302. IB 71; movie review

 

IB71

Cert 12A

117 mins

BBFC advice: Contains moderate violence, threat

Crikey, Indian filmmakers really do like to stir up tensions with Pakistan, don't they?

Jingoistic films have long become the diet of Bollywood, and here we are with another movie that screams, "Indians are heroic" and "Pakistanis are cowards".

Sankalp Reddy's IB71 begins with an Indian agent discovering that Pakistan has joined forces with China to start a war that had been brewing for decades.

Despite strains since Partition more than 20 years previously, the Indian government is ill-prepared for the attack.

But they have a superstar agent with long tousled hair, chiselled jaw and piercing eyes who can save the day.

I couldn't help thinking that Vidyut Jammwal is so damned handsome that he would stand out if he had ever gone undercover.

I digress.

The Indians' crisis is that the Pakistani invasion is ten days away, but it would take months for defences to be in place. 

Meanwhile, they have intelligence that a Kashmiri separatist (Vishal Jethwa) is planning a plane hijack. 

So, instead of preventing it, they seek to manipulate the situation and blame it on Pakistan.

This would be deemed an act of war and allow air space to be closed, giving them much-needed time.

Much of Reddy's film is on a knife-edge with the future of India at stake, but I found that too many of the scenes stretched credibility.

Reddy has admitted to using dramatic licence to notch up the thrills but has overdone it.

And while this story is true, its language lacks ambition and plays too much to the 'Jai Hind' or "Victory to India' playbook.

Reasons to watch: Based on a true story

Reasons to avoid: Too much focused on nationalism

Laughs: None

Jumps: None

Vomit: None

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 6/10

Did you know? The Indo-Pakistani War of 1971 was a two-week military confrontation between India and Pakistan that occurred during the Bangladesh Liberation War in East Pakistan from December 3, 1971, until the Pakistani capitulation in Dhaka on December 16.

The final word. Sankalp Reddy: "I did take some cinematic liberties for IB 71, but most of the scenes are based on the facts that were mentioned in reference materials. This way, I believe the film could be both entertaining and informative." Cinema Express

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