Uri: The Surgical Strike

Major Vihaan (Vicky Kaushal), the driving element of the film.

Uri: The Surgical Strike

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Yami Gautam, Paresh Rawal, Mohit Raina
Director: Aditya Dhar
Uri was one of the most talked about film of 2019. Directed by Aditya Dhar, it stands out in the Bollywood walk of fame.
The story centres around the surgical strikes carried out by the Paramilitary forces in Pak-occupied Kashmir in 2016. The whole operation is seen through the eyes of our protagonist Vihaan (Vicky Kaushal). In Vihaan, Aditya Dhar creates a character that symbolises the Army man as a whole. He has a brother in law who dies in action and his mother suffers from Alzheimer's. Both these conditions bring out emotions that resonate among all soldiers. Vihaan's bravery and leadership are also common among every soldier
The film shows the cunning terrorist attacks at URI that lead to the  strikes. There are characters modelled upon top military and government officials. We see how systematically the Indian Army's organisation works. Aditya Dhar's brilliant writing and a truly patriotic background score captivates the audience. The screenplay is divided into five chapters and each plays out well. Shivkumar Panicker's taut editing manges to keep tensions high. Mitesh Marchandani does good camerawork. The handheld shots seem perfect in the battle sequences. All the combat scenes are brilliantly executed. The film also hits high notes with the scenes of interrogations and war room meetings. The Indian cinema sees soldiers as chest-thumping patriots but this film avoids that and show the real courage of the soldier.

But the film has it own flaws too. The brilliance of directors like Spielberg in the war genre is that they are perfectly capable of displaying the human side of soldiers and what they are really going through. But this film just can't shake away the filmi sensibility. The female characters are virtually  nothing until the second half. The VFX also get a bit shaky during the long gunshots and make them look a bit like lazerz. The length of the film is too long at 2 hours 20 minutes.
The acting department works wonders in this one. Vicky Kaushal captures each emotion of Vihaan gracefully. Kirti Kulhari and Yami Gautam do great in their limited roles. Paresh Rawal and Rajit Kapur show their prowess and debutant Mohit Raina shines too.

Aditya Dhar has given this film a master touch. He pulls the strings properly to give us an immense, efficient and perfect final scene.

   

Uri is a tribute to our soldiers. It tells us that are men are always prepared to defend us. The true grit and brotherhood of the men on the borders is also shown. Our soldiers are always there for us. They will defend us from whoever that defiles our motherland. Our country in 72 years has always maintained peace with almost every country. But the new India will not remain silent after we come under attack. "Yeh Hindustan ab chup nahi baithega. Yeh Naya Hindustan hai," says Paresh Rawal's Govind, who is modelled upon NSA Ajit Doval, to sum up the the strength of this new India.

I will give this film 3.5/4.