The Great Indian Escape

It is an untold story of courage, true grit and hope..story of IAF PoWs during '71 war. Though direction is not exactly great and the first half is kind of little dull, but still a good watch ..

All heroism need not display heroics.

What a lesson I learnt from The Great Indian Escape, a true story of the Indian Air Force, courtesy a film made by my young friend Taranjiet Singh

In a dignified, tightly on a leash and quietly compelling narrative, Taran took the true story of unassuming inspiration and made it into a film that stopped just short of giving you goosebumps.

It's very easy to say that perhaps there lies its flaw, but I personally feel that this is the film's triumph, the Director's reluctance to glorify dedication.

None of the characters wore capes. Because they were not given the role of a hero. They were Prisoners of War and they were reminded that escape should be their aim. Simple.

And a bunch of them proceeded to do just that.

No Eureka moments. No nail biting finales. No putting down the enemy, no berating of Pakistan. Just a film about taking aim, taking a deep breath and then firing dead center, on target. The escape was circumstantially simple. And the film did not tweak the story into a comic book caper.

Instead it took the route of telling the story as it is, with no frills attached.

The visuals were majestic, not quite stunning. The music was complementary, not the kind that takes it upon itself to vary the pace, just a series of tracks that swam along with the mood of the moment.

And the acting...no histrionics thank you. Just a matter of fact depiction of history as it happened. I classify this film as an honest film. A refreshingly honest one.

A classic case of a documentary choosing the fiction feature format to present a unique story. And doing a darned good job of it.

A 'Must Watch' for sure.

This movie does not follow the usual tried and tested formula of portraying Pakistan as an enemy and milking the said narrative. TGIE is however the story of our brave Indian airforce pilots and how they managed to escape from across the border. It is a story that not many knew about but it is a story that every should. The cast have done complete justice to the storyline. A movie definitely worth watching.

Let me start off by saying, as an actor and film-maker myself since 2012, a finished film is always a huge milestone. I've seen others and myself, either not following-through or putting projects on hold. And that's a tragedy. So film-makers will always be respected. Overall, I felt the film was lacking that oomph to lift it up to higher success. I'm no expert by any stretch but it seemed a little short on perspectives. I really like how the actual real-life heroes were incorporated in the film. Hats-off for that. (not a spoiler)

In terms of performances, I felt like the lead actor was lack-lustre. Some of the other performances were a highlight though. Asheesh, Nimesh, Rohan, Raaj Singh Arora and Tushar Phulke were really great!

Above all that, the main goal of this film is to bring to light the fact that life doesn't come with capes, perfect bodies and magic but with blood, sweat, tears and everyday folk. Our soldiers, navy and air-force being the best of us. Right up there with world changers like Bill Gates. That is what real heroes look like.

And to make a film howcasing their bravery is what's important. Which, once you look past the flaws, this film has certainly achieved.

I regret watching this movie more than anything because of the effort I had put in to go and watch. There was no climax, no conflict, no story but trying to pose a stupid adventure as heroism. An uncooked misrepresentation..