Plot
Set
in
1971, 'The
Ghazi
Attack' opens
with
a
voiceover
by
Amitabh
Bachchan
explaining
the
tense
political
scenario
between
India
and
Pakistan.
The
Pakistan
Navy
-
in
order
to
hunt
Indian
Navy's
priced
possession
INS
Vikrant
and
also
relieve
pressure
on
depleted
naval
resources
in
the
eastern theatre
sends
their
flagship
submarine
PNS
Ghazi.
In
a
classified
mission
to
intercept
a
suspected
attack
on
the
East
coast
of
India,
INS
Vikrant
sets
sail
with
the
submarine
S-21, captained
by
the hot-headed
Commander
Rann
Vijay
Singh
(Kay
Kay
Menon)
who
is
constantly
at
loggerheads
with
Lieutenant
Commander
Arjun
Varma
(Rana
Daggubati)
over
the
differences
in
their opinion in
the
mission.
To
balance
these
two
contrasting
personalities,
Executive
Officer
Devaraj
(Atul
Kulkarni)
comes
into
the
picture.
What
follows
next
is
a
gripping
narration
about
'The
war
you
did
not
know
about'!
Direction
Firstly,
debutante
director
Sankalp
Reddy
needs
to
be
applauded
for
picking
up
this
not-much-known
historical
incident
for
his
story-telling.
As
the
legend
goes,
PNS
Ghazi
sunk
under
mysterious
circumstances
and
the
Indian
and
Pakistan
Navy
have
varying
accounts
as
to
why,
the
filmmaker
presents
this
faded
page
of
history
in
an
intriguing
way
without
resorting
to
any
Bollywood
cliches
like
songs
or
dream
sequences.
On
the
flipside,
the
film
at
times
does
get
preachy
with
the
son-of-the-soil
speeches
which
tends
to
make
the
narration a
bit
over-the-top.
Performances
Kay
Kay
Menon
is
a
complete
show-stealer
as
the
impulsive,
arrogant
officer
who
believes
in
the
philosophy
of
'save
the
nation
not
by
dying
for
it
but
by
killing
the
enemy'.
Rana
Daggubati
on
the
other
hand
plays
a
calmer
version
who
'waits' for
the
orders
and
gets
to
be
a
major
player
in
the
second
half
of
the
film.
Atul
Kulkarni
is
impressive
as
usual
and
plays
more
of a
peacemaker
between
these
two
characters.
These
aforementioned
actors
are
the
three
'torpedoes'
of
The
Ghazi
Attack
Late
Om
Puri
and
Nassar
do
a
good
job
in
their
minuscule
roles.
Unfortunately,
Taapsee
Pannu
who
is
credited
with
a
special
appearance
remains
a
mere
spectator and
could
have
had
a
meaningful
space
in
the
film.
'The
Ghazi
Attack'
relies
more
on
the
team
work
rather
than
the
individual
act
to
extract
impressive
performances
and
this
works
in
its
favour.
Technical
Aspects
Ghazi
has
been
mounted
with
a
fair
degree
of
authenticity
and
director
Sankalp
Reddy
has
succeeded
in
recreating
a
claustrophobic
environment
as
a
major
section
of
the
film
unfolds
in
a
submarine.
The
war
scenes
dabble
more
with
the
mind
games
and
strategical
approach
and
keep
you
hooked
despite
a few
restraints
in
the
budget
when
it
comes
to
special
effects.
Madhi's
cinematography
and
A.
Sreekar
Prasad's
fine
editing
gels
well
with
the
film.
Music
There
isn't
any
scope
for
songs
in
the
film.
The
background
score
doesn't
jar
the
narrative
and
adds
more
hue
to
the
story.
Verdict
If
you
ain't
in
the
mood
for
some
lovey-dovey
watch,
then
'The
Ghazi
Attack'
is
a
perfect
pick
for
you
to
turn
back
the
pages
of
the
Indian
history
and
revisit
a
gripping
tale
of
unsung
heroes
who
risked
their
lives
to
rescue
the
tricolor!