MADHUSMITA SOM RAY

Forget the bad music , forget the badly fleshed out characters, forget the unnecessary bits like KM's family, which contributes nothing to the film and just lets focus on the plot . WHERE IS IT ? 1 . An R &AW official photocopies and merrily takes away top secret documents day after day and he's allowed to do that because the agency wants to catch the "puppeteer " . What does puppeteer even mean here ? The person who picks up his drops ? Or his handlers ? He doesn't even have a handler . He deals directly with the American embassy but through a complicated series of couriers who drive through of the congested byways of Delhi's underbelly (probably a circuitous rout to Shanti Path ) . So who are they actually hoping to catch by allowing him to continue? 2 . Even after the connection between Mishra Ji , CIA and Ravi is exposed, he is still given ample time for a getaway . 3.Mother and son seasoned spy duo are so confident /naive that they never check their own house for bugs 4. The tailing scenes are so absurd . Who is following whom and how and why ? 5. The CIA after settling a defector monitors him so loosely that it's a joke . 6. The foreign minister of a country goes for dinner to the house of a defecting mole without any security. He is accompanied by the defector's CIA contact who , for good measure takes his wife along . Who writes such gibberish for a plot ? How does it pass muster with an acclaimed director ? Does he think the audience has never seen spy thrillers ? That any absurd plot he cares to throw at their face will be acceptable? This is easily one of the worst films of the year . Such a shame , coming from the person who made Onkara and Haider . He should stick to Shakespeare adaptations, which he foes well. Spy thrillers are not his cup of tea .

The cinematography is good . So is the background score . The sets and costumes are good and in sync with whatever little storyline there is . But the fact remains that the plot is a poor mix of ideas taken from multiple period dramas but devoid of enough matter to sustain such a long film . There is no scene that does not evoke a sense of deja vu . Dialogue has been replaced by songs and background music and and whatever snatches of conversation there are are cliched. Not a single character has the potential to do justice to the acting talent of the glittering cast . This film should be watched only if there's absolutely no other way left of wasting one's time .