Prakhar Srivastava

The series scores well on writing, acting, research, and capturing all the events that took place during the Pulwama terror attack, India's response in Balakot, the IAFs unbelievable bravery, and the aftermath, including the Squadron Leader's capture and eventual release and the FATF events. Plus, surprisingly, they showed those events with honesty, with the names slightly changed of course (the jets, bases, equipments, officials involved, etc.). Full marks. On the acting front, most actors impressed. Jimmy Shergill could have been better I feel because he's a powerhouse, who somewhat fell a little short, but only by his own standards. Ashish Vidyarthi, Ashutosh Rana and other supporting staff was lovely. The only cons - the Lara Dutta - Jimmy Shergill angle could have been avoided, plus, graphics could have been better, and please stop copying TopGun.

Not worth your time. Stopped watching midway. Another point: the movie makes a mockery of Hindu beliefs. To be avoided.

The movie is a very bold attempt by Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi & Yashraj Films. I admit that the choice of Akshay Kumar as the great Prithviraj Chauhan might have been out of necessity. But the remaining cast, background music, grand sets, screenplay & direction, amazing war sequences are the highlights of the movie. Even Akshay has done better than his average movies, for which I think the credit goes to Dr. Dwivedi again. The director has ensured the best comes out of an experienced actor in a periodic & historical drama, whose forte is otherwise majorly action and comedy. Sanjay Dutt, Ashutosh Rana, Sonu Sood, and other supporting actors shine in their roles, as usual. They are all talent powerhouses, proven time and again, & do justice to their roles. The debutant Manushi has actually surprised me, I was not expecting a mature performance from a newcomer to the industry. The supporting cast has done great as well. However, the main villains were in contrast. While Ashutosh Rana shines as Jaichand, Manav Vij was not intimidating as Ghori. The dialogues, again from the director, are lovely. Dr. Dwivedi is a true legend & his team has done a fine job, with sets, dialogues, costumes, dialogue delivery, depiction of important historical events, and cities such as Ajmer, Kannauj, Delhi & Ghazni, etc. Many scenes such as Rajputs fighting the wars, the Swayamvar, Akshay fighting when blinded, Sanjay Dutt and other actors' heroics, etc. promise goosebumps. The only area of improvement was the songs: everything from the lyrics, to music and the length of songs hampers the pace of the movie. Shankar, Ehsaan and Loy surprisingly disappointed with the music department this time. Lyrics are sub-standard. Varun Grover is not a seasoned lyricist. He has had success only on a few occasions and needs to do much, much better, especially when it comes to historical drama like this. YRF should have gone with Manoj Muntashir or Gulzar sahab, other capable lyricists. The music, songs and lyrics could have been immensely impactful, but fail to deliver. The only standout song is the title song, and truly sets the tone of the movie.