Tehran Movie Review: A Gutsy, Bold And Gripping Geo-Political Thriller
Starring – John Abraham, Manushi Chhillar, Neeru Bajwa, Hadi Khajanpour
Rating – 4
Running Time – 118 Minutes
In the world of commercial action thrillers and blockbuster formulaic mega movie, Tehran comes as a breath of fresh air, this one isn't just an intelligent and well-crafted piece of cinema, its bold, raw, real, and doesn't mince words when it comes to hitting the audience with truth and dirty tactics of geo-politics, and hardworking honest operative, who wants nothing but the best for their own country.
Arun Gopalan handles the feud of two nations, Israel and Iran, which trickled onto the streets of India, with care, brilliance and well thought out narrative and where it will end. In 2012, when an diplomat of Israel gets bombed by an Iranian radical on India soil, it opens up a whole can of worms about international conflicts, espionage, warring nations, killing of innocents and vested interest of bureaucrats. The film doesn't hold back anything and present a gripping narrative of how things are, rather than what media presents.
Bombing in Delhi results in many being injured, but one innocent flower vendor girl dying, John Abraham as Rajeev Kumar, DCP special cell, who is a force to reckon with, and doesn't need permission to right by an innocent, is called to solve the bombing. As it happens, he knew the little girl.
Surprisingly, John Abraham taps into his more mature side, and delivers a controlled and yet powering performance. He doesn't go into over the hill action routine, but keep it nuanced, contained and his silence doesn't the talking. He is a hard man, but with a heart of gold, but who understands greater good, and sacrifice that comes with responsibility. This could very well be the most real and saw performance by John Abraham.
Tehran also features Manushi Chhillar as SI Divya Rana, this is first ever action thriller for her, and she has handled her role with grim grip. Whether it's a chase, shooting or hand combat, she is prefect in every blow.
Established and seasoned actress Neeru Bajwa as Sheilaja has a certain duality to her role, she is someone who is a prefect field operative, and yet she can handle international espionage and diplomacy with ease, she delivers a stellar performance.
Now the real star of the movie, Hadi Khajanpour as Asraf Khan, he is the villain every hero needs, he is merciless and relentless with his believes. The moment he walks on the screen, you know he is an evil man, his performance is that good.
The script is penned by Ritesh Shah, Bindni Karia and Ashish Verma, the trio has crafted a brilliant and well researched story which tackles the complexity of feuding nations, international politics, diplomacy, and the tightrope Indian government plays which tackling tricky overseas issues. The best thing about the film is, it's not preachy.
Ketan Sodha has scored the music, and he has done a marvellous job. Akshara Prabhakar editing skill maintain the much needed pace for the narrative.
Arun Gopalan had crafted every character with details, and he has allowed them to develop on-screen, they all have their own purpose, reason, backstories, and objective, which makes it a complete and wholesome watch.
The filmmaker has kept the action quotient in-accordance to the narrative, so it's real and epic, every explosion, chase, and showdown is needed and take the narrative forward. The film is visually stunning, the colour palette is varied and diverse, ranging from rusty dark lanes of Delhi to barren landscapes of Abu Dhabi, the scale of the film is epic!
The first half is amazingly crafted, but it's the second half where plot see a unexpected twist and its starts rushing to an epic climax. The once sanctioned operation soon turns unsanctioned for Rajeev, who is now hunted by Iran and Israel, and abandoned by his own government, he still finds the resources and resolve to do the right thing.
Produced by Maddock Films and Bake My Cake Films, Tehran is packed with enough power that it fires on every cylinder – a rooted and realistic thriller!!
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