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Both the title and the trailer of War (2019) make the intent clear: this is an action film and star vehicle not to be taken seriously. Going in you know what you are going to get: a harebrained storyline, two ripped men facing off in both fights and dance, numerous stunning locales, a cameo by a leggy stunner and a chase to the finish. War does not disappoint on all these fronts.
Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff play RAW agents Kabir and Khalid, the former playing trainer to the latter in a nod to the real-life age gap between the two actors. The fact that Tiger has idolized Hrithik his entirely life and moulded his career after the senior star is cleverly written into the dynamic, giving the actor real-life meat to draw on and fans the chance to watch this passing of the mantle (although it becomes clear by the end that Hrithik is not doing that just yet). Vaani Kapoor has a small, crucial role, and while the cosmetic work done on her face is distracting, she shows she can emote confidently. Ashutosh Rana as the department head of RAW gives a ham-fisted performance; the fine actor is clearly not aided by the poorly-written dialogues. The smorgasbord of international villains are played by a host of Caucasian actors whose performances are frankly laughable, although one wonders whether they were made cartoonish intentionally.
Certainly the film knows how to laugh at itself. Hrithik often smirks at the inexperience of the younger agent, setting him up in fights and watching him fall with barely disguised glee. The two actors serve their style-over-substance performances with flair, with Hrithik playing up his Greek god looks to almost unbearable effect. Mercifully, what looks like a straightforward "who's-the-mole" tale turns out to be more complex than it looks at first sight: the twists and turns in the second half are right out of the best of Salim-Javed style 70s films like Don and Amar Akbar Anthony.
Through this gleeful kitsch we get moments of subversion: the two agents serving the country are Muslim, and the woman who helps them Christian; a wonderful scene between Hrithik and a child tells of the importance of fighting not to win but just to do your best, and an unabashedly homo-erotic gaze pervades this hyper-masculine universe. We may have to wait for the first openly gay spy, but 'War' comes pretty damn close. You hoot, you whistle, you laugh at the idiocy of it all, but none of it is jingoistic or regressive: the best kind of paisa vasool, mindless fun.
Genre: Action/Thriller/Musical
Language: Hindi Runtime: 2h 34 min Year of release: 2019 Streaming platform: Amazon Prime Video
Hot take is a series in which I offer my first impressions of films from India and around the world.
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