D-Day

The 1993 train bomb blasts, 26/11 terrorist attack on the city that never sleep and Hyderabad blasts prompt us all to think that why the roots of all these evils can't be destroyed. We start to wonder that if America can assassinate the terrorist Osama Bin Laden who brought about the attacks of twin towers in USA, why can't we take down the country's most old and dangerous enemy. The answer to our question pops up after watching this movie 'D-Day' directed by Nikhil Advani.

The filmmaker who made romantic comedy films like Kal Ho Na Ho, Salam-E- Ishq & Patiala House steps out of his genre and delivers an outstanding film based on the world's most wanted criminal mastermind. Artistically crafted on celluloid, D-Day lives up to its expectations which were looming amongst the audience as soon as the promos released. You would expect a fantastic spy thriller on the parallel lines of 'Zero Dark Thirty' (obviously eliminating its hollowness) and I am sure you won't be disappointed.

A beautiful wedding scene at the beginning which happens to be the underworld Don's son's wedding reception is located in a beautiful 5- star hotel in Pakistan. Splendidly decorated wedding hall, guests arriving in rich & grand outfits and a short Rajpal Yadav singing ' Damadam Mast Kalandar' in background witnesses an infiltration by four agents on a mission. A thrilling scene shot perfectly without any ambiguity shows how the four agents successfully captivate the Don who happens to arrive at his son's wedding.

The film flies back 40 days before the Goldman operation ( as it is so named after the Don) where Irrfan Khan (Walia) as an undercover RAW agent working as a barber in Pakistan lives with his wife Nafisa and his son Kabir who are kept in dark from his original identity. This part shows affection he had for his wife and his children and a fear that this affection somehow can prove his big weakness in future starts to haunt him. The former half of D-Day mainly introduces the main characters of the film in a well-defined manner.

Arjun Rampal plays Captain Rudra Prasad Singh, an ex-Army officer who is dismissed from his military duty because of an undisclosed reason. Of all the four agents participating in this mission, Rudra is the most short-tempered and eccentric one. He walks with a well build stature reflecting his army officer persona wherever he goes. The film is not just mere hyped action film but also involves a romantic angle between Rudra and Suraiya (Shruti Hasaan), a prostitute in Karachi's red light district. Rudra lives in red light area in Karachi to conceal his true identity from Pakistani locals and ends up falling for Suraiya.

Huma Qureshi as Zoya Rehman is beautiful, determined, intelligent and straight forward agent. She has the capability to camouflage easily and successfully with the local Pakistan people so as to not arouse suspicion. The fourth agent is played by Aakash Dahiya as Aslam who is charged of three murders and is offered a release in exchange of helping RAW in their secret mission by chief of RAW, Ashwini Rao.

Just as the Goldman operation goes abruptly wrong, Goldman escapes from the scene, just inches after being captivated and turns his sources after these four agents. These agents are searched for by Pakistan's ISI agency and also by Goldman's men as they their lives are turned upside down after their unfortunate failure in the operation.

Rishi Kapoor playing the underworld Don could have been the pivotal part of the film but unfortunately he is not. Irrfan Khan and Arjun Rampal happen to be high points of the film as each of them handles their role effectively. We have some smart dialogue writing by Niranjan Iyengar who had contributed large to dialogues in Once Upon A Time in Mumbai also making an equally vital contribution to the D-Day.

The film could have been emotionally stronger and the conclusion could have appeared more convincing than it appears to be. But apart from it, the film is phenomenal and outstanding if we overlook its slight deviation to a personal angle at its end. Just like most of the Hindi films, D-Day symbolizes Bollywood's long standing fascination to Dawood Ibrahim. However it showcases the slight swagger and invincibility, this movie possesses.

But overall, a great work by Nikhil Advani in his first ever spy thriller action movie. A 6/10 stars for D-Day from me.

>> 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.

D DAY: i would say a very good movie with a very good direction. As expected Irfaan Khan showed his talent again and his acting is worth to watch.Rishi Kapoor is now emerging as one of the best Villains in the movies now after Amrish Puri.Started from Agneepath to Aurangzeb and now in D DAY , his acting, dialogs ..just awesome :).

The movie doesn't looses its pace , because of which the audience will never get bored in the movie.Irfaan Khan won the hearts of the people because of his simplicity and delivery of his dialogs. I would say one should obviously go to watch this movie.Its worth watching.A very good movie after "The Wednesday".

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.

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.