Director: Sankalp Reddy
Cast: Vidyut Jammwal, Anupam Kher, Vishal Jethwa, Ashwath Bhatt and others
Where: In theatres near you
Rating: 2.5 stars
Filmmaker Sankalp Reddy’s first-ever Bollywood stint The Ghazi Attack (2017), a well-made film based on the an untold story of war between India and Pakistan under the sea belt of Vizag. Sankalp brings back yet another untold story of a war against Pakistan planned by our Indian intelligent servants in 1971, but the first 60 minutes of the film are scattered like anything.
Dev (Vidyut Jammwal), an Indian intelligence officer along with his boss Awasthi (Anupam Kher) plans to trick Pakistan by creating a fake aeroplane hijacking. Local terrorist Qasim (Vishal Jethwa) revolts back in return for his 36 young followers, who dream to have a free Kashmir. Will Dev surrender to Qasim or succeed in his hidden plan and return back safely to India? IB 71 narrates this story.
Sankalp, who has a knack of telling unheard patriotic stories of the historical events that took place in the past fails to make an interesting watch. His first half is highly conflicted, scattered all over and his characters seem to have detachment with one another.
Like how, director Anubhav Sinha, without explaining his narrative in Anek (2022) puts his audiences in the geopolitical context of the story and then patiently waits to see the outcome.
Second half, mystically, is good. It has pace, thrill, edginess and it holds till the end. IB 71 picks up with a magically perfect screenplay that depicts the valour of Dev and his team of 30 secret agents. It is definitely the saving grace of the entire 119-minute film.
The film is shot decently but the one action scene that deserves a shoutout is where Vidyut saves Qasim’s brother Ashfaq while riding on a motor shikara in the lake. The top aerial shot is a treat to watch.
Vidyut does limited action here but looks good in the uniform. However, his dialogue delivery is still underwhelming and doesn’t seem to have a scope of improvement. He knows he is primarily an action hero and is aware of his shortcomings.
Vishal Jethwa as a young terrorist is impressive. He packs a solid punch with his explosive ability of acquiring dialects. Anupam Kher has nothing much to do except for roaming in tension. Ashwath Bhatt is watchable. Dalip Tahil is passable.
IB 71 is a complete heroine and song proof film, and the short runtime is icing on the cake. To experience an amazing second half, a not-so-good first half can be tolerated.
