When one is asked to picture a spy movie, expectations are that of a secret agent, awesome equipment and gory fights. But Berlin, produced by Atul Sabharwal, is a different cup of tea – it is more or less an authentic portrayal of spying in today’s world. Based in 1993 Delhi the film stays away from the traditional superheroes and spy kicks and takes the audience right there into the heart of the drama.
The plot revolves around the role of Ashok Kumar portrayed by Ishwak Singh, specially-abled, is trapped in a rather severe espionage issue. He is accused of being an agent of a foreign intelligence service especially at a time the Russian President is scheduled to visit India. One of the lead characters of the film, Ashok, is known as the treacherous unlawful cop and Aparshakti Khurana plays the role of Pushkin Verma, the cop who is called to interrogate Ashok questioned what is actual happening. This is where what appears to be a global conspiracy quickly becomes more of an individual’s experience, and it has all the drama that make one interested.
What’s impressing in Berlin is that in all over the city even the minor things are so well designed. Even the action of sticking a pin through a piece of paper to protect a file labeled ‘Top Secret’ seems very carefully planned and the scenes that embody a feeling of the 90s. But it is not overly dramatic, it is very simple yet it does an excellent job of creating the suspense and the mystique. The movie also has what can be regarded as a vintage nature, for even strictly from the visual perspective, the actors’ appearance, the settings, and indeed the colors used in filming resembled the 1980’s rather much.
As is expected with any film, Berlin has its moments which may be deemed as boring. Where volume 1 spends time giving a proper foundation for the series’ plot, volume 2 could have been more concise. The structure that has been set previous continues and the episodes are getting a little repetitive and some of the momentum feels a tad dragged out. Lack of action might be an issue, but the pinnacle of the film really apes the bitter fact of life, which is injustice; nevertheless, there is fight.
This is a major strength because the enhance Performances in Berlin are its biggest strength. Even Aparshakti Khurana who has only played comedies in his previous movies completely changes here. That is why the film is so powerful – you can clearly see the transformation of his character, named Pushkin Verma, who is very serious, rather moral man, and you can see him gradually deteriorating step by step during the events in the movie. It’s always good to see Aparshakti in such a different avatar and he pulls it off superbly.
Ishwak Singh who portrays the character Ashok is equally good. He never speaks at all but the audience is able to see his physical prowess and dominate the entire plot. For instance, there is a scene in the beginning of the film where we find out that Ashok used to be a football player who used to do whatever he wanted to do and this is symbolized in the entire way he manipulates everyone in the film later on. That is a silent acting that is actually very touching.
Rahul Bose who portrays intelligence officer Jagdish Sondhi does well but his character could have been much more menacing. He is the one who is supposed to be that hard-boiled bureaucrat, which did not come across – as per the expectations.
All in all, Berlin is worth watching if the audience wishes to see a spy movie which is quite different from others. It doesn’t need large scale, excessive sense of adventure, or the threat of destruction of the entire world. Rather, it concentrates on the heroes’ experiences and such aspects of the spy life as are exciting in their own way. There are perhaps moments that are slow such that the movie seems to lag at some points, however the tension in this movie is high and the acting by the cast members, excellent in the film, I must say it is a movie that lingers.
If you are in the mood for a spy movie and are tired of watching the same old cliched movies then Berlin is available on ZEE5 now.
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