Story
Set
during
the
Indo-Pakistani
war
of
1971,
Bhuj:
The
Pride
Of
India
begins
with
Ajay
Devgn's
voiceover
explaining
us
how
West
Pakistan
and
East
Pakistan
came
into
existence,
the
massacre
of
three
million
people
by
Pakistan
under
Operation
Searchlight
and
how
India
ended
up
occupying
a
huge
chunk
of
Pakistan
which
infuriated
Pakistani
General
Yahya
Khan.
In
retaliation,
the
Pakistani
air
force
pilots
attack
India's
Bhuj
airbase.
IAF
squadron
leader
Vijay
Karnik
(Ajay
Devgn)
watches
in
horror
this
destruction
from
the
ground
and
musters
the
strength
to
gun
down
a
few
planes
with
a
tank.
On
the
other
side
of
the
border,
Heena
Rehman,
an
Indian
spy
discovers
a
devious
plan
with
the
help
of
which
the
Pakistani
army
plans
to
recapture
East
Pakistan.
Post
the
Bhuj
airbase
attack,
Vijay
takes
the
help
of
military
officer
Ram
(Sharad
Kelkar),
IAF
pilot
Vikram
(Ammy
Virk),
army
scout
Ranchordas
(Sanjay
Dutt)
and
a
local
woman
Sundarben
(Sonakshi
Sinha)
to
pour
cold
water
on
Pakistani's
ambitions.
Direction
One
of
the
biggest
letdowns
in
Bhuj:
The
Pride
Of
India
is
its
disordered
screenplay
which
hardly
gives
you
any
time
to
process
what's
unravelling
on
screen.
Right
from
the
first
frame,
director
Abhishek
Dudhiya
seems
to
be
in
a
rush
with
his
story-telling
for
unknown
reasons.
He
packs
in
multiple
characters
and
tracks
which
seem
to
be
disjointed.
Characters
come,
spring
in
action
and
leave.
In
fact,
the
film
begins
on
a
tedious
note.
The
air
attacks
barely
keep
you
engaged.
Even
when
Ajay
gets
back
on
his
feet,
there
are
hardly
any
surprises.
The
dialogues
lack
that
patriotic
punch
which
would
make
your
hearts
swell
with
pride.
Performances
Ajay
Devgn
looks
suave
in
uniform,
but
his
character
lacks
an
emotional
depth.
He
has
nothing
new
to
offer
here
and
that's
probably
because
Dudhiya
and
team
falter
in
the
writing
department.
Certainly
not
one
of
his
best
performances!
Sanjay
Dutt
pulls
off
a
decent
act
and
gets
his
heroic
moment.
Sharad
Kelkar
is
earnest
but
gets
let
down
by
some
below-average
writing.
Sonakshi
Sinha
and
Ammy
Virk
barely
reach
the
finishing
line.
Pranitha
Subhash
suffers
from
an
underwritten
role.
Nora
Fatehi
gets
a
chance
to
make
a
hero
of
her
role
and
she
does
it
successfully.
Technical
Aspects
Aseem
Bajaj's
cinematography
captures
the
battle
both
on
and
off
the
ground
in
an
effective
way.
But
it's
the
flashy
VFX
which
plays
a
major
spoilsport.
Dharmendra
Sharma's
editing
scissors
hardly
provide
any
relief.
Music
'Zaalima
Coco
Cola'
and
'Bhai
Bhai'
fails
to
make
it
to
the
final
cut
of
the
film.
The
other
songs
are
forgettable.
The
background
score
doesn't
give
you
any
adrenaline
rush.
Verdict
The
makers
of
Bhuj:
The
Pride
Of
India
had
an
interesting
material
in
their
hands.
Sadly,
it's
the
feeble
writing
and
botched
direction
which
crashes
this
film
mid-air.