D-Day

Went to watch a movie after long. It takes a good surprise quotient to make me appreciate a film. , critics reviews raised my expectations. I did not wanted to see another documented evidence. And wow! Then this film struck like a fresh wave, eyes wide opened, and glued to my seat I watched and enjoyed every moment in the awe as the scenes unfold. Small emotions and unsaid dialogue topped with brilliant music integrating into the story of the film made the film must watchable.. Characters cleanly laid out, with their flaws in them makes them memorable . A nice execution of a nice script from a skilled and pro director. Must watch and an entertainer.

>> D-Day :: He has had failed starts in the past with Chandni Chowk TO China ,Patiala House and Salaam-e-Ishq, received redemption with Delhi Safari and has finally come to terms with the 'D-Day'. Yes, this one's a Nikhil Advani baby. The flick starts with a huntdown - Operation Goldman to bring home the Most Wanted Man on India'a wishlist, scampers off to the protagonists' past and the emotional turmoils each of em go through. Irrfan's a guy torn b/w family , the risks of business , Rampal (one of the best of the lot ! a better performance than his Rock On outing and a marked improvement from the days of 'Asambhav') is a tough,level headed ex army men fighting with the ghosts within. Huma's calm and composed in her role, Shruti Hasan s adorable. Its unfortunate ,but I found Rishi Kapoor -the 'bhai' miscast and ludicrously laughable at times and was more so undone by the stretched climax of the movie and the flaws that ranged from him being all tidy and well suited even as a car with huge amount of explosives burst right next to him, yes even the shades were intact.. Lol !! :-P . The best act (apart from Rampal offcourse!) comes from Chandan Roy Sanyal , playing Goldman's nephew here. Long,messed up hair,like those of a reggae lover and an evil guy you love to hate, rightfully deserved those whistles you would hear from the crowd when he gets his fateful end, starts from where he ended in Kaminey. As for Kapoor ,who fails otherwise but delivers one of the last dialogues of the movie which save the finale potholes for Advani. The portrayal of the Prime Minister who is constantly given instructions on the phone by somebody referred to merely as "Madam" is a nice caricature :) Am going with a 3* outta 5 for D-Day, its well researched and at a decent run time for just over 2.5 hrs , D-Day is a pretty watchable ...But it has its share of crests and troughs and those last 20 minutes or so, where Advani goofs up pulling a Zero Dark Thirty sequence, for that extra ounce of Patriotism hit I guess are the ones that stops it from being more than just an 'okayish- good' flick.

Underworld and terrorism has always been a tantalizing topic for Bollywood film-makers and this time, its Nikhil Advani who plunges into this dark and alien terrain with his modern spy thriller,D-Day. With a great deal of implicit

inspiration from the much-acclaimed,Zero Dark Thirty, D-Day is about the hunt for India's most wanted man,Sultan(played by Rishi Kapoor) called operation Goldman.

An undercover RAW agent in Pakistan ,Wali(Irrfan Khan) comes close to pinning Sultan, when the latter comes out of hiding to attend his son's wedding.Things get doubly interesting when Rudra Pratap(Arjun Rampal)an ex-army official , Zoya Rehman(Huma Qureshi)RAW Explosives agent and Aslam(Akash Dahiya),a petty crook from the streets of Mumbai are deployed by RAW Chief,Ashwini Rao(Nasser) to join the operation.However, their mission takes a wrong turn and things go south making their lives irreversibly intertwined.

A script centered around India's most wanted, with obvious references to the mafia king,Dawood instantly generates immense curiosity but Nikhil surprises us with his ferocious detailing and technical finesse.His migration from the comfort zone(sentimental flicks like Patiala House, Kal Ho Naa Ho) is a testament to his maturity and growth as a director.With some raw and gritty action sequences,stirring some facts with fiction, he not only sets the perfect recipe for a nail-biting thriller but also laces them with intense emotional interludes.Specially, the brief sequences of Irrfan and his family bring a lump in your throat.Cinematography is top-notch which makes us believe that it is really shot in Karachi.Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy's music is seamlessly integrated with the gripping narrative.'Alvida' is arguably the best soundtrack of the movie , most hauntingly yet beautifully picturized.Dialogues are superb.

D-Day boasts of an ensemble starcast.Rishi Kapoor plays a negative character yet again and he amazes us with his venomous intensity and wit.Arjun Rampal,with his brooding looks and menacing physique is outstanding.He speaks volumes with his silence which is going to shut the critics' mouth who labeled him as wooden.Shruti Haasan, in a cameo, lends a lot of vulnerability to her character.Irrfan Khan is amazingly consistent and gets to deftly depict the character of the man torn between duty and family.Huma Qureshi and Dahiya are very much competent in their respective roles.Shreeswara,playing Irrfan's wife is quite a revelation !Nasser and KK Raina are adequate.

On the whole, D-Day is an earnest attempt to make a fictionalized potboiler, the finale might boast of jingoistic overdose but its certainly worth a watch.Alert : Not for the weak-hearted(a bit high on blood and gore).

My Rating : 3.5/5

The movie provides an excellent insight into the concept of sleeper cells and the way they protect the country's interests, very often at the cost of their life and conscience.

The movie is about a wanted Pakistani terrorist holed up in Pakistan. Knowing the importance of the suspect, the Indian secret service agency authorizes a covert operation for the extraction of Iqbal Sheikh (played by Rishi Kapoor).

Four RAW agents are chosen to carry out the extraction. These agents led by Aslam, Zoya (Huma Qureishi), Rudra Pratap (Arjun Ramphal) and Wali Khan (Irfan Khan) hatch a plan to extract Iqbal Sheikh from his sons wedding. However, the plan gets botched up and these four agents are on the run. Also, at the same time, each of the protagonists are going through serious emotional upheaval due to the dual lives that they are leading. For e.g. Wali Khan is a simple barber, doting father and at the same time a RAW agent. His family is unaware of his identity and unfortunately get caught at the crossroads.

Each of the characters goes through their own process of redemption for the feeling of guilt that they harbor and the love for their motherland. That is actually the beauty of the movie. In fact, of all the spy movies that have been made in India, this easily is the best of all. I would actively recommend it for movie aficionados.

Reviewed by: Dare Devil Kid (DDK) Rating: 4.9/5 stars

Nikhil Advani has finally come of age and moved out of the shadows of his larger- than-life mentor (read Karan Johar). After promising a lot in previous efforts, which have ranged from decent to below par, he's finally churned out a film that speaks volumes of his until now dormant talent. In "D-Day" we get a gritty action thriller that would put quite a few Hollywood spy films to shame.

The authentic representation of spy operations and the attention to minute details is quite staggering and unprecedented in Indian cinema, at least for a movie of this magnitude. Along with it boasting of quite a few spectacular action scenes and hard-hitting dialogues (dialogue writers Niranjan Iyengar and Ritesh Shah, take a bow), the film is also subtly interwoven with a couple of delicate emotional tracks that literally tear at your heartstrings when their realization is achieved.

The movie might have a first-rate and thoroughly researched script (again credit goes to Advani plus his co-writers Ritesh Shah and Suresh Nair), but it wouldn't have struck such a profound impact almost instantly, if it wasn't for Nikhil Advani's spot-on direction that's replete with realistic action and pulsating suspense. However,equal credit for the movie's suspense and action scenes must go to the editing team (Unnikrishnan Payoor Parameswaran and Aarif Sheikh) and stunt director (John Street) respectively. Another reason why the movie looks so realistic and gritty is because of Tushar Kanti Ray spellbinding cinematography.

Finally, lets come to the performances, and what marvelous performances they are. Rishi Kapoor is literally a replica of India's most wanted man, while Arjun Rampal is the epitome of a hardcore, taciturn action hero. Huma Qureshi surprises us even further with yet another brilliant act, while supporting cast members like Aakash Dahiya, Shruti Haasan, and Nasser lend plenty of gravitas to the narrative.

And finally, its the powerhouse of talent, Irrfan Khan who completely steals the show all the way through, in spite of so many other resounding performances. Whether it be his angst, his emotional trauma, his trepidation, his anguish at not being as skillful as Rampal, his fear and love for his family, his delirious confusion, his patriotic convictions, or his hidden final agenda; the man pulls off one of the most complex characters to ever grace the Indian silver screen with elan and aplomb. Here is an actor who can literally do no wrong.

"D-Day" is the kind of movie that doesn't come very often, - at least in Bollywood - so don't miss up the opportunity of reveling in it on the big screen. Whether you're an action fan, a fan of suspenseful spy films, or a fan of realistic gritty cinema, this movie has ample reason to be visited again and again. This kind of an action-espionage thriller is a first for Indian cinema and a pure joy for action movie fans all over.