Suhasini Das

A hidden gem. One must not miss this masterpiece on love and relationships. Way ahead of it's time. Subtle yet profound. Mind-blowing performances.

I enjoyed the movie till the end. Surely many things were kept open ended and that’s how things are in this age of misinformation and propaganda. Just keep repeating things till everyone thinks that’s the truth. We surely know a lot of things but no one knows the truth. Like G.H. says ‘No one is in control’. It also showed how much of our technology can be used against us.

It gave me a very realistic, Amol Palekar movie-type feel. Anyone who has been in a long relationship (need not be a live-in one) will know what it takes to maintain it. It's really the 'Little Things' that matter in the long run. Fell in love with Kavya and Dhruv and their little world.

Crisp, well written and well executed without any unnecessary frills and drama. Vidyut Jamwal excels in his performance without overshadowing other actors. What I liked most is that the focus of the movie is on planning and strategy development and execution of the mission so many of the scenes include morse code messages, signs and non verbal cues, fight sequences are very limited proving the point that the real war is in control rooms and people's minds rather than battlefields.

The movie is very detailed in portraying the character of Ahana Sen, her emotional turmoil, her personality and her behaviours are in sync. Paoli Dam delivers another fine performance as a woman caught with her traumatic past which gradually starts affecting her reality check. The parallel narrative by Sreeparna and Abhirup gives a side window as to what might be happening behind the scenes. Rwik Roy’s character initially felt out of place but I guess that was deliberate. Parambrata as Dr. Sayantan is caught between his love and professional commitment and not able to maintain a boundary. Being a psychiatrist myself, I can say that the conversation that he has with his mentor is quite accurate in terms of technicality like ethical issues when treating patients, especially psychiatric patients who trust doctors with their private experiences and even his advise to discontinue his practice because of this ethical breach. However, the hypnotherapy part is very outdated and is hardly used nowadays. Also, the subplot of Dr. Sayantan’s alter-ego was unnecessary. I felt it was added for some ‘tadka’ rather than contributing anything to the main story. The writing would have been more crisp if they had just stuck to the idea of jealous lover who is willing to go to any extent, manipulating to the point till their person of interest starts having mental breakdown, to get even. There were few loose ends like the budding romance between Rwik and Oindrilla, or the fate of the film that was being shot were left out. One or two scenes about these would have given it a more finished look. Overall, good movie.

I have watched this movie several times and again in 2023 and it never gets old. The storyline, direction, cinematography, music, lyrics, dialogues and one of the finest performanced of SRK- it has everything. I think more people of my generation (so called millenials) can relate to this movie. Although a lot has changed in last twenty years or something since the movie released, the alienation that Mohan Bhargav felt is even more pronounced in today's world, especially by people living in cities and urban areas. The longing tune of 'Ye to des hai tera' makes you introspect your life. I wished they would make more such movies.

It's views love from a very different angle, something we hardly think of in our lives. Most of the time, we the young people are so busy with our lives -professional and personal that we forget that our parents may have their own conflicts and issues. As most Indian parents keep these problems to themselves, hardly sharing a word with their children, sometimes even with their spouse, we tend to assume that they must be alright, all the time. Our parents must be perfect. It's not a conventional story but I am glad such issues are being raised in movies. However I didn't like the sepia tone over most scenes, just made everything look so dull. Also, the comic scenes really didn't fit with the narrative. However do watch it without any bias.

It's thrilling in parts like how the pilot tries to land in extremely bad weather, chaos inside the flight, however the investigation scenes drag on. You feel like the same things are being repeated again and again and soon it becomes predictable. You know the hero will emerge as hero and rest everyone else will be sidelined. This has become a problem with Bollywood movies in general where heroism dominates everything else (logic, reasoning) and all the other actors job becomes to support this character.

Whenever Bachchan sir is on screen, we just can't take eyes off him. The remaining actors are very engaging. Being a real life story, it shows that a push in the right direction can do miracles. The scene where the kids narrate their own experiences is very touching, doesn't feel like a movie, feels almost like a documentary. I really like the climax when Don/Ankush throws away the cutter and he is finally able to join the team meaning that your own actions determine your life course. Simple yet powerful.