Dinesh Kamath's movie column 'Bollywood films which make Indians love their country – Part 2' that was published in Newsband

Bollywood films which make Indians love their country – Part 2

While talking of patriotic films, who can forget the movie D-Day? D-Day is a 2013 Indian action spy thriller film co-produced by DAR motion pictures and Emmay Entertainment Private Limited. The movie is directed by Nikhil Advani and stars Arjun Rampal, Huma Qureshi, Irrfan Khan, Shruti Haasan and Rishi Kapoor in prominent roles. The film was released on 19 July 2013 to generally positive reception.

Straight up, D-Day is explosive at three levels. The plot crackles. The acting sears. And the music flares with passion. Four Indian agents, angry and RAW, enter Pakistan to bring Iqbal Seth (Rishi Kapoor), a Dawood-like don, hated for his terrorism, home. Wali Khan (Irrfan) has married a local woman and fathered a child, but longs to find freedom from the truth and lies he lives. Irrfan amazes, switching from tender to treacherous in a flash, authentic as he calls out "Rudar!" to Rudra Pratap Singh (Arjun), a man of molten mysteries, introduced with a Lawrence of Arabia-like flair.

Arjun looks smashing and pulls off a competent act while Zoya (Huma) does well as a cutie-pie who can squeeze a knife real bad. Aslam (Aakash Dahiya), a gangster-turned-agent, forms the fourth wheel, but Rishi Kapoor stands out as Iqbal Seth, with his polyester-like silky malevolence, his mocking manipulations, his eyes behind red goggles, both frightened and frightening.

That mirrors the plot which flips rapidly, hunters becoming the hunted, then vice-versa. Nasser, as RAW director Ashwini Rao, is convincing as an official straining at the leash while Iqbal's bhanja (Chandan Sanyal) is splendid with his simply asinine evil. A beautifully fragile Shruti Haasan plays a prostitute sheltering Rudra. Their track is short but sensual, a little lily-pool of beauty in an otherwise relentlessly harsh cinematography, where Karachi's grey, gritty and gunpowder-laced.

But this being Bollywood, the plot can't escape emotional excursions. Some - Rudra's love-life, Zoya's break-up - adds a halwa-like heaviness to this Karachi. But the second half refreshes your palate, sizzling sequences between Wali, Rudra and Iqbal Seth leaving you open-mouthed, the 'c' in this climax clearly for controversy.

Intelligence officer Wali Khan and a team of highly-trained officers are set to nab Goldman, one of India's most wanted terrorists. However, an unintended error puts their mission in danger.

A team of experts dispatched to bring in The Most Wanted Man in India almost achieves the unthinkable ... until something goes horribly wrong.

To be exact, 9 years ago Wali Khan (Irrfan Khan) was sent into Karachi, Pakistan by the Chief of RAW Ashwini Rao (Nasser) to report the activities of The Most Wanted Man in India. 9 days ago Rudra Pratap Singh (Arjun Rampal) Indian Armed Forces, MARCOS unit, Zoya Rehman (Huma Qureshi) RAW Explosives expert, and Aslam, a petty thief from the streets of Mumbai recruited by RAW, infiltrated Pakistan to join Wali Khan and carry out the mission to bring back The Most Wanted Man in India. The man who was going to break all ISI protocol and security and attend his own son's wedding. The man who could on that day be abducted and brought back to India to face justice. 1 day ago everything went according to plan until it all failed. The team sent in to bring The Most Wanted Man in India, did the unthinkable - they carried out the most daring operation and almost got away with it. Almost because, something went horribly wrong.

Thus 'D-Day' is a patriotic film about 4 unsung heroes.