Cast: Sidharth Malhotra, Manoj Bajpayee, Rakul Preet Singh, Pooja Chopra, Adil Hussain, Kumud Mishra, Naseeruddin Shah, Anupam Kher
Directed by: Neeraj Pandey
Produced by: Shital Bhatia, Dhaval Gada, Jayantilal Gada, Karan Shah, Motion Picture Capital
Production House: Motion Picture Capital, Friday Filmworks, Pen India Limited, Plan C Studios
Written by: Neeraj Pandey
Cinematography: Sudheer Palsane
Music: Rochak Kohli, Ankit Tiwari
Genre: Thriller
Plot: Aiyaary, which means the act of espionage, is a “catch me if you can” kind of thriller. The movie revolves around the race between two people who understand the nuances of the defence programmes in the country. The main plot of the movie is about the young Major who get disillusioned after realising the extent of corruption in the defence deals of the country and thinks of earning some money but his superior tries to stop him. There are twists and turns in the movie which are introduced to make the cat-and-mouse game more engrossing but the purpose is doomed due to the lengthy runtime and flawed script.
Manoj Bajpayee has emerged as a knight in shining armour in the movie and has played his role of Colonel Abhay Singh really well. In the movie Aiyaari, Bajpayee is the mentor of acolyte Major Jai Bakshi (Sidharth Malhotra). They are a part of a special unit of Indian Army’s military intelligence. The two men have deep regard and love for each other but their ideologies are different which further leads to the bigger plot of the movie. It focuses on issues like corruption within the army, shades of immaturity and cynicism that youngsters have but due to the under-cooked narrative deeper issues are not properly addressed. The movie is male-centric but Rakul Preet Singh`, who is introduced as an IT wizard, is given a space in the movie.
Movie Review: Aiyaary, written and directed by Neeraj Pandey, is a story which highlights the issue of corruption within the Indian Army that also includes the illegal supply of weapons. Pandey has directed various marvelous movies like ‘Baby’, ‘ A Wednesday’, ‘Special 26’ and has set a benchmark in the thriller genre. He is known for making content-driven films and has characterized the leads beautifully in this film too. Some scenes like the one in which Colonel Abhay explains Jai about Kashmir issue, and calls it “an industry” are engrossing. However, Aiyaary appears to be disappointing because the execution of the movie is not as remarkable as its characters. The screenplay has certain weak points and is not as good as his previous movies.
Our Verdict: If you are going to watch Aiyaary with a thought of enjoying a thriller in which you will get tense moments then this movie is surely going to disappoint you. It fails to hold the spectators for more than five-minute stretch as there are slow-motion shots and numerous flaws in the movie. Due to long duration, the movie fails to spread the targeted message it aims upon.
