Aiyaary Review

Except for the MS Dhoni biopic, Neeraj Pandey has always been in a patriotic zone with a very strong protagonists. Aiyaari also is in that zone with Army as the setup. That is the closest he can get while writing characters who are the saviours . Though, the disclaimers say it as fiction, MrPandey seemed to be in a mode to expose the corruption that happens when it comes to arms and defence , which we might be totally unaware of. A new storyline indeed. But does it entice the viewer?

Colonel Abhay Singh (ManojBajpayee) is made a part of undercover (dejavu?) agent team, within the army. His mentee, Major Jai Bhakshi is played by Siddhart Malhotra. Jai realizes something fishy and decides to expose the corruption that is happening with the arms trade at different levels. A sincere officer turns into a slicker in the mission that he sets to himself. He also takes the help of his newly made girlfriend, a software techie. She helps in hacking machines for some critical information. Whether Jai will be able to succeed or will his identity be leaked in between is the film about.

Well, the movie’s plot is very unclear from the beginning. You cannot comprehend, what is really driving Jai to do so. The justification and explanation he gives also sounded absurd. The screenplay initially promises that there will be lot in terms of revealing later, but it doesn’t quite turn out that way. The 140 hour long film has good amount of twists , but none that can really give you a kick. The movie also has a lot of slow motion shots, which make the already bland treatment much blander. The ending of the film is quite unclear too. We would be waiting for a convincing answer for all that had happened in the past 2 hours, but the answers are absurd.

ManojBajpayee proves that, irrespective of the script, he can shine anytime and anywhere. He was the best part of the film. There are also other good actors like Naseeruddin Shah, Kumud Mishra, Adil Hussain and the likes, but they get half bakes roles which they could have agreed only because of the director’s popularity. Siddhart Malhotra has the looks and was OK. Rakul was average and Pooja Chopra was good. Neeraj’s favorite Anupam Kher makes a brief appearance too.

The soundtrack of the film is pretty good. Cinematography is good capturing some beautiful landscapes. Editing could have been better to shorten the thriller.

The fundamental problemis its execution of a script which might seemingly look good on the paper. Though there is so much suspense (whether it enthralls or not is a different topic), a large ensemble of capable actors, the core plot is hazy. You cant really fathom what a certain character’s intent and why he talks and behaves in a certain way. The movie just keeps going on and on, leading to a boring affair.

Aiyaary is Neeraj Pandey’s blunder.