Reviews

First of all it is important to thank Vidhu Vinod Chopra for making this film. The story has been told in such a heartwarming way that the audience is totally involved in this inspiring story of grit, determination and victory against all odds. The performances are award worthy. Vikram Massey is outstanding in the lead role and is well supported by the rest of the cast. The direction, screenplay and editing are top notch. Unfortunately in India the over the top and illogical films become blockbusters and the really outstanding films don't do well commercially. I hope the Indian audience views such films as it will encourage film makers to do top quality work of international standards. This film falls in category that the Hindi film industry should feel proud of.

This is more than just a movie. It shows that even the most brilliant minds can be made to suffer in the country due to jealousy and politics. It is an eye opener. The first half really brings out the brilliance and outstanding achievements of Nambi Sir and the second half brings out the heart wrenching tragedy that he and his family had to bear including physical torture at the hands of police for being an accused traitor. Eventually it has been proved that it was a fabricated conspiracy . But the real conspirators are not known till date ? Hopefully we find out someday but will that bring back Nambi Sir and his family the time that they lost due to this conspiracy?

Madhavan has lived Nambi Sir on screen and it is difficult to imagine anyone else in this role and special mention to Simran who is also brilliant as his wife. The entire supporting cast does well.

The underlying point here is that the nation needs to protect its brilliant minds else we will continue to lag behind other nations.

The film begins well. The Mystery is maintained till the first half . There are good moments and surprises in the second half. If one take out the gory violence the movie is a good thriller. The violence makes the film toxic and is definitely not recommended for children below 14. I made a mistake of taking my son and though he did like the thrills it is not a film that children should see and it is not a film that we should allow our children to enjoy. Glorifying violence of a psychotic nature has its consequences on the mind .Being a big fan of Kamal Hassan and watched several of his films over the last few decades I was very excited to see Vikram and he does not disappoint with his acting. He is better in the film that some of his recent past films. For that matter on the acting front everyone performs. The direction is also good. The music is too loud and in combination to the violence will give a migraine attack.

Overall the film could have been brilliant had there been control over certain aspects of the film. To that extent the film disappoints.

My request to Kamal Hassan Sir is to do more films which can be viewed by all. Even this film sans the gory violence would have been very good. Films like Appu Raja, Sadma, Mayor Saab, Pushpak, Nayakan and several others have left such a huge impact that expectations from him are always high. I may have seen each them over 10 times, lost count actually. All the mentioned films had a deep connect with the characters which is missing in this film. This film may do well in box office numbers as the buzz is good but it does not make it to the top grade of films that have been made in the past.

Watched a movie at a multiplex after a long time. Unlike the normal routine masala movies this movie attempts something different and does it very well. The movie also looks at the risk a pilot carries inherently on every flight that he takes, bad weather , air traffic and other abnormal factors. The subsequent investigation of the AAIB is also displayed on the Indian film industry for the first time. Ajay Devgan as the pilot and Amitabh Bachchan as the investigator of AAIB are in top form. Even through they do take some liberties within the context of cinema the performances are top notch.

The script is tight and logical.

The film is on par to some of the Hollywood films in terms of technology and VFX. Direction is fantastic. Surprised to see a poor opening for such a good film. Surely deserves a wider and vast audience.

Very happy to make a good choice and watching this today along with my son who was celebrating his birthday and who also thoroughly enjoyed the film.