‘BLAST FROM THE PAST’

‘Hero vardi se nahi, iraade se hote hain’, with effusive patriotism, is a dialogue early in the film to seemingly justify macho-man John Abraham to star in, and co-produce this film.
The film begins with the 1995 botched attempt at India trying to gain nuclear status. Back then, India had sorely underestimated the power of US’s spy satellites. Moreover, if the script is to be believed, bureaucrats had scoffed at Capt Ashwat Raina’s (John Abraham) proposal, with the IAS officer being blamed and shunted out.

Enter a new government headed by PM Atal Vajpayee — or rather the vision of his Principal Secretary Himanshu Shukla (Boman Irani) who’s keen on reprising the programme and recalls the unwilling Raina out of forced retirement. Shukla plays upon Raina’s emotions, reminding him how Ashwat’s father had laid down his life for the nation. Director Abhishek Sharma brings in a bit of mythology — Raina assembling a band of five experts from various departments: nuclear physics (the son of a noted scientist — Dr Viraf Wadia, a not-so-direct reference to Dr Homi Bhabha), security, space agency (Diana Penty), etc.

Although the film is ‘a work of fiction’, it claims to be ‘inspired by true events’. Cinematic liberties abound: the CIA and ISI complicity is overused while the real Pokhran story was more of the scientists’ mastery rather than military valour. (Dr Abdul Kalam is acknowledged at the end but Vikram Sarabhai, Raja Ramanna and even Dr Homi Bhabha are ignored.)

A moustachioed John Abraham tries to bring dignity to the role, succeeding as far as the script permits him to. The five Pandavas acquit themselves well — though Diana Penty looks too glamorous for her role — but it’s left to Boman Irani to bring in the much needed gravitas. The talented Boman manages to make every role seem tailor-made for him. Zubin Mistry’s (son of yesteryear cameraman Jal Mistry) cinematography of the Rajasthan desert is fascinating.

Patriotism and nationalism are doled out in large measure: if the text at the beginning shows how other super-powers have accumulated nuclear warheads and India is lagging, the ending informs the viewer how India adroitly managed to fool US’s satellites.