×

NSoJ Movie Review: A real life thriller depicting what is happening right now

The story builds up strong emotions for those who feel strongly about corruption



photo courtesy: Panorama Studios, T-Series

This gripping thriller revolves around an upright income tax officer Amay Patnaik (Ajay Devgn) and his team who raids the residence of a high-up political leader in Lucknow, Tauji (Saurabh Shukla) after getting a tip of his black money and illegal assets. Directed by Raj Kumar Gupta, the movie is inspired by an income tax raid conducted by the IT Department in the 1980s which became a political sensation and created public commotion at the time.

This movie can certainly be added to that list of Bollywood films that stands apart from the usual ones. Simple, yet thrilling Raj Kumar has managed to blend in the right amount of suspense with each phase of the film, such that one does not get bored. The thoughtful and hard-hitting dialogues are well placed while ensuring that it does not become overly clichéd like many Bollywood productions. Raj Kumar has also managed to induce the right amount of humour into the movie, giving even the villain a subtle comical side. Many scenes such as money and gold falling from the ceiling present a visual spectacle for the audience. However, on the downside, many of the songs like 'Nita Khair Mang'a and 'Sanu Ik Pal' Chain portraying the relationship between Amay Patnaik and his wife Nita Patnaik( Ileana D’Cruz) seemed unnecessary and did not blend well with the overall theme of the movie. But then again, Bollywood would not be complete without an infusion of such songs. Ajay Devgn played his character of IT Officer with utmost vigour and passion leaving no room for complaints, while Saurabh Shukla’s performance as vile Tauji, playing the chief antagonist made his mark right from his first appearance as an idiosyncratic character till the commencement of the movie. Ileana D'Cruz’s role of being a bold and courageous wife who stood tall alongside her husband was equally striking. 85-year-old Pushpa Joshi, a debutante who played the role of Tauji's mother won hearts at many points; making her endearing.

The story builds up strong emotions for those who feel strongly about corruption and illegal stacking up of black money by the high-ups, and the movie surely arouses the patriot in you and makes you feel proud of the work carried out by the IT officer. The 128 minutes and 3 seconds of the movie that briefly revolves around the raid does not seem exaggerated as it is cut at the right time, hence making it entertaining and exceptional throughout. Overall, we recommend you this movie as a must watch as the storyline along with the comic timings of the supporting characters makes it so.

Roshan Sageer and Aditi Warnoolkar reviewed the movie


All stories that are reported, edited and published on this platform are original, produced by the students and faculty of National School of Journalism, sometimes contributed by guest faculty and speakers. If you would like to contribute, please email us at tannoy@nsoj.in NSoJ is a news organisation and a highly-selective Journalism school that trains India’s best journalistic talents to become ethical journalists who care deeply about truth, justice and democracy. If you are passionate about journalism and care about the core values of journalism as we do, please apply for a place in one of NSoJ’s programmes - Bachelor of Arts or PG Diploma in Journalism at www.nsoj.in.