Parmanu Review: This Story Of India's Glory Fails To Translate Into A Pulsating Watch On Celluloid!
Parmanu movie review: This John Abraham starrer has an intriguing premise with its fair share of 'thrills'. But still the film doesn't blow your mind away all because of its weak execution.
Reviews
oi-Madhuri
By Madhuri
Recommended
Video
Parmanu
Movie
Public
Review:
John
Abraham
|
Diana
Penty
|
Abhishek
Sharma
|
FilmiBeat
Rating:
2.5/5
Star
Cast:
John
Abraham,
Diana
Penty,
Boman
Irani,
Darshan
Pandya,
Zachary
Coffin
Director:
Abhishek
Sharma
John
Abraham's
'Parmanu:
The
Story
Of
Pokhran' has
been
a
talking
point
ever
since
its
inception.
For
those
who
ain't
aware,
the
film
is
a
reconstruction
of
one
of
the
most
pivotal
events
in
the
history
of
modern
India.
It
documents
the
1998
Pokhran
II
tests
in
which
India
sneakily
conducted
a
series
of
three
nuclear
bomb
test
explosions
under
utmost
secrecy
right
under
the
nose
of
the
CIA
spy
satellites.
While
the
film
is
based
on
true
events,
director
Abhishek
Sharma
adds
a
generous
dose
of
fiction
to
make
it
commercially
palatable.
Parmanu
begins
with
Ashwat
Raina
(John
Abraham),
an
upright
civil
servant
from
the
Research
&
Analysis
department
trying
to
convince
the
Prime
Minister's
Office
to
let
India
conduct
its
own
set
of
nuclear
tests
and
declare
its
arms
might
to
the
world.
Unfortunately,
he
is
mocked
by
the
officials
and
his
idea
is
'plagiarized'.
However,
the
operation
fails
to
escape
from
the
prying
eyes
of
CIA
and
eventually
Ashwat
is
made
the
'scapegoat' leading
to
his
suspension.
Betrayed
by
the
system,
he
moves
to
Mussoorie
to
begin
his
life
afresh
with
his
family.
Three
years
later,
with
the
change
in
regime,
Ashwat
is
brought
back
on
board
by
Himanshu
Shukla
(Boman
Irani),
who
is
the
Principal
Secretary
to
the
new
Prime
Minister,
to
spearhead
the
second
set
of
nuclear
tests
in
the
desert
of
Pokhran
in
Rajasthan.
With
a
motley
crew
of
scientists
and
army
personnel,
Ashwat
sets
out
to
make
the
nation
proud
and
tackle
the
odds
against
this
mission
which
includes
nosy
CIA
satellites,
a
Pakistani
spy
and
a
seed
of
doubt.
To
begin
with,
John
Abraham
&
team
needs
to
be
applauded
for
picking
up
a
story
that
would
make
every
Indian
proud.
Parmanu
is
a
blend
of
facts
and
fiction
packed
in
a
runtime
of
roughly
129
minutes.
Having
said
that,
a
subject
like
this
needs
taut
direction
and
that's
where
Parmanu
wobbles.
Abhishek
Sharma
tries
to
pack
in
too
many
ingredients
only
to
succeed
to
some
extend.
The
mixing
of
genres
doesn't
work
in
his
favour.
A
little
insight
about
Pokhran-I
codenamed
Smiling
Buddha
which
was
India's
first
nuclear
test
in
1974
could
have
made
the
narrative
more
intriguing.
Further
this
film
loses
its
fizz
at
several
places
due
to
its
chest-thumping
patriotism
and
jingoistic
lines
which
spells
it
out
loud.
John
Abraham
with
his
limited
acting
chops
plays
it
fair.
But,
the
actor
seems
a
tad
uneasy
when
it
comes
to
mouthing
heavy-weight
dialogues
in
the
film
and
his
face
at
these
moments
gives
it
away
all.
However,
he
gets
his
little
moment
of
'triumph'
towards
the
end
where
his
character
breaks
down.
Also
he
scores
some
brownie
points
from
us
for
backing
this
story
which
needed
to
be
told.
Diana
Penty
as
security
expert
Ambalika
begins
on
a
promising
note
only
to
trail
away
later;
blame
it
on
her
poorly-sketched
character.
Even
in
the
midst
of
a
sandstorm
and
a
nuclear
testing
explosion,
our
lady
manages
to
look
as
if
she's
just
stepped
out
of
the
salon,
all
prime
and
proper!
Oh
dear,
I
am
dying
to
know
how
her
character
escaped
from
getting
tanned
in
the
scorching
heat
of
Rajasthan
summer
when
I
barely
manage
a
ten-minute
walk
in
the
sun
without
breaking
into
sweat
and
all
dusty.
Boman
Irani
lends
a
good
support.
The
rest
of
the
cast-
Anuja
Sathe,
Yogendra
Tiku,
Aditya
Hitkari
and
others
play
their
parts
well.
The
film's
music
doesn't
add
any
layers
to
the
narrative
and
looks
misplaced
instead.
You
have
real
footage
of
Indian
political
leaders
making
statements
to
the
media
and
US'
condemnation
after
the
nuclear
testing
and
CIA
intelligence
failure
juxtaposed
with
the
reel
which
blends
quite
seamlessly
and
goes
with
the
flow.
The
editing
works
fine.
Parmanu
has
an
intriguing
premise
with
its
fair
share
of
'thrills',
but
the
film
doesn't
blow
your
mind
because
of
its
weak
execution.
While
this
John
Abraham-
Diana
Penty
starrer
has
noble
intentions,
it
does
not
skyrocket
your
excitement
levels
leaving
you
a
little
underwhelmed.
I
am
going
with
2.5
stars
here.