D-Day (2013)

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

This is an astonishing documentary that will wring your heart while it bends your mind

It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

For me, the movie went like this.Every time I use to see the trailer, I watched that MastKalander song and got to know that this movie has some serious espionage storyline (and this is why I went for the movie).When the movie started, within the first five minutes, they screen up that song which was the movie's commercial, and thus totally blank on what is next.As the story picks up, the agents had a failed attempt to capture the fugitive chief. Now, at this plot any one can make out that the next move would be to start afresh and have a line of attack to capture him again, and as predicted, it does happens, but again, failed attempt, which again brought me to the edge of my seat.Now, to again grip up and have that serious plotting was some serious story and Irfan playing the rogue character was an awesome delight at the end of the movie.The movie is so fast paced that you actually don't get a chance to make a move and yes, at last they do hit back hard! The movie is no doubt the best of bollywood I have ever come across in this thriller genre. It is a must watch for those who really enjoy watching a sensing movie with an awesome and unpredictable storyline.

Movies on the Government intelligence and covert operations have been very rare in India. In fact it has been very hard to find an thought provoking movie to see. This was a trend that was ultimately left forgotten in the 90s. Previous films on this theme have not proved a success. Movies such as 'Drohkaal' were impressive for their time but never managed to get a bigger audience. The genre itself has rarely been depicted in a genuine manner. A majority of films present this in a very amateurishly way. 'D Day' is is a honest effort that realistically has revived an old theme. The film portrays characters in desperate situation and believe in doing the righteous duty in-spite of putting their lives on the line. The covert operation itself is shown in greater detail as it progresses from stage by stage to the actual event. The film presents the story of 3 R.A.W agents (Research analysis wing) agents. Irfan Khan and Arjun Rampal are living normal lives being in a relationship with their wife's as well as keeping their real identity a secret. Huma Quereshi joins them later posing as a student. After a failed attempt to apprehend Iqbal Seth at his daughters wedding in a high rise hotel, they decide to their attempts to bring back to India a terrorist. Initially their abduction plan does not succeed and are forced to shift gears to stay alive and fight for survival as the Indian Government is intent on killing them. Meanwhile the gangster Iqbal has his political associates turning sides against him as they are afraid that links with him will be exposed to the Indian government. As well as a being a thriller the film does succeed in conveying a message and tries to paint a grim picture of high authority and intelligent authorities in today's times. Working for the military is not only a high risk profession, but also a duty that does not guarantee survival. And when circumstances on duty in change there can be can be no assurance of loyalty. The unique element of the film besides the story is Irfan Khan's sub plot involving his family. How he sacrifices their trust, love and safety is heart wrenching. He is truly the highlight of the film. Arjun Rampal impresses as the tactical officer. His expressions are on the mark and suit his character. Plays the role with conviction. Huma Qureshi gives good support to a male cast as the explosives expert. She suited the character and got under the skin very well. This was a pleasant surprise coming from a director whose previous venture was a box office flop. He has ingeniously directed the film in tone with it's theme. Nikhil Advani co written the script with three writers. He has beautifully balanced elements of a spy thriller with a true life character. All roles of the actors were well developed and were integral to the story. The pacing is perfect and the story progresses without flaws smoothly. The film is set in Pakistan but shot entirely in Gujarat, India. Overall a recommended film if one is searching for a redeeming entertainment.

Nikhil Advani's 'D Day' is An Astounding Thriller, that engrosses & captivates its viewer. It speaks about patriots & patriotism, but at the same time, delivers great entertainment. 'D Day' Synopsis: A team of experts dispatched to bring in The Most Wanted Man in India almost achieves the unthinkable ... until something goes horribly wrong.'D Day' is about the Real Heroes of India, who put their lives on the line to protect their Nation & capture the terrorists, at any cost. It's a salute to their undying love for their nation! 'D Day' works from start to end, because it never loses pace. In fact, the momentum grows with each passing scene. The First-Hour is arresting, but the Second-Hour is simply astounding. The Finale leaves you spell-bound. I don't want to give away any spoilers, as this film deserves a watch. It's a known fact that the antagonist of the film, played by Rishi Kapoor, is based on The Actual Most Wanted Man of India, so it's evident whom the film is based upon. The Screenplay is power-packed. It catches you from the word 'GO' and sustains its momentum till the very end. Nikhil Advani has outdone himself with 'D Day'. He takes a giant leap as a storyteller & delivers the best film of his career. Cinematography is picture-perfect. Editing is crisp. Action-Sequences are magnificent. Music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy is wonderful. Performance-Wise: Arjun Rampal is amazing. He plays his part faultlessly. Irrfan is another topper. He's highly efficient. Huma Quershi has never been this good before. She's first-rate! Rishi Kapoor shines as the Most Wanted Man. Shruti Hassan is restrained in a cameo. Shriswara is a complete revelation. Her performance astonishes! Chandan Roy Sanyal is menacing to the core. Nasser is effective. On the whole, 'D Day' is a winner all the way!

Hindi Cinema has not seen many well made, box office successes in the particular genre of spy-thrillers. Hence firstly, D-DAY & its makers deserve a special appreciation just for making a brave choice of this genre alone and then further it needs to be applauded for an exceptional execution which certainly reminds you of many well made foreign movies in the 'World cinema'. Plus its really a pleasant surprise that it's a Nikhil Advani film, the man behind KAL HO NA HO (2003), SALAAM-E-ISHQ (2007), CHANDNI CHOWK TO CHINA (2009) and PATIALA HOUSE (2011). As speculated, D-DAY is not just another Gangster movie from Bollywood as it may sound looking at its promos. Instead it's actually the first thoughtful film from our makers, which focuses on bringing back the most wanted man to the Indian Territory for justice and simply not interested in glorifying the crime mafia and The Don following the usual norms. Hence it's a welcome change as far as the subject is concerned and further it has been handled too with an equal amount of intelligence and courage.The film begins with a fabulous 10 minutes of a well conceived sequence wherein the Indian RAW agents are just about to meet The MAN, whom they wish to steal away back. And then its fast intercuts, well composed background score and the unusual camera movements simply give you an indication that this is not a routine stuff from the director this time, probably less appealing to the general public. At times the realistic indicative references of the wanted man, his son's big marriage and a renowned cricketer, makes you feel both exciting and scary (particularly the one in the Mosque). The first half has many similar well directed sequences and it truly feels like watching a great spy thriller made in an international style, rarely seen in Indian Cinema.Post intermission, the excellence continues but the pace drops for a while with some avoidable long sequences. The final moments of the film keep you guessing and then it offers a surprising twist leading to a largely satisfying end of a gripping film. But if only, they had taken care of some visible glitches, D-DAY could have become a winning masterpiece of Hindi Cinema undoubtedly.Pointing out its limitations, the basic storyline of the film is quite close to the concept of ZERO DARK THIRSTY (2013) and Shatrujeet Nath's novel titled THE KARACHI DECEPTION, which can entirely be called a fiction with an unimaginable Indian mission, to be imagined in dreams. Secondly, the added sub-plot of Arjun-Shruti love affair is completely forced in to cater the commercial needs of the project, since a hugely dedicated 'Army Officer' would never ideally indulge in such suicidal activities during his important national mission at all. Lastly, the terror of the Most Wanted Man in the first half, goes missing in the later reels and the Don's character becomes more of a caricature type in the concluding hour.However, moving over the above mentioned drawbacks, technically it's truly a well executed film made with some brave and honest intentions. Following an extremely quality narrative, not normally seen in our Hindi Cinema, D-DAY is sure going to impress the classes more than the masses. The art department never lets you feel the sets and that's exactly what an art director is trying to do in his given job. The camera-work reminds you of many well made international projects and never gives you the feel of watching a typical Hindi film. The writing and dialogues contributes a lot, except in the last hour where in the writers slightly go over imaginative and too easy in the final border crossings.The music section adds a new dimension to the film (Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy) with a worth listening Qawwali "Mera Murshad Khele Holi" heard after a long time and a well composed, written & sung track, "Alvida". In addition there is Rekha Bhardawaj superbly singing "Ek Ghadi" to complete an appreciable soundtrack by the trio.In the performances, once again we have Rishi Kapoor continuing his enjoyable journey of re-discovering the hidden actor, forgetting his own famous lover boy image of the past. It really takes guts to think of him as The Don, but the veteran does look, act and behave like him on the screen, quite astonishingly. Yet, I do wish the director should have emphasized on the terror factor more in the second half.As the RAW agents, Irrfan repeatedly gives a stunning performance caught in the dilemma, especially towards the end. Arjun surprises with an extremely intense performance, particularly excelling himself in the song 'Alvida'. Huma confidently manages to find her decent space standing in between the towering performers and Shruti Haasan shows another glimpse of her unexplored talent as the prostitute.In the supporting cast, Sriswara is a great revelation and both Aakash Dahiya and Chandan Roy Sanyal leave a lasting impact along with Nasser. K.K. Raina, Nissar Khan and Sandeep Kulkarni act well in their supporting acts but Rajpal Yadav was a wrong choice to begin the film as a singer.Altogether, D-DAY does have its own share of hiccups and some usual commercial insertions to make it more viable. Still, it remains the most innovative, well structured and well shot spy movie from Bollywood, surely deserving appreciation from the lovers of this particular genre. But it also has a strange contradiction as I felt, since the most impressive & emotionally moving sub-plot in its script (of Arjun- Shruti), also happens to be the only unwanted insertion in the movie as per its genre. And without it, D-Day would have been a totally focused and taut, high energy, fast paced, thriller unarguably.Hence with that strange paradox, I would like to recommend watching D- DAY as a must since this is indeed the next step in making GANGSTER movies thoughtfully taken by Bollywood.