It is as if John Le Carre
decided to write a script for a Bollywood film. It has a mole, betrayals
and a slow grinding thoughtful investigation led by a Smiley type. It takes
patience to get your man but it also takes patience to watch this film. Of
the 157-minute running time, much of it is simply watching the investigators
watching their suspect. Unlike most spy films these days there are no action
scenes, no witty flirtatious remarks or gun play. Just one small move at
a time by serious people with a job to do. It all feels real - the boring
hours of watching, the tracking through the twisty backstreets, messy personal
lives. But it works primarily due to fine acting and a slow burn. Someone
betrayed their agent and their country. Time means nothing. Just waiting
for him to make a wrong move and reveal who is directing him. There is a
long arc to the story. Based on Amar Bhushan's novel Escape to Nowhere which
was inspired by a true event. In the book, the main protagonist is a male
but apparently all the male actors the director Vishal Bhardwaj asked declined,
so he turned to a female actress.
Not just any actress though but to Tabu who is India's version of Meryl Streep
with more Best Actress Awards than her shelves can hold. Tabu is in her fifties
now but still very active in film. She brings authority to her roles - not
just a song and dance beauty - take a look at her playing a Nautch girl in
Chandni Bar or as one of the sisters in the Jane Austen based film Kandukondain
Kandukondain. She also appeared in the Hollywood films The Namesake and Life
of Pi. She is a tough cookie here with a personal life on the rocks. Within
her Indian spy agency RAW she is known as KM, someone who recruits and directs
the agents in their missions.
Heena (Bangladeshi actress Azmeri Haque Badhon) was one of her agents. She
had come in to volunteer her services and proved to be valuable in handing
over information. She was tasked to kill the Bangladesh Defense Minister
with a poisoned bottle of perfume. He was responsible for killing a number
of Indian agents, but she is betrayed by someone and he kills her right in
the middle of a dinner party. Keep eating everyone. We will clean up this
mess. Now KM is told to find the mole who betrayed her agent and friend.
They have a suspect but need confirmation and to see who his Control is.
The monotonous job of surveilling him begins. They think his wife Charu (Wamiqa
Gabbi) is in it with him - the one who delivers the information. A
few surprises to come and in the second half of the film Charu becomes the
main character as the story moves to South Dakota. Where KM is directing
her. They still want Control. But the CIA enters the picture and all bets
are off.
I quite enjoyed this though I am reluctant to recommend it because it is
so slow moving. But there are enough twists and turns to keep you wondering
where it is going. Musical numbers seem like a poor choice in this film,
interrupting the narrative, but they are basically unobtrusive - Charu loves
re--enacting scenes from Bollywood movies in the privacy of her home and
a Holy Man puts on concerts that Charu attends. This was a Netflix product.
They have been very active in India though lately the government has begun
to threaten streaming channels with prosecution if their programming in any
way defames India.
