Seems like we have an action packed weekend with PV Sindhu storming into her third consecutive World Championship finals & the Ashes headed for an exciting end while our boys are driving home the advantage against the Windies. Since there wasn't nothing much to do, I thought of penning my thoughts about Nikhil Advani's "Batla House" that I had watched last week along with "Mission Mangal". Based on the Batla House encounter that took place on 19th September, 2008; it has been in the news primarily because the Delhi Police were accused of staging this stint. The trailer seemed to indicate that the makers had done a fine job in recreating the suspense & drama of the event. But does it manage to capture the attention of the audience???
The director loses no time in getting the drama underway as ACP Sanjay Kumar (John Abraham) & his team who had kept a close watch on a group of university students for a few months came to the conclusion that they were involved in the 2008 serial bombings. These students were staying in Batla House & his team had effectively ensured that there was no chance that they would manage to escape. However, despite Sanjay's orders not to initiate the operation until he was at the scene, his subordinate Inspector K K Verma (Ravi Kishan) went forward with the team. By the time the encounter gets over, they manage to gun down two of the students & catch one alive but lose K K in the process. Unfortunately for Sanjay, the media & the authorities were of the impression that it was a fake encounter & he is left with no choice but to prove that whatever he had done was in the best interest of the nation.
After a dream debut with "Kal Ho Na Ho", Nikhil Advani never quite managed to sweep the audience off their feet. He would be hoping to change that trend with his latest venture which has been penned by Ritesh Shah. There is no doubt that Nikhil has done a credible job in engaging the audience with this edgy drama. They have tried to maintain an unbiased stand though it is inevitable they would have to take sides to get the story move forward. The various aspects that an officer would have to face in the face of such events is shown pretty well be it the flak that he receives from his superiors, post traumatic stress, strained family life etc. Saumik Chatterjee deserves praise for the well executed frames & the BGM by John Stewart was also fine.
Over the last couple of years, there has been a conscious effort from John Abraham to trace a path similar to Akshay by starring in nationalistic flavoured movies. Though most of them have failed to strike a chord with the audience, his latest attempt here deserves an applause as I felt he has done utmost justice to the role. The primary reason for that is the mannerisms & expressions of the character which is pretty much just like John performs in all his movies. As for the rest of the cast, Ravi Kishan, Mridul Thakur, Manish Chaudhary & Rajesh Sharma were fine though the latter had one of the worst wigs possible.
Verdict: It's not the type of movie that would cater to many as it's kinda dull & John's previous movies doesnt inspire any expectation among the audience to watch this. Even the box office figures suggests that & grossed close to double what they had invested in it. Anywaz I certainly felt that it was decently made & had more than adequate content that engages our attention. In short, do check it out.
Rating: 3.25/5
Regards...Ben
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