Producer: Sudhish Rambhotla
Writer, director: Mani Shanker
Stars: Sammir Dattani, Om Puri, Suneil Shetty, Jackie Shroff, Raima Sen
Plot: The scary, on-the-edge story of a Police informer.
Verdict: An engrossing tale that grows too long.
Box Office Prospects: Multiplex patrons will savour this spy thriller.
Creative Quotient:
If Mani Shanker's earlier films 16 December, Rudraksh and Tango Charlie are anything to by, it is evident that the maker has a big yen for thrillers. He's back with another, but this time the story is surprisingly different. About a 19-year-old street kid Kailash (Sammir) who is hand-picked by Intelligence officer, Om Puri and forced to become a police informer.
Slowly but steadily he picks up secrets of the trade and helps bust many a naxalite, terror conspiracies. How he infiltrates the enemy camp and then becomes their trusted aide only to betray them to the Police is what the plot is about. Inspired by the Bourne Identity franchise, this desi spy thriller sure makes for a good Friday viewing. Writer Mani Shaker Indianises the plot and adapts it cleverly to the native terrain and flavour. It's a creative endeavour on that account.
Technical Expertise:
Technically, the only problem with this film is that it spreads like an ink blot and keeps spreading. Shanker weaves in too many plots and loses the crispness of narrative on the way. It's a long-winded tale that you may tire of watching. Raima Sen's fleeting romantic interlude hardly serves any purpose and it could well have been avoided. Alok Nath's card-tricks could have been edited as well. But the action scenes have been held together tautly and the suspense is crackling. The tempo is exciting and that's where the film scores.
It also scores with Sammir's sincere act, Rahul Dev's suave villainy and Om Puri's dedicated Intelligence officer character. The action sequences have been choreographed well and the climax is fascinatingly built up. This is certainly is an edge-of-your seat thriller for most time. If only the editor had minded the footage it could have been a clear winner.
Rating: One star for Sammir Dattani's inspired performance, another for the thrilling action sequences and one for the emotions that writer invests in justifying all the killings in the film.
