The film is **inspired by the reality of Srilankan Tamil Eelam history**. The film has generated a lot of controversy in Tamil Nadu with people there feeling it shows one party to the history in bad light. They are partly right because the film is an eulogy to one man’s devotion to his work which is to protect the ex-PM of India Shri Rajiv Gandhi.
In the process, the makers of the film have been biased in the sense that the atrocities committed on the Tamilians there prior to the events have not been adequately captured in order to rationalize the insecurities of the TLF (pseudonym used for LTTE). But that is a view taken by the makers of the film & should be respected & left at that.
The film moves like a documentary with John Abraham playing an Army guy / RAW agent who has been tasked with helping create conditions conducive to provincial elections in North & East Sri Lanka (the Tamil dominated areas). The elections itself are a prestige issue to the Indian Government as it is a pet agenda of the PM.
The film briefly speaks of how the LTF which once was funded by India, turns against the Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF). The story thereon is about the role John Abraham is expected to perform & the leaked information from none other than his boss. It then meanders to how Prabhakaran (LTTE chief) is thought to have been killed but actually lives.
The script is not well knit & could have been better directed. There are lots of cross connections – official Indian agency, the reporter from London (Nargis Fakhri), the mole within the Indian establishment, Prabhakaran & his henchmen and the local rival. All this makes it a little difficult to follow the history trail especially if you do not know the history.
The 2nd half of the film, however, is better scripted. Prabhakaran, who is thought to be dead, comes back, finishes all his rivals, and then plots the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi once there are opinion polls showing Rajiv on a comeback trail.
Then there is the issue of Western arms dealers who do not want a peace deal which Rajiv wanted. In the process, certain key wireless messages are intercepted but there is the small problem of the mole who does not let it be decoded & by the time the tapes reach Delhi, John Abraham’s wife is killed inadvertently.
The last 20-30 minutes are very gripping especially for people like me, who vividly remember that day (21st May, 1991). Shri Rajiv Gandhi was in the midst of an election campaign & many teenagers like me felt that he will lead us into the 21st century as a wiser leader in a 2nd stint. We had all seen the Mandal Kamandal politics & here was he as a refreshing youth leader offering us hope after 2 years of VP Singh & Chandrasekhar.
But destiny had other things in mind and that part is well captured. I was only disappointed with the omission of the incident before the death of Rajivji. There was a small girl who recited a poem just before the assassination; they should have just shown that also just to capture the moment more accurately.
The film, except for the last half hour, is average mainly because the events are loosely scattered. It is also a period film that has happened some time back so not sure if it will find resonance with non-Tamilians (& Tamilians unfortunately cannot watch the Tamil version as of now).
It was great to see Siddharth Basu in an important role after a long time (another flash back to the days of Quiz Time on DD). Apart from his action, and a little by John Abraham, not much acting was on display by others. All in all, worth seeing once provided you don’t go with ideological hang-ups.