30. Uri - The Surgical Strike; movie review

URI - THE SURGICAL STRIKE
Cert 15
138 mins
BBFC advice: Contains strong violence

Is India ratcheting up political pressure on Pakistan through Bollywood?
I pose this question because of the plethora of recent movies highlighting its military power over its neighbour.
Uri - The Surgical Strike is typical. India is hailed as a victim which reacts with stealth and bravery to what it perceives as acts of terrorism.
As the crowd literally cheered during a crucial moment during Aditya Dhar's film, Mrs W and I were curious onlookers who were left asking the question: "Is this a representation of fact or propaganda?"
Anyway, Vicky Kaushal plays a decorated army major who is first seen in a 'heroic' action against a terrorist camp in reprisal for the blowing up of soldiers on military buses.
However, he is forced away from the frontline hotspot of Kashmir because he wants to attend to his Alzheimer's Disease-stricken mother (Swaroop Sampat).
This is a strange tangent for an action movie and becomes even more offbeat when it transpires that her 24-hour nurse is one of the Army's most talented agents (Yami Gautam).
Anyway, the major suffers more personal trauma and seeks revenge by leading India's mission to wipe out all of the bad guys in camps over the Pakistan border.
Mrs W and I had two clear thoughts about Dhar's movie.
Firstly, the battle scenes are intense and gripping. Sitting in the fourth row of Nottingham Cineworld's screen seven, we felt as if bullets really were pinging around our ears.
But we were troubled when we discovered that this account is almost entirely fictionalised.
I expressed surprise that we would be seeing the intricate detail of a counter-terrorist operation only two years after it had happened.
Well, we didn't.
Which would be just as well if the real operation commander told his troops never to repeat the details of the op "as long as they live" as Kaushal's character did.
Anyway, even the chief political figures are not given real names even though everyone would know who they were.
No matter, India's muscles were flexed and "Jai Hind (long live India)" is chanted many times.
I suspect not for the last time in the cinema in 2019.

Reasons to watch: Interesting take on India's revenge against terrorists
Reasons to avoid: Yet more nationalistic rah-rah-rahing

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: None
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 7/10

Did you know? Vicky Kaushal and the supporting cast trained at Mumbai’s Navy Nagar with captains and majors teaching them slithering, using arms and ammunition and other drills used by the armed forces.

The final word - Aditya Dhar: "As a Kashmiri Pandit, I have been hearing about terrorism from childhood. Directly or indirectly, we have also been victims of terrorism. So, when I heard about the strikes, I wanted to know how the army pulled this off. By the end of my six months of research, I realized this was one of the best covert military operations ever conducted by the Indian Army and I knew I had to tell this story." Reuters

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