trusts.

Making a really good spy drama that keeps you engaged throughout shows the intelligence of a director. If Talvar didn't make you realise this, then behold Raazi, a film that cements Meghna Gulzar as a master story-teller. Raazi is a wonderfully crafted crime drama that will keep you on the edge of the seat throughout. You have to give it to the director to make one of the best movies set against Indo-Pak relations without resorting to any sort of chest-thumping or jingoism. Sure, there are talks of how one should place their country before their life or love, but these emotions are so subtly interwoven into the narrative that they don't feel forced. For which, you also have to credit Meghna Gulzar's dialogues for adding the necessary chutzpah to the drama. The father's daughter, indeed.

The spy network sequences are well-written and depicted (reminding me a lot of Nikhil Advani's underrated D-day). Sehmat's training sequences in the first half were also nicely done without eating too much of the screen-time, establishing a complex but trustful relationship between the protagonist and her mentor. This is exactly what I wanted a certain 2017 female-led spy movie to do, a potential it wasted to glorify a certain superstar who made an extended cameo in there. Here, there are no such distractions as we have our eyes trained solely on Sehmat. Go girl power!

One of the many things I loved about Raazi is that Meghna didn't need to bring one side down to bring the other up. It's quite a risky idea to show the Pakistanis in a soft light, especially in the current political state. But Raazi shows the characters as soldiers, who like their Indian counterparts, who put their country first before themselves even in a war they were bound to lose from the start. The Pakistani army family that Sehmat gets married into, isn't a bunch of cruel, one-dimensional villains. In fact, they are shown as respectful, caring people, albeit very gullible. That's exactly what makes Sehmat's journey so painful for her.

There comes a moment in the film, near the interval, when Sehmat commits an act against her conscience. It's exactly then we realise that this is not just any ordinary spy thriller, it's a coming of age moment for the girl who finds out it is not just the country's security at stake, but also her own moral code. She knows it's just the beginning of the slope downhill for her thereon, and she goes on that path knowing that she may have to hurt more. Sehmat is not someone who seduces her way to win her mission. She is a ticking time-bomb who soon realise that her actions may win the war for India but will destroy the family she is married into, the guilt of which is slowly crawling into her senses. This moral dilemma leads to some brilliant emotional drama and I can't thank the screenplay by Meghna and Bhavani Iyer for that. There is quite a balance between nerve-wracking tension and heart-tugging emotional conflict to make Raaazi perhaps the best film in its genre, at least in Bollywood.

A lot of movie's strengths lies on the slender shoulders of Alia Bhatt. There were some murmurs in my screening that she feels miscast being so young. So not true! There can never be a better casting of an actress to play a twenty-something collegian who is trust into spy business one foggy morning. Alia is absolutely wonderful in what could be her most well-written role to date. Handling some very difficult scenes with amazing dexterity, Alia has proved once again that she is among the best in the business. Her lovely, innocent face is a complete contrast to the double-faced business she is in, and that makes the casting work in her favour. No longer the cute-faced bimbette of Student of the Year, the Bhatt girl has it in her to earn that National Award for herself one day, if not for Raazi itself.

Vicky Kaushal plays it subtly as her loving husband, but he delivers brilliantly in the scene when he gets an inkling of what's happening. Their romance has that natural growth that doesn't need a song in the Swiss Alps to establish. It is this reason why the final scenes feel so hard to watch. Jaideep Ahlawat as the stoic-faced Indian intelligence Head gives yet another formidable performance. Shishir Sharma, Rajit Kapur, Ashwath Bhat, Amruta Khanwilkar, Soni Razdan, Arif Zakaria are all wonderful in their roles.

The visuals and editing are proficient. It's back to a great form for composers Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, who has a job well done in terms of both the songs and the BG score. The Ae Watan song could be our generation's Kar Fida Hum Chale, more thanks to Gulzar's golden pen.

On a separate note, kudos to Karan Johar for backing this after last year's underrated The Ghazi Attack. In some sense, Raazi does feel like a prequel to the Rana Daggubati movie, going by how certain portions are played out here.

Yay!

- A terrific, engaging spy drama

- Meghna Gulzar's assured, smart direction

- Alia Bhatt in her finest performance

- Vicky Kaushal, Jaideep Ahlawat and the rest of the supporting cast

- No resorting to jingoism

- Fantastic score by SEL

Nay!

- A little infusion of melodrama in the concluding portions

- A couple of convenient potholes

Final Thoughts

After October and 102 Not Out, it now feels like Bollywood is ready to take huge risks when it comes to mainstream cinema and focus more on the script than star-charisma. Raazi treads on the same path in giving us what could be the best mainstream movie of the year. Coupled up with Meghna Gulzar's assured direction and Alia Bhatt's brilliant performance, Raazi is a fantastic effort in good story-telling, as well as in paying tribute to those unsung heroes who have dedicated their lives for the safety of our country. A must watch indeed!

Rating:
4.5 out of 5

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 10, 2018 10:54 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).