Tuesday, June 5, 2018

Raazi and Parmanu

After a long time -- in fact after more than 2 years -- I watched Hindi movies in a theater, after being persuaded (euphemism for 'dragged') by Arti.
Raazi is a story of an Indian spy that lived in Pakistan and collected valuable inside information pertaining to the impending Bangladesh war. A fast-paced script, tight editing, and a focused, linear plot ensured that there wasn't a single dull moment. Impressive performances by Alia Bhatt and supportiing cast take this movie to an another level. "Finding Sehmat", the book on which this movie is based,
would surely make for a superb reading.
Parmanu narrates the fantabulous job that our scientists and engineers did in successful detonation of a series of atomic bombs and a hydrogen bomb in Pokhran in 1998. It shows the initial aborted attempts, the revival of the team and the need to work in intense secrecy due to constant surveillance by American spy satellites. A few real-world TV clippings, featuring Prime
Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Bill Clinton, Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif interwoven in the plot bring back memories of those days.
It's a good movie, and it could have been even
better if it had also shown some technical aspects, such as how the components were transported, how the bombs were assembled,
and what the tests attempted to measure, at least to the extent of whatever information is available in the public domain. Instead, it places too much focus on human interactions. Nevertheless, John Abraham deserves kudos for taking up a history-science subject and making a movie for the masses.

All in all, both the movies deserve their ticket money. We need more such stuff.




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