Uri Review

Rating: 9/10 (20 January 2019)

Uri: The Surgical Strike is a film written and directed by Aditya Dhar. The trailers of the film had me quite excited. After watching it last night, I was floored by the sheer excellence of the film.
Plot: Major Vihaan Shergill leads a team of soldiers to avenge all the soldiers killed in the Uri Camp attack of 2016.
Story and direction: It was in a very long time, that I found the cinema hall to be housefull for a film. From the very first scene the mood is set and the makers make it very clear that the film is not for the light-hearted. For a first time director I would like to commend Aditya Dhar and his team for bringing us a tale that not only engaged me but also made me feel something at the end of it. In each and every scene, you feel the hard work the makers must have gone through to make this fruitful. Although it takes a bit of time for the main action to start, I can give the benefit of doubt since we need to understand the characters and their mindset when they make a certain decision. There are moments when you feel worried for the safety of certain characters. Much of the reason as to why I enjoyed the film was because of the audience as they were shouting 'Bharat Mata ki Jai' when something important was happening on the screen. The writing of the film is spot on and you feel for even the minor characters in the movie. There are some sequences of comedy in the second half that bought a smile to my face and didn't feel forced. The action and combat sequences are well directed. Also commendable is the camera work which surprisingly didn't have any shaky movements when the action was going on. I wasn't bored for a single minute during the run-time. But even quoting that, I did have some minor issues. There are a character or two which I felt didn't get the justifies screen time and one thing (atleast for me) was totally guessable. Also, there is a small VFX shot that just looked fake.
Performances: Vicky Kaushal is in the top of his game. Be it emotion or anger, he gave it all and I would like to see him more in solo ventures. Paresh Rawal is a powerhouse in himself. Yami Gautam too was just awesome. Kirti Kulhari I felt wasn't used well considering how good an actress she is. Mohit Raina gave an impressive performance in his debut. He has his moment to shine in the film and I hope to see more of him. Also, quite excellent was Swaroop Sampat. You just have to wait and watch for Rajit Kapur and Rakesh Bedi. The rest of the supporting cast were just great.
Music: Sashwat Sachdev bought some great songs and an awesome background score to the film that not only suits the scene but also takes the film forward. Most of the songs I heard were for the first time. The one that impressed me a lot was 'Beh Chala'.
Favorite Scene: The scene that surely caught my attention was the one before the interval. Vihaan instructs his unit to message the loved ones not to disturb the unit until a certain date. This scene sets the mood for what is about to come in the second half.
Verdict: Uri is a film that will certainly go down in history as the one that not only celebrates patriotism but also some great film-making. I was floored after the film finished and clapped my hands after the film finished.
I am going with a 9/10.