As unstintingly jingoistic as it is relentlessly entertaining, this Indian blockbuster celebrates a fictionalised version of the life and – as most of its audience will already know - death of heroic soldier Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, who was killed fighting terrorists during the 2008 siege at Taj Mahal Palace hotel in Mumbai.
Sandeep’s story is already the stuff of legend, so this lavish production goes all-out with all the hagiographic bells and whistles, turning him into a noble, fearless warrior (played by Adivi Sesh, also the film’s screenwriter). Sesh and director Sashi Kiran Tikka turn Sandeep into a very old-school sort of hero: part godlike being, part 1980s-style Hollywood action man, capable of hitting a target with a semi-automatic while sliding for metres on his knees, in slow-motion no less. He also possesses an unswerving moral compass that makes him a natural leader and compels him to honour his duty as a soldier above all else, even if that means neglecting his beautiful architect wife Isha (Saiee Manjrekar, utterly magnetic) and sometimes failing to return calls from his parents (Prakash Raj, Revathi).
