Mission Majnu is now streaming on Netflix, and is the streaming service’s first main launch of 2023 from India. At its coronary heart, it is a spy thriller specializing in intelligence gathering by Indian Analysis and Evaluation Wing (RAW) brokers working deep inside Pakistan, however the title is the obvious giveaway that there’s a love-story angle to the movie as effectively. Certainly, Mission Majnu is the story of an intelligence agent who manages to strike the appropriate stability between his responsibility to his nation, and his real love and take care of his spouse and unborn baby, although it was at all times part of his cowl. Right here is our spoiler-free overview of the brand new Netflix film.
Shantanu Bagchi makes a good directorial debut in Mission Majnu, however he admittedly has a slightly simple method to work with. The selection of setting is a slightly good one, in my view. Viewers will instantly relate to the thought of tensions between India and Pakistan, however Mission Majnu picks an fascinating peace-time period between the 2 international locations. This comes throughout as the perfect setting for a film centered on espionage, and does so pretty tastefully.
The film begins with a historical past lesson overlaying the interval and setting of the movie, the mid-to-late Nineteen Seventies, and the beginning of each India and Pakistan’s nuclear applications. All of that is carried out frivolously and with out entering into an excessive amount of element across the politics or real-life tensions between the 2 international locations, on the time engaged in a subcontinental ‘chilly conflict’ of its personal variety. This does imply that the politics of the period come throughout as a bit odd and overly-dramatised, and the dialogue is a bit over-the-top, but it surely serves to kind of remind you to not take this film too significantly both.
It additionally shortly introduces the lead character, Amandeep alias Tariq (Sidharth Malhotra) as a tailor working for a store in Rawalpindi that’s identified to sew uniforms for the Pakistani military. He marries a visually impaired Nasreen (Rashmika Mandanna) who’s the niece of his employer, and makes use of his place and canopy to achieve entry to navy intelligence aimed toward exposing the event of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program. The precise means of gathering intelligence comes throughout as a bit clownish and ridiculously handy for Tariq, however as soon as once more, you are not anticipated to take the movie too significantly.
All through the primary half of the movie, Tariq’s personal motivations and backstory are revealed, notably specializing in the truth that his father was thought-about a nationwide traitor, and he selected to not run from this popularity however to take the arduous route in the direction of proving his patriotism and love for his nation. He’s revealed to be a star cadet at RAW and is trusted by the company chief RN Kao (Parmeet Sethi), even when his direct handler Sharma (Zakir Hussain) does not suppose a lot of him whereas himself sitting comfortably and safely behind a desk in a Delhi store.
Many of the performances are as anticipated, though Rashmika Mandanna does appear to battle a bit with talking in Urdu and takes too lengthy to ship even easy dialogues. Sidharth Malhotra, however, channels his Punjabi upbringing to raised impact, switching a bit extra simply between Punjabi-Urdu and the occasional use of English and Indian Hindi.
Many of the different performances from the remainder of the solid aren’t dangerous, however aren’t notably memorable both, save for fellow subject brokers in Pakistan comparable to Aslam (Sharib Hashmi) and Raman (Kumud Mishra), who function companions to Amandeep. The duo assist ship slight comedic reduction. Sadly, the movie frequently makes use of cringey dialogue to take the sting off the in any other case severe setting and tensions of the period. Tariq’s occasional ‘lightbulb’ moments additionally assist to inform the story of his above-average intelligence within the artwork of espionage, aside from including slight hilarity to the plot.
The second half of the movie is much less about espionage, and extra about all-out motion as Tariq first focuses on finishing the mission, after which on escaping Pakistan. It additionally explores how Mission Majnu was by no means only a mission for him, and the bond he fashioned together with his ‘spouse’ in Pakistan weren’t affected by his patriotic responsibility.
On the entire, Mission Majnu is about discovering the appropriate stability between patriotic responsibility and private relationships. It is a feel-good story that regardless of the cringey dialogue, dramatised politicking, and largely unusual performances from the solid, has its coronary heart in the appropriate place and faithfully tells a narrative of true occasions which have admittedly been largely brushed over to date.
Mission Majnu is streaming now on Netflix. In India, the movie is out there in Hindi, English, Tamil, and Telugu.
