To watch or not to watch: A must watch. Doesn’t require a big screen for them feels.

Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vicky Kaushal, Rajit Kapoor, Shishir Sharma, Amruta Khanvilkar, Arif Zakaria.

Director: Meghna Gulzar

The plot of the movie is 1971 India-Pakistan war, when tensions were too high between the nations and the nation which had more information on the other had the upper hand. Hidayat (Rajit Kapoor) is a normal businessman based in Srinagar, who is friends with Brigadier Parvez Syed (Shishir Sharma) of the Pakistani Army. Hidayat supplies information to Pakistan and has gained their trust, but in fact is an Indian spy. He is diagnosed with cancer, and passes on the baton to his 20 year old daughter, Sehmat (Alia Bhatt). Sehmat marries Iqbal (Vicky Kaushal), son of Brigadier, and gains entry. Over the course of time, she gathers priceless information that is passed on to Indian intelligence and helps in mitigating the Ghaazi attach on INS Vikrant. The movie ends with saluting such unsung heroes of war.

The movie is an adaptation of a book titled “Calling Sehmat” and is a fictionalised narration of true events. It is one of the good ones in Bollywood lately, and respects the intelligence of the audience. It is something not in black and white; there is no hero or villain, only different beliefs. There are moments so tense that you will be at the edge of the seats, and these moments end on no red herrings. Alia Bhatt has acted incredibly, making the audience feel her struggle. She is the anchor point, and delivers a unique role – another milestone for Bollywood, proving that a female actor can be mainstream and can lead a movie.