Berlin

A very interesting thriller with very unusual cinematic treatment. On the backdrop of a spy story, this delves deeper into human pysche and politics within intelligence department.

The direction is such that it does not reveal clearly what is the motive. What starts as a story about unveiling an assassination attempt on Russian President's visit in India actually turns out to be an internal political slugfest. Director Atul Sabharwal is at his best when it comes to working on a story heavy on political state-of-affairs. However, its not your regular suspense-thriller plot. Forget being a who-dun-it or even a why-dun-it, for a very long part in the film, the audience keeps wondering what-is-happening. Until the entire mystery unveils layer by layer in the penultimate moments. Even here, there isn't easy spoonfeeding of information and the audience has to be discerning enough to grasp the overall narrative. Thereby the treatment is not like a regular thriller but the director wants you to learn things on your own. Thankfully amidst this, the storytelling does not turn abstract though it has its moments of ambiguity.

Performances are a mainstay with Aparshakti Khurana, Ishwak Singh and Rahul does in absolute form. The slow burn pacing can be overlooked thanks to the speed up facility in Zee5 OTT app.

Can you have a slow moving thriller? Yes you can and this is a perfect example. Granted that this is a spy story set in early 90s Delhi and a major part of the movie consists of interrogation of a deaf mute by a sign language expert, the pace could have been made faster. A sluggish portion of around 30 minutes could have been easily clipped off resulting in the creation of a 90 minutes long taut and riveting thriller.

Despite this shortcoming all credit is due to director Atul Sabharwal for realistically presenting the environment of a questioning in progress in a claustrophobic room and the dark interiors all this amidst the ongoing intrigue filled action. Even the shrill ringing of the archaic telephone is made to sound ominous and sinister. The question and answer in sign language is far too extensively picturised and becomes monotonous after some time. The old world charm of the 90s including the buses, Fiat cars, cradle telephones, tape recorders etc has been brought out well. (The setting and picturisation resembles the work of Martin Scorsese at places.) The series of complex events and the subplots at one point become boring to pursue and correlate. In the acting department Aparshakti Khurana and Rahul Bose have done fairly well though I felt that they were unnecessarily wooden. There are also a few inaccuracies which have become glaring.

One of the best thrillers to come out recently. The story is quite engaging and at par with Hollywood movies . The movie is not for ones seeking acton but for those who enjoy a good story build-up. The story is engaging from the start and does not take time to delve into the main plot .

The climax comes with a twist that is almost non existent in Bollywood.

The cinematography depicting the Delhi of the 90's is quite beautifully done.

The acting is commendable especially for Iswak Singh, whose facial expressions convey his emotions aptly

The story stays on with you even after you have finished the movie.

Give this move a chance and you will not regret it.

I don't think i have ever seen a film like this come out of Indian Cinema before. It's a one of a kind film and a film which i am immensely proud to call it a part of Indian Cinema. This is a Beautifully Crafted Story which is so much more than just your typical spy film. Atul Sabharwal's direction shines through every shot, every scene of this film. The screenplay engages you and doesn't let you loose for even a second. The cinematography enhances the tension we sense in a scene, the choice of shots specially the dual focused shot is placed so wonderfully and at the most crucial moments that it elevates the already masterfully crafted scenes. Rahul Bose, Ishwak Singh and Aparshakti Khurana gave spectacular performances expressing every little and high emotion through the intensity in their eyes. I wish more people see this film and appreciate for what a Spectacularly made film it is.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!!!

BERLIN.

The story is weak, there are loose ends all over the story. Most of the time it is confusing on what is happening in the movie.

Aparshakti Khurana is a good actor and has performed well. The Ashok character could have done better. Good to see Rahul Bose after a long time. Anupriya Goenka had a very small part to play and with her acting skills, I wished she had more part and dialogues.

The story could have been great and the thrill is next to none. The entire plot of the story revolves around the assassination of the Russian President but it hardly has any action. Even the interrogation scenes lack structure.