Plot: An Indian intelligence service must prevent a terrorist attack in this high-stakes Hindi-language thriller. Moments of threat are frequent but fight sequences are restrained with limited injury detail.
Cast: Vidyut Jammwal, Dalip Tahil, Niharica Raizada, Vishal Jethwa, Mir Sarwar, Sahidur Rahaman, Danny Sura, Ashwath Bhatt, Prathamesh V. Jadhav, Hobby Dhaliwal, Suvrat Joshi
Director: Sankalp Reddy, Lee Whittaker
Writer: Sahar Quaze, Sankalp Reddy, Vasudev Reddy, Aditya Shastri, Abhimanyu Srivastava, Arjun Varma, Junaid Wasi
Music: Amit Trivedi
Ratings: ⭐️⭐️ ⭐️
Review: IB 71 is a 1970s-era Hindi film that is goofy and enjoyable like films from that era, has a storyline from that era in Hindi cinema, and is set in that era. The Ghazi Attack director Sankalp Reddy’s latest short pokes fun at the dysfunctional state of Pakistan’s security apparatus, which is depicted by an alarmingly obese Army general and an intelligence chief who drives his own car and performs his own errands. The most recent Indo-Pak war is just around the corner in 1971. Indian spy Dev (Vidyut Jammwal) devises an absurd plot to delay Pakistan: arrange an Indian hijacking.
Two of the most inept pilots since the cast of Aeroplane will execute the strategy! For the omnipotent Dev and his superior Avasti (Anupam Kher), the Kashmiri terrorists Qasim (Vishal Jethwa) and Ashfaque (Faizan Khan) are a pair of foes of India who are simply too stupid to pose a significant threat.
According to the comic book-style scenario, which relies on a story by Aditya Shastri, real-life occurrences served as inspiration. The most recent motion picture to make the argument that espionage was just as crucial as military strategy in the conflict of 1971 is IB 71.
IB 71 doesn’t exactly present a compelling argument in favour of favouring spies above troops, leaving alone the reaction of military veterans to this undercutting of their contributions. The Argo-style plan to bluff the opposition is both clever in theory and awkward in implementation.
By concentrating on the look, historical accuracy, and action scenes, Reddy has a good thing going and manages to salvage what he can from the rubble of overblown performances and groan-worthy plot gaps. Highlights of the attractive production, which was captured by Gnana Shekar VS, include a fast-paced shikara pursuit scene set on Srinagar’s Dal Lake and a fight scene shot in almost complete darkness. As the quick-witted Dev, Vidyut Jammwal, who looks way too dapper for his profession, is likewise in good form.
Reddy struggles to make his personas sound credible due to his poor stagecraft abilities. When the actors remain silent, the movie is always better off. Qasim, performed by Jethwa with bulging eyes, flailing hands, and a crazy Kashmiri accent, speaks some of the most ridiculous stuff. When it comes to making people laugh, Ashwath Bhatt comes in second as Pakistan’s espionage head Afsal Aga.
With his performance, Vidyut Jammwal did well. Although the character calls for him to display little emotion, there are some scenes where he could have performed better. You can always count on Vidyut for action, and he will always give the audience just enough without going overboard. Vidyut carries the entire movie by himself and occupies all of the screen time.
Vishal Jethwa, however, steals the show in this film. Even with a small amount of screen real estate, he consistently outperforms his expectations. Although he frequently receives overly orange cheek tint and lipstick, he excels in his part. He is skilled in all emotions, whether it be expressing fear, wrath, or resolve. He is terribly underutilised, therefore we hope to see him more often. What can be considered a prolonged cameo belongs to Anupam Kher. He only needs to do a small amount of work, and he accomplishes it with ease.
The movie’s dialogues could have been tighter and more fluid. The early half of his reign is marked by a weak grip, which drowns out the overall impact. But the second half covers it up to some extent.