What if life gives you a chance to serve your motherland? But John Abraham the lead in Romeo Akbar Walter has shown, how brave Indians are? This potpourri of action, drama and thriller will put the glimpses on the journey of a banker who turned into a spy, became the master of disguise and with his smartness was able to help India during 1971 war.
Directed by- Robbie Grewal
Produced by- Dheeraj Wadhawan, Ajay Kapoor, Vanessa Valia, Gary Grewal
Written by- Robbie Grewal, Ishraq Eba, Shreyansh Pandey
Starring by- John Abraham, Mouni Roy, Jackie Shroff
Music by- Ankit Tiwari, Sohail Sen
Cinematography by- Tapan Tushar Basu
Edited by- Nilesh Girdhar
Production by- Viacom18 Motion Pictures, Kyta Productions
Plot: This movie is set against the backdrop of the Indo-Pakistani war that took place in 1971. The real-life events which shaped the life Indian spy are the true inspiration for it. It has been shown that how the life of a simple banker twisted and turned when he was selected by the chief of RAW for undertaking a secret mission. Romeo who was the apple of his mother’s eye left her behind for his ardour to do something for his nation. He was trained well and was taught by Shrikant Rai that “your mind holds the key to every lock” so if you come across any obstacle just follow your “instincts”. The real journey begins when Romeo was sent to Pakistan with the new identity as Akbar Malik. There he joined the rank of top weapons dealer and was successfully passing the crucial information from Pakistan to India. His contribution played a crucial role prior to the Indo-Pak war. Everything was going as planned until ISI officer Khudabaksh Khan (Sikander Kher) grew suspicious and Akbar’s real identity was blown publicly. Akbar bravely fought against all the odds and smartly acted in critical situations. He showed the authorities of Pakistan that he is a true “Pakistani”. In order to win their confidence, he undertook “Badlipur mission” and destroyed this small village of East Pakistan which was becoming a barrier in their mission and were supporting Hindustanis.
Movie Review: RAW is a slow burner movie but if you will patiently watch its first half, it won’t disappoint you as it will turn into a spy thrilling drama. Lots of mysteries, in the end, would be revealed. One will immediately come across the plight of people who were residing in East Pakistan during 1971 currently known as Bangladesh. It would majorly evoke the feelings of patriotism and would show how an Indian spy “choose his motherland for his own mother”. In order to fulfil his roles and responsibilities towards his country, he got too much engaged in his work that he was not able to cremate his mother. Certain symbols in the movie are used prominently which creates the curiosity in viewers after the first half of the movie such as a spider plant, joker, rain.
The use of the term “joker” is evident throughout the movie. As Akbar is told in the beginning that “joker” runs the spy network in Pakistan for India. Later, after the series of incidents, Jackie Shroff meets Akbar in Nepal after a decade and reveals to the upcoming chief of RAW that “Joker” is no one else but Akbar himself. He further throws light on the victory of Akbar and India who are successfully be fooling Pakistan from the last ten years. This is how Akbar changed into Walter.
Also, in the movie, Mouni Roy looks beautiful and delightful. A love plot is woven between the two. But her role is for short duration and her presence doesn’t add any flavour to the narrative.
Our Verdict: This movie is a one time watch. The actors like John Abraham and Jackie Shroff did a commendable job. This movie will surely help you to know the history of Bangladesh and gives the interesting inight into lives of spy during the time of liberation war.
