It always feels great when something apart from a India-Pak match unites, we the people of India, where we clap together on a national achievement, for national hero(es). Well, this time it was a recreation of a moment of national pride that incited this act. Abhishek Sharma's 'Parmanu- the story of Pokharan' (PTSP) is a true ode to the visionaries who envisioned and executed the intricate yet successful nuclear tests of 1998 which catapulted India to a full-fledged nuclear state.
1. *The plot* - Going by the theme, it could have easily been a documentary. However, considering sensitivity of information and facts, it would not have been legal to detail out everything with 100% authenticity. There goes kudos to the writers who spunned the well needed soul of the programme in a fictional story and characters. This saved the film from becoming dull/ documentaristic! However, regular showcasing of actual clippings from DD and government archives ensured realism. Watching Vajpayee ji's real inspiring speeches on & off was definitely heart-warming! :)
2. *Cast* - A special mention of John Abraham who risked money to make a movie on this otherwise on-paper dry topic. Apart from being a courageous producer of this film, he carried it well on his shoulders as main lead. He was ably supported by talented actors like Boman Irani, Vikas Kumar and Yogendra Tiku. Diana Penty and Anuja Sathe did justice to their limited characters. Overall, all characters looked authentic in their body language and were aplty cast.
3. The on screen authenticity of events and characters can be attributed to *immaculate screenplay and flawless cinematography*.
4. Thankfully, no song disrupts the seriousness or tone of the film. *Background score* is good.
5. The film is *flawed* only to the extent of some over-styling of lead actors and low story pace initially. However, Movie picks up pace gradually and gets into full on acceleration esp. in 2nd half. One more miss out was APJ's character. Perhaps, absence of exact mappings was intentional.
All in all, PTSP does manage give a glimpse of unmatchable hard work and challenges that went away in enacting this historical achievement. In an era where India was a vulnerable state diplomatically bullied and regularly monitored (read: threatened) by Uncle Sam, this achievement was much much bigger than current era's surgical strike. Each Indian deserves to know, see and feel proud to watch this story unfold.
_It was disappointing to find hardly 30% occupancy at multiplex._
For me, it is definitely a *9/10* flick. Please go *watch in theatres* to help more people put money on similar stories.
Note: Do watch ending credentials as they showcase real pictures of/ before/ after explosion along with fact bits.
