An engrossing journey

This is a war film but with a big difference, like never before seen in the context of Tollywood. While grandiose may be its middle name and the film makers have sure parted with a jolly good of money in its making, what stands out is the creativity and the novelty.

For once we have a debutant filmmaker (Sankalp Reddy) who dares to dream and convert his dream substantially into an absorbing reality. Also, he does not tread the familiar rough terrain of the army - the barometer of mainstream patriotism. He dares to tell the rare story of a mission that inexplicably has not found the pride of place in the ‘war history’ of the nation.

The filmmaker researches the plot of submarine and under water attacks before he scripts (jointly with Niranjan Reddy, a lawyer) the absorbing saga. There is not too much to say about the story. Two top naval officers, Ran Vijay Singh (Kay Kay Menon) and Arjun Varma (Rana Daggubatti) are on a special assignment to be prepared for a possible water attack by Pakistan during the Bangla Liberation War.

Vijay is the trigger-happy officer who has lost a dear one on the battle field and is rearing to go. Arjun is out to ensure balance and calm. To balance them is Devraj (Atul Kulkarni). The Pak side is headed by the Captain Commander Razaq (Rahul Singh). The underwater attack and how India is victorious is what the story is all about.

The film is not so much about the story, but how it is navigated. Heroics, not hatred is central to wars. Caught in the cross fire of political calls are men who barter their life for honour of their nation. Unmindful of consequences and uninformed of the faces that could be the victims of their attack, they are out there so that we may live in safety.

The first half of the film is well researched and told with the right degree of balance. It eschews jingoism and Pak baiting. However, the hunger of the young filmmaker to succeed and be known gets the better of him in the later half. To revert in the context to Herman Wouk. He said: The Navy is a master plan designed by geniuses for execution by idiots.

If you are not an idiot, but find yourself in the Navy, you can only operate well by pretending to be one. All the shortcuts and economies and common-sense changes that your native intelligence suggests to you are mistakes. Learn to quash them. Constantly ask yourself, "How would I do this if I were a fool?" Throttle down your mind to a crawl. Then you will never go wrong.”

Sankalp makes sure he does not go wrong. The film’s cinematography (Madhie) makes for compulsive viewing. Bereft of scenic beauty the film’s cinematography ensures it is in perfect tandem with the mood of the theme. Then there is an ensemble cast while Om Puri’s swan song is nothing to write home about Rana adds the right hunk quotient and is likely to be a huge draw at the box office.

The film however belongs, apart from the director to the brilliance of Kay Kay Menon. With patriotism being the flavour of the season, the film is not just well timed but made with dare and bravery. The willingness to tell a story of this kind is surely to tread the road least travelled. If for nothing let’s watch this engrossing amazing hitherto untried film and join poet Pradeep who said: Jo Shaheed hue hain unki jara yaad karo qurbani.

Film Name : Ghazi

Cast : Rana Daggubati, Taapsee, Kay Kay Menon, Om Puri and Atul Kulkarni
Direction : Sankalp Reddy
Genre : War-drama
Likes : Rana Daggubati, Sankalp and Kay Kay Menon
Dislikes : Post interval jingoism

By L Ravichander