Though Nikhil Advani has come up with a slick thriller, we wish it could have been more crisper.
Nikhil Advani's sixth feature film is an acutely accomplished work of art. It's a thriller, yes. About the enforced extradition of a Dawood-like gangster.
Iqbal Seth (Rishi Kapoor) alias Goldman is India's Most Wanted criminal, who is being protected by the ISI in Pakistan. When deep cover RAW agent Wali Khan (Irrfan Khan) gets to know that Iqbal will be attending his son's wedding at a plush hotel despite the misgivings of his ISI protectors, he informs his superior Ashwini Rao (Nasser) about it.
Ashwini quickly activates a mission to apprehend Goldman and bring him back and dispatches a team comprising Rudra Pratap Singh (Arjun Rampal), a former Army Special Forces operative-turned-government assassin, explosives expert Zoya (Huma Qureshi) and another undercover operative Aslam (Akaash Dahiya) to collaborate with Wali and execute the mission.
But, we all know what happens to the best laid plans and when the operation is botched and the Indian government washes its hands off the matter, the four hunters turn into the hunted as Goldman vows to pay them back in blood and tears…
Shot in an expertly constructed brothel sets with the crowded colours of lurid sex suggesting the tragedy of lives lived in borrowed beds, the scenes between Arjun Rampal and Shruti Haasan are punctured by piercing silences and a haunting melody about love, loss and incomplete lives sung by Rekha Bharadwaj.
Afterward, much later, the girl is tortured to painful death by a sadistic butcher, gleefully played by Chandan Roy Sanyal.
In one of the most innovative editing techniques applied to a Hindi cinema (editors Aarif Sheikh and Unni Krishnan can take a bow), we see the scarred prostitute's torture and death through Arjun Rampal eyes as though he were there when it happened, when he was not.
And in the background a haunting Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy song "Alvida" plays with assertive evocativeness, reminding us that the end of love is always death.
The love story could have been the whole script of Advani's movie. But "D-Day" -- odd title since the antagonist is no more named Dawood -- has a lot more to say, and it says it with in a tone of unfussy enrapturing elan that invites us into its midst without using gimmicky methods of enticement.
The screenplay by Advani, Ritesh Shah and Suresh Nair constructs a collage of characters hell-bent on a collision course. Though rigorously researched, the erudition sits easily, spontaneously and unobtrusively on Advani's narration.
Rishi Kapoor, who reinvented himself with Agneepath, gives a stellar performance as Goldman (based on Dawood Ibrahim) and his get up, his dialogue delivery and his menacing snarl is something to watch out for. Arjun Rampal as the rugged and enigmatic Rudra is another gem and Rampal has done absolute justice to his role. Despite being such a macho character, Rampal's Rudra is not just a killing machine and hints at unseen scars through his eyes and his 'wounded warrior' act is bound to win hearts.
Last but not the least, we have Irrfan Khan, who simply blows you away with his unblemished performance as the man trying to juggle two roles- that of a loving family man and a duty-bound undercover operative. Huma performs well too, though she doesn't get as much screen time as Kapoor, Rampal and Khan. Shruti Haasan as the nameless prostitute is an absolute delight and her character's child-like vulnerability, coupled with the fact that she is a professional hooker, makes her quite an interesting character. Dahia as the jittery Aslam too does a good job. Chandal Roy Sanyal has a short role and doesn't get to do much. Shriswara, who plays Wali's wife and Nasser, who plays the RAW chief, are quite good.
Every character, visible or invisible, speaks to us in urgent desperate tones. And within 20 minutes of the playing-time we're consumed by these doomed lives that seem to have lived on the edge forever and have nowhere to go except the abyss.
With astounding impunity Advani sketches half-finished all his characters. These are people whose dreams can never come true.
The cinematography by Tushar Kanti Ray uses cluttered garish spaces to create a sense of spiritual emptiness during times of tremendous stress and anxiety. This is a movie with world-class action scenes. But it is not an action film. It's a film about love and loss. But it isn't a love story.
Overall, film D day is worthy to watch once.
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