Synopsis – A untold story of a battle between a Pakistani submarine & an Indian Submarine

My Take – War film are a bit tricky to make, mainly as you have to assure both the warring countries portrayed in the film are not shown in a poor light, with the help of facts & the added fiction to keep the paying audience engaged in the film. Considering it’s been a while since Bollywood indulged in the once popular war genre with (not very good) films like Border, Lakshya, LOC Kargil etc, this Sankalp Reddy directed debut feature comes us a pleasant surprise. This Hindi language film, which has simultaneously been made in Telugu, is touted to be the 1^st Indian film to be set on a submarine; while also being the first Indian film to mine nationalism at the very depths of the ocean. This film looks back on the unknown, unheard underwater war which never found a mention in history. While everything about the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971 is chronicled, this particular story of the mysterious sinking of Ghazi, an all powerful Pakistani Submarine, never found its way into press or made its mark in text books. While, the Indian Navy claims that Ghazi was overpowered by them, the Pakistanis maintained that their submarine died an unfortunate death after colliding with landmines. There are multiple theories to the episode and yet not much is popularly known. Of course, coming from Bollywood & presented by Karan Johar, this film takes into accounts the Indian side of the story, with added fiction (which the makers thankfully claimed it to be), and a couple of patriotic taglines. Call it lopsided or patriotic, depending on your political affiliations, film buffs will remember it as a darn good film. Yes! Without a doubt, this Sankalp Reddy directed film is one such film which will keep you engaged right from the beginning till the electrifying climax kicks in, thanks to its briskly narrative, suspense-filled drama, with enough flag-thumping moments to mark this feature as one of the best patriotic films in the recent past. Without adding any commercial elements to boost the single screen audience support, this film does a fabulous job in portraying the stress, blood and sweat displayed by our honorable Indian soldiers.

Taking place at an eve, before the 1971 India Pakistan war broke out which lead to the separation East Pakistan from West Pakistan and the formation of Bangladesh, the story follows Lt.Commander Arjun Varma (Rana Daggubati), a member of the S21 submarine crew, who following a tip-off from a spy about a Pakistani submarine known as PNS Ghazi and its mission of blowing up the Indian aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, is send by the Indian Navy chief (Om Puri) on a classified mission to investigate if any such submarine is lurking in Indian waters. Arjun’s job is simple; he has to keep an eye on the vessel’s hot-headed yet ace strategist captain Rann Vijay (Kay Kay Menon), who is more of a shoot-first-and-ask-questions-later kind patriot who prefers aggression to the niceties of standard operating procedure. During their dive, they come across a Indian merchant ship blown to pieces, with just two survivors – a young girl & Ananya (Taapsee Pannu), a Bangladeshi refugee, however upon realizing that they have instead walked into a trap laid by Commander Razaq Mohd Khan (Rahul Singh), an equal obsessive & decorated commander of the Pakistani submarine, Arjun & Rann Vijay must keep their clashing ideologies aside and work with second in command officer Devraj (Atul Kulkarni), to work out a plan & keep everyone alive, while also making sure PNS Ghazi does not reach its target. The first half mostly deals with the internal conflicts within Indian Navy officials whereas the latter half is more patriotic, intense and emotional. Despite a dreary start, the film picks pace surprisingly and entraps your attention quickly enough. War films with an undercurrent of mutiny always make for interesting stories. Your sensitivity is hooked from the word go because you know which side your loyalties lie with. But you are debating what side to be on, in the mutiny. What makes a person become a soldier? You can’t deny him his patriotism once he is on the field. Is it wrong then, for him to follow his passion – of slaying the enemy without provocation? But if soldier were to follow this passion of theirs, there would be mayhem. These are the philosophies you are struggling with as you see the war between discipline-orders vs. killer instinct with an agenda. This build-up is thoroughly engaging, even if the end is mighty predictable from the beginning. Each move by the submarines be it the Indian’s or the Pakistani’s will keep the audience hooked.  The events might not pass muster with military historians, but they certainly meet the requirements of an enjoyable war drama. Director Reddy effectively recreates the closed interiors of a submarine on an Indian budget, ratchets up the tension, and handles potentially shrill material with admirable restraint. We have seen a number of films about the India-Pakistan conflict but this is probably the first time that we witness an under-water surgical strike on an enemy submarine vessel and herein lays the novelty as the war tactics employed are completely different, as torpedoes are dodged and fired and enemy distance calculated to precision. Even though this is his debut feature, Sankalp Reddy shows quite a skill in directing such an ambitious film which involves quite a risk while dealing with the battle between ethics, logic, patriotism and instinct. The strategizing and head-to-head between two shrewd seamen at either end of the battle line is handled well as are the dynamics between the officers and crew aboard the ship. Director Sankalp Reddy’s eye for detail has helped him recreate an entire submarine with acute precision, retaining the authenticity of the story. A fair amount of research must’ve gone into getting the right palette for the film and we are happy to report, Reddy deserves in kudos for his execution. The narrative is solid, with bold strokes of patriotism as the film alternates between the murky blue, deep sea and the cringy, clunky, claustrophobic insides of a submarine without any respite.

The film may not be compared to some Hollywood war classics, but it has excellent special effects and done its best within budget. The film put a lot of efforts in making a submarine, running of a ship and even firing of torpedoes and laying of landmines at sea. This makes the film stand out from the usual Hindi films and helps it stay true to what it wants to be – an uncomfortable, edgy watch. The operational activities of a submarine in action are well done in the film. So is the execution of the scenes in which, a few hundred meters below the sea, the Indian and Pakistani submarines confront each other, eyeball to eyeball, so to speak. But to set a film almost entirely in the claustrophobic confines of a war machine, and to keep your attention fixed on it, needs high quality writing. This is where the film falls short. Instead of good dialogue, we have the unlikely scenario of Indian officers and men, trapped in a damaged submarine that has already plunged to the ocean floor and which could spring a fatal leak any moment, burst into the rousing notes of Sare Jahan Se Accha and our Indian national anthem Jana Gana Mana. You get a distinct feeling, by the end of the film, that Hindi cinema has played the national anthem card once too often. In parts, the film might feel stretched and overdone. Close to the climax, there is a silly scene in which people on the enemy ship can hear the noise from a submarine parked close by. But these are minor issues which one can forgo. If you don’t nitpick and want to watch a genuinely uplifting film, this should be your go-to stop. The film also has a powerful villain; someone who is mostly ahead of what the protagonists think. The brain game between the hero and the baddie was vehemently architected. This submarine drama holds your attention throughout the course of 123 minutes, yeah maybe you could find a momentary dip in pace during the second half, but thanks to the director for not deviating much from the core concept. Let’s not sideline this film as an undersea war film because it has more to do with individuals than explosions. The character graphs of the top 4 leads, Rana Daggubati, Kay Kay Menon, Atul Kulkarni and Rahul Singh have been so brilliantly sketched. Their roles were so cleverly designed and superbly enacted too. Kay Kay Menon, in particular, was stupendous, and he literally showed us how a tough Captain in the Navy looks. He had an unbiased role that will surely impress everyone despite his methods being a little abnormal. Atul Kulkarni was equally good as he scores in every frame he is present, though his expressions are controlled he delivers what he has to. Rana Daggubati 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). Om Puri, Nassar, Rahul Singh & the remaining supporting cast are likable. On the whole, ‘The Ghazi Attack’ is a very watchable, stylishly shot thrilling war film which despite its fragile writing is lifted by stellar performance & excellent direction.

Directed – Sankalp Reddy

Starring – Rana Daggubati, Kay Kay Menon, Atul Kulkarni

Rated – PG

Run Time – 123 minutes