Review Khuda Haafiz

Producers- Kumar Mangat, Abhishek Pathak

Director: Faruk Kabir

Star Cast- Vidyut Jammwal, Shivaleeka Oberoi, Nawab Shah, Aahana Kumra,  Annu Kapoor and Shiv Pandit

Genre- Social

Rating-**

Impressive in parts

Jyothi Venkatesh

The story of this film which started streaming on Disney+ Hotstar VI from yesterday, has absolutely nothing new to crow about by way of novelty and is as old as the hills but what makes you sit glued to your chair when you watch it on your OTT platform is the riveting way in which the director has handed the film, making it a sharp and edgy thriller to the core.

The lives of newlyweds Nargis (Shivaleeka Oberoi) and Sameer Choudhary (Vidyut Jammwal) come crumbling down as economic slowdown hits India in 2008 and the couple’s now out of work. The duo applies for jobs in the Sultanate of Noman. But as fate would have it, Nargis is snatched away by some dangerous people in the foreign land. Sameer resolves to bring her home safe and sound.

The sudden crashing of the world economy and how India grapples under its shockwaves is certainly the main villain of the theme of this film. The newlywed lead pair too face the brunt and both lose their jobs within months of tying the knot, but they apply strangely to two different companies for jobs and while the appointment letter of Nargis comes first, Sameer with a lot of hesitation and trepidation about her safety sends her to the Sultanate of Noman for the job, promising her that he would follow her when his appointment letter also comes soon.

Vidyut Jammwal , for a change, pays equal heed to both his muscles as well as emotions and is invested in getting the nuances of his character right. Shivaleeka, on the other hand, is hardly seen in the film for a longer time though she looks drop-dead gorgeous as the small-town belle but her acting leaves a lot to be desired though it is her second outing at acting, after Yeh Saali Aashiqui.  Local cabbie and Jamwal’s wingman Annu Kapoor (playing the role of Usman Ali Murad) impresses and eschews overacting with a powerful secondary role but has been wasted in the latter half of the film, which tends to be repetitive. While Shiv Pandit as Faiz Abu Malik is just about average, Ahana Kamra has been wasted in theninane role of the detective Tamena Hamid both make a feeble attempt to speak with a strange Arabic accent but fail to succeed

Strangely enough, the film bears a striking resemblance to Ahmed Khan’s film Baaghi 3 which also had a similar plot with Syria as the backdrop, the only difference being that in that film, it is the younger brother whom decides to go to Syria to get his missing elder brother.Music Directors Amar Mohile and Mithoon Sharma elevate the film with their soulful and melodious tracks like ‘Jaan Ban Gaye’, ‘Mera Intezaar Karna’ and ‘Aakhri Kadam Tak’ which complement the film in a big way without intruding with the flow of the film.  The cameraman deserves kudos to the cameraman for capturing the stunning locations in Uzbekistan in a marvelous manner.

To sum up, I’d say that Khuda Hafiz is sadly just about impressive in parts