‘Khufiya’: Cast & Crew
Director: Vishal Bhardwaj
Cast: Tabu, Ali Fazal, Wamiqa Gabbi, Ashish Vidyarthi, Atul Kulkarni, Navnindra Behl, Shataf Figar, Azmeri Haque Badhon, Lalit Parimoo, Rahul Vohra, Disney James
Available On: Netflix
Duration: 2 Hours 37 Minutes
‘Khufiya’: Story
Krishna Mehra (Tabu) is an operative at the Research & Analysis Wing. She is assigned to track down the mole (Ali Fazal) selling India’s defence secrets while grappling with her dual identity as a spy and lover. Is the mole’s wife (Wamiqa Gabbi) and family involved in this entire espionage? Will Krishna Mehra be able to catch the mole finally? Are there more secrets that the mole is hiding? Is the government involved in some shady practices? Will more skeletons come out of the cupboards? Well, for all that you’ll have to watch ‘Khufiya’.
‘Khufiya’: Performances
What a scene-stealer is Wamiqa Gabbi! She comes up with another stellar performance after ‘Charlie Chopra’, ‘Jubilee’ and ‘Grahan’. Even though she is the third lead in the project, she played it like a queen and made sure she was the one that you’re constantly noticing throughout. It’s really tough for an actress to give a standout performance while portraying alongside Tabu, and Wamiqa Gabbi managed to do that. The nuances that she brings to the character are what get you attracted towards the performance.
There isn’t ever a question about Tabu’s performance and proves her mettle once again. The authoritative persona that she exudes, coupled with the no-nonsense attitude makes her character come out so intensely onscreen that you wish to keep seeing more and more of her only. The finesse of the character comes with not just this hard-hitting persona, but it gets depth with the emotional angle that she performs rather nicely as well. The combination of these two separate worlds is what makes the character come out so perfectly onscreen. The only complaint is that she has been playing a lot of cop characters in the recent past with ‘Drishyam’, ‘Bhola’, and ‘Kuttey’, and here she is not exactly a cop, but even as an intelligence officer, she exudes similar vibes. Maybe, she could cut down on these characters at least till the time we see her don the uniform again in ‘Drishyam 3’.
Honestly, Ali Fazal seems to have been underutilised. There are just two scenes where you get to see his prowess. Apart from that, his character is just about any other regular guy’s character, which could have been done by any other character artiste. His character was just playing the silent second fiddle to the other two leads, and I wish he had a lot more intensity to his character.
Among the other supporting cast, Bangladeshi star Azmeri Haque Badhon stood out like a shining bright star. She comes out so strong and blends so well with the onscreen character that you’re left wondering as to why it took her so many years to come to Hindi cinema. Her performance may have been short, but the confidence with which she portrayed the character was truly stupendous. Looking forward to seeing much more of her in Hindi cinema in the coming months.
‘Khufiya’: Script, Direction & Technical Aspects
The writing by Rohan Narula and Vishal Bhardwaj is what gives the story the necessary weight. The writing is tight and doesn’t let you think of anything else in the two-and-a-half hours of the presentation. It’s tight and makes you constantly keep guessing as to what’s going to happen next. Also, adapting it from Amar Bhushan’s novel and not losing the original essence of the story must have been tricky. However, Rohan Narula and Vishal Bhardwaj didn’t let cinematic liberties get the better of them and they tried to stick to the original as much as possible.
Vishal Bhardwaj is in stunning form. After ‘Charlie Chopra’, now ‘Khufiya’, both are top-notch. The way he creates a world of his own and fits such diverse characters and makes you fall in love with not just one, but numerous characters is simply breathtaking. The setting of ‘Khufiya’s story is superb. The way he executes it and makes you be on the edge of your seat throughout is what’s the most challenging, and he does that with such ease.
Vishal Bhardwaj may be one of the most underrated music composers we have in today’s times. People talk of his writing, people talk of his direction, but not many people talk about his keen sense of music. The way he has given the background score keeps you hooked on the story. It gives you the perfect spy thriller feel. Even songs like ‘Dil Dushman’, ‘Mat Aana’ and ‘Tanhai’ are so well composed, sung and even shot onscreen that they definitely deserve applause. If you’re a connoisseur of music then almost all of the songs will demand a place in your playlists.
I won’t lie, but Farhad Ahmed Dehlvi’s cinematography is a sore thumb in this entire presentation. While making a period drama you’re usually taking into account a lot of factors so as to keep the historical accuracy. Farhad Ahmed Dehlvi has tried his level best to match the times of 2004, and even used filters throughout the shoot so as to make that look and feel come out, but somewhere it’s slightly fallen short of expectations. To be honest, the direction and the writing are so good, that even the little inaccuracies of the camera team reflect badly on the entire project.
A. Sreekar Prasad definitely tried to edit out a very crisp product. The story tries to sag in between but his deft hands on the chopping board with Vishal Bhardwaj’s brilliant direction makes sure that the audience doesn’t start dozing off. However, if the length was probably another 10-15 minutes shorter, it would have been a much crisper thriller.
‘Khufiya’: Can Kids Watch It?
Yes
Outlook’s Verdict
‘Khufiya’ is definitely another great presentation coming from the stable of Vishal Bhardwaj after the brilliant ‘Charlie Chopra’. Not just the writing and the direction, but even the music is to die for. The performances also add so much more to the viewing pleasure. Overall, it’s definitely a Great One Time Watch. I am going with 4 stars.
