The events leading up to the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi, India's ex-PM whilst he was campaigning for re-election in Sriperumbudur District, near Chennai in south India on 21 May 1991 by 'Dhanu', a female suicide 'Tamil Tiger', is the subject of this latest attempt at gritty political Bollywood cinema.
Told largely in flashback, we follow Indian army officer Major Vikram Singh (John Abraham) who is appointed by the Research and Analysis Wing ('RAW'), the Indian equivalent of the CIA, to conduct covert operations in the then on-going civil war in Sri Lanka in the late 1980s.
Patriotic Vikram ('My country's security is my responsibility!') leaves his teary but dutiful 'army' wife Ruby (Rashi Khanna, in her debut) and travels by boat from south India to the war-torn 'island of jewels'.
En-route, he encounters a no-nonsense (she smokes!) British journalist, Jaya (Nargis Fakhri, last seen in 'Rockstar'), who speaks with an inexplicable American twang.
Both are on the search for Anna (Ajay Bhaskaran) the leader of LFT which is clearly modelled on the real Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ('Tamil Tigers') who are fighting for a separate Tamil 'Eelam' ('homeland') for the Tamil minority away from the rest of the largely Sinhalese majority.
Vikram wants to eliminate Anna; Jaya simply wants a scoop! A plot to assassinate the ex-Indian PM is discovered ('decoded') but will Vikram be able to save the day and more importantly, did 'RAW' and the then Indian government do enough to prevent their ex-PM being blown to bits? With the exception of some pre-credit titles explaining about the then on-going civil war in Sri Lanka, the film is not interested in any meaningful attempt at a socio-historical-political explanation of the bloody civil war which had been brewing since the 1950s and, up to the cease fire in the early 2000s, claimed hundreds of thousands of innocent lives.
Instead director Shoojit 'Vicky Donor' Sircar is intent on making an unapologetic, almost propaganda piece with the clear intent of absolving the Indian authorities of any mismanagement in the build up to and the prevention of the assassination. This has been a contentious issue in India: a 1992 Commission Report concluded that security arrangements for Rajiv were adequate but blamed local Congress leaders for disrupting and breaching these arrangements.
No subsequent action was taken of the Report's recommendations but it looks like Sircar and his lead man (the film is co-produced by Abraham and there is an unconfirmed rumour it is funded by Sonia Gandhi!) have taken it upon themselves to dispute this finding. This cinematic liberty could be forgiven if the film itself was not so shallow with the complex conflict reduced to a straight 'cops n robbers shoot-em-up'. Sircar is clearly influenced by 'Apocalypse Now' with its iconic helicopters against the sun shot reproduced at one point.
Characterisation is also dosa-thin with Abraham's damaged victim persona conveyed via a bearded unshaven look. With the exception of the aforementioned 'Dhanu' (who did a lot!), the women have little to do. Sircar incorporates an unnecessary and clumsy 'kiss n sex' scene.
Some dialogue ('this is going to be a long war!, 'the first causalities are always innocent civilians', 'this conversation never happened!', 'You cannot give up on the system!', and my favourite: 'He got honey trapped!"), often repeated, is cringe worthy.
The film ends with Abraham reciting a famous Rabindranath Tagore poem ('When the mind knows no fear') but by this time you probably will not care.
If you are looking for Indian films which address, inter alia, events leading up to this sad event, it's probably worth seeking out Santosh Sivan's sensitive Tamil film 'The Terrorist' (1998), Mani Ratnam's moving Tamil hit 'Kannathil Mutthamittal' (2002) and even the Malayalam Mammooty potboiler 'Mission 90 Days' (2007).
It's welcome that Bollywood is experimenting with new bold controversial subjects like this.
It's a pity then that it gets it so wrong again.
Even so, its fundamental flaws can even be forgiven (especially as there are no songs or 'item' numbers!). So, if you are interested in this aspect of history retold Bollywood simplistic-style, it may just be worth popping into this Madras Café.
Told largely in flashback, we follow Indian army officer Major Vikram Singh (John Abraham) who is appointed by the Research and Analysis Wing ('RAW'), the Indian equivalent of the CIA, to conduct covert operations in the then on-going civil war in Sri Lanka in the late 1980s.
Patriotic Vikram ('My country's security is my responsibility!') leaves his teary but dutiful 'army' wife Ruby (Rashi Khanna, in her debut) and travels by boat from south India to the war-torn 'island of jewels'.
En-route, he encounters a no-nonsense (she smokes!) British journalist, Jaya (Nargis Fakhri, last seen in 'Rockstar'), who speaks with an inexplicable American twang.
Both are on the search for Anna (Ajay Bhaskaran) the leader of LFT which is clearly modelled on the real Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam ('Tamil Tigers') who are fighting for a separate Tamil 'Eelam' ('homeland') for the Tamil minority away from the rest of the largely Sinhalese majority.
Vikram wants to eliminate Anna; Jaya simply wants a scoop! A plot to assassinate the ex-Indian PM is discovered ('decoded') but will Vikram be able to save the day and more importantly, did 'RAW' and the then Indian government do enough to prevent their ex-PM being blown to bits? With the exception of some pre-credit titles explaining about the then on-going civil war in Sri Lanka, the film is not interested in any meaningful attempt at a socio-historical-political explanation of the bloody civil war which had been brewing since the 1950s and, up to the cease fire in the early 2000s, claimed hundreds of thousands of innocent lives.
Instead director Shoojit 'Vicky Donor' Sircar is intent on making an unapologetic, almost propaganda piece with the clear intent of absolving the Indian authorities of any mismanagement in the build up to and the prevention of the assassination. This has been a contentious issue in India: a 1992 Commission Report concluded that security arrangements for Rajiv were adequate but blamed local Congress leaders for disrupting and breaching these arrangements.
No subsequent action was taken of the Report's recommendations but it looks like Sircar and his lead man (the film is co-produced by Abraham and there is an unconfirmed rumour it is funded by Sonia Gandhi!) have taken it upon themselves to dispute this finding. This cinematic liberty could be forgiven if the film itself was not so shallow with the complex conflict reduced to a straight 'cops n robbers shoot-em-up'. Sircar is clearly influenced by 'Apocalypse Now' with its iconic helicopters against the sun shot reproduced at one point.
Characterisation is also dosa-thin with Abraham's damaged victim persona conveyed via a bearded unshaven look. With the exception of the aforementioned 'Dhanu' (who did a lot!), the women have little to do. Sircar incorporates an unnecessary and clumsy 'kiss n sex' scene.
Some dialogue ('this is going to be a long war!, 'the first causalities are always innocent civilians', 'this conversation never happened!', 'You cannot give up on the system!', and my favourite: 'He got honey trapped!"), often repeated, is cringe worthy.
The film ends with Abraham reciting a famous Rabindranath Tagore poem ('When the mind knows no fear') but by this time you probably will not care.
If you are looking for Indian films which address, inter alia, events leading up to this sad event, it's probably worth seeking out Santosh Sivan's sensitive Tamil film 'The Terrorist' (1998), Mani Ratnam's moving Tamil hit 'Kannathil Mutthamittal' (2002) and even the Malayalam Mammooty potboiler 'Mission 90 Days' (2007).
It's welcome that Bollywood is experimenting with new bold controversial subjects like this.
It's a pity then that it gets it so wrong again.
Even so, its fundamental flaws can even be forgiven (especially as there are no songs or 'item' numbers!). So, if you are interested in this aspect of history retold Bollywood simplistic-style, it may just be worth popping into this Madras Café.
Tell Your Friends