2.5/5
Who will watch the watchers -- goes a popular saying and Neeraj Pandey's latest thriller is based on this age old problem. He's taking a dig at the rampant corruption in the army through the film. This is perhaps the biggest elephant in the room as far as the current political scenario is concerned and full marks to Pandey for addressing that. Arms deal favouring the sellers, a corrupt defence lobby, kickbacks to high-ranking officers as well as the Adarsh scam, all find a mention here overtly and covertly. The film also touches upon the touchy topic that the youth of today aren't motivated enough to serve their country. Nice guys finish last as they say and they are kind of tired of being the nice guys. They'd rather cut a piece of pie for their own than worry about the ethics of it. It's a topical, relevant subject matter and given Pandey's past record - he has helmed such nicely made products like A Wednesday, Baby and Special 26 - one was expecting a cracking thriller. But for once, alas, the director falters on the execution front.
The plot of the film has a distance similarity to 2001 Hollywood hit Spy Game, where retiring spy master Robert Redford is left with mere hours to extract one of his protégés, (played by Brad Pitt) who had gone rogue, from certain death. That film moved in flashbacks, introducing us to high points in their master and pupil relationship and highlighted their idealogical differences over the years. Aiyaary follows almost a similar pattern. When Sidharth Malhotra, the best man in his covert army unit goes rogue, Manoj Bajpayee has no choice but to hunt him down and execute him if found guilty. What follows is a cat and mouse game between master and pupil, with both invoking the past as well as having long conversation about right and wrong paths to life, as well as a soldier's duty.
Again, it all looks mightily fine on paper but the Idea to celluloid transition has been a drag. The man to fault the most is the editor who seemed to have dozed off at his machine. Forty minutes could have easily been trimmed from the film and would have resulted in a much tauter thriller. Then, the built up takes too long to arrive. By the time the exposé does take place, the viewer has lost interest. There is a long-long romantic track between Sidharth and Rakul, which also carries a song. This portion takes the bite away from the narrative. Pandey has a great ensemble cast in Adil Hussain, Piyush Mishra, Naserruddin Shah and Anupam Kher. They go about their way, professional to the core but are given too less screen time. Naserruddin's track looks like it belonged to a different film altogether. His was a story which needed further exploration but Pandey seems to have lost steam midway, abondoning it to its fate like an overburdened midwife. Too many loose ends is actually the film's undoing. They don't get tied up nicely enough and the viewer is left with a taste of what could have been, rather than what is, in his mouth.
The man who towers heads and shoulders above this mess is Manoj Bajpayee, who should be paid extra just for mouthing all those pro army lines with utmost conviction. He works like a man possessed, trying to make you forget the fault lines by his powerhouse performance. Sidharth Malhotra tries hard to match up to Manoj's intenvity but it's not an easy task. Full marks to him as well for giving his hundred percent. He's clearly the student of the year in this film. Rakul Preet and Pooja Chopra have nothing much to do in this macho masala and go through the paces.
Trailer : Aiyaary
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