- Release Date: – 12/05/2023
- Cast: – Vidyut Jammwal, Anupam Kher, Dalip Tahil
- Director: – Sankalp Reddy
In 1971, India learned from its foreign intelligence sources that Pakistan was planning an elaborate attack with China’s help on two fronts. For this, Pakistan needed to use India’s airspace to deliver men and material on the eastern borders. Even after being aware of Pakistan’s nefarious plans, India couldn’t deny them their airspace due to stringent international laws. Thus R&AW was entrusted by the government to figure out a way to somehow thwart Pakistan’s evil plans and devise a strategy to stop them from using India’s airspace. IB 71 is the story of the outrageous and almost unbelievable plan that R&AW puts into motion and pulls off with unprecedented success.
Sankalp Reddy’s film is based on real events but tries to blend in fictional elements to not only enhance the drama but also infuse tension, and thrills and culminate in a bravura climax. For me, a good thriller based on real events is one in which the lines between facts and fiction blur and the audiences are unable to see which portion of it is real and which has been created for dramatic impact. This is where IB 71 failed for me. I could clearly see the cracks in the narrative and screenplay which made it extremely easy for me to decipher which parts of it were real and which were not. This not only marred the believability of the story but also ensured that I was taken out of the experience occasionally resulting in the film never really impacting me.
The portions of the film that are based on the real chain of events are done with conviction and authority. The writing is solid in these parts and there is an evident attention to detail in whatever is put on screen. The makers go on to recreate actual historical moments that appeared in newspapers and magazines. The production design of the film and how it is shot and edited helps to recreate the gritty and realistic feel of the true story and also does enough to transport us back in time to that specific era.
Sadly, all the good that the film does with these portions goes for a toss in the second half when the film enters into fictional territory and shows some absolutely ridiculous things unfolding that instantaneously reminds us that we are watching a film and not a very convincing one at that. Many films are able to show outrageous things and get away with them because they ensure the suspension of disbelief by providing reasons for the audiences to take the characters and proceedings for what is shown in the narrative.
Unfortunately, that is also not the case with this film. It is not able to sell the more unbelievable aspects of its story even though the real story was in itself quite extraordinary. One sequence in particular that annoyed me was how the R&AW agents made their way back from Pakistan. This entire portion was conceived and executed in the most ludicrous manner.
I am confident that Sankalp Reddy and his co-writers could have thought of a more believable and apt resolution to this key moment in the screenplay. They could have even stuck to the real story and not ventured into absurdity that results in the credibility and believability of the film taking a serious blow; A blow from which it never recovers.
The performances in the film are good. I was absolutely blown away by Vishal Jethwa’s stellar performance. His innocent and quirky antagonist will make you burst into laughter seeing him in a unique predicament where he lands himself and an entire country in. He is natural and flamboyant as a Kashmiri Jihadist and for all his quirk and hilarious mannerisms, his character will, in all eventualities be the one that you take back home.
The character of Dev suits Vidyut Jammwal perfectly. He completely stays away from hand-to-hand combat and focuses on being more realistic and believable as an R&AW agent. Whatever little action is there in the film is done with organic realism and has absolutely no martial arts play. While the idea of not having him do action might not go down too well with his fans but it does add a dash of realism to the film. Jammwal carries one expression throughout the film and that was the need of the hour.
Anupam Kher has done numerous characters like this and he knows how to get the most out of characters of this nature. While he is nothing extraordinary here, I couldn’t find any fault with his essay.
Sankalp Reddy gets to the point with his film from the very first scene. He sticks to the plot of the film and shows nothing that is not essential to the plot. This was something that made his previous venture, The Ghazi Attack that much more enjoyable. But what he lacks here is genuine thrills and a sense of heightened patriotism and heroism. In an attempt to keep the film real and rooted, he forgets to infuse it with sequences that exude genuine thrill, surprises and also moments that make our hearts soar with heightened patriotism.
While I was watching the film, I never for once felt bored or disconnected from the story but at the same time, it also never made me sit up and take notice of something extraordinary in terms of the storytelling. My heart never pounded for the characters, the villains were never threatening enough to incite genuine fear and the fictional elements were so half-hearted, poorly thought out and terribly executed that it was always clear that they were not for real and were the weakest link of the film.
The actual story of the film had everything in it to be genuinely surprising and inspirational but Reddy takes such a straightforward and uninspiring approach to the storytelling that it ends up being just another well-made YouTube video that chronicles some inspiring lessons from our history of military conflicts with Pakistan.
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I had high expectations from Sankalp Reddy and Vidyut Jammwal as both their previous outings were fantastic. Sadly, IB 71 was unable to inspire or enthrall me even though it had everything going in its favour. The fact that I can sense a terrific story in it that was lost in its translation to the big screen makes me feel a lot more frustrated. Having said that, for all those who have no prior idea about the operation that forms the crux of the narrative here and how it impacted Pakistan and the 1971 war’s outcome, this can be a breezy thriller that holds onto your attention for the duration of its runtime.
Rating: – 2.5/5 (2.5 out of 5 Stars)
The views expressed in this article are that of the reviewer and do not reflect EastMojo’s position
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