Agent Vinod (2012)

One of the most awaited movies of the year is out. Two years in making, by one of the finest thriller director in the country, filled with expectations of action and style. The obvious question everybody is asking is, whether it stands up on the hype. Well in my opinion, yes, most of the time.

The movie stars with murder of a KGB (Russian Intelligence) agent, which creates waves around the world, and a certain chain of events is kick started, which involves players from RAW, ISI, International Arms Dealers, Money Launders and certain private parties. An international conspiracy starts shaping, whose leads are scattered all across the globe, right from San Petersburg to London and from Somalia to Pakistan, unlike Hollywood movies the target of this conspiracy is India not the USA. And this is the only differentiating factor between Agent Vinod and any other American Spy thriller. Because right from the sensibility to the execution, the movie has an international feel. The action sequences are really good, the story line doses not have loopholes, background score, especially the theme music is captivating, and performances by lead as well as side characters are good.

Although the added advantages over any other Hollywood movie are a ‘Mujra’ and the definitive ‘Pungi’ which even James Bond never had a chance to witness!  

There are a lot of characters in the movie, and a lot of recognizable faces which are used aptly and for short durations. Personally I appreciate that, only the central characters are the constant focus in the movie, others come, play their part and vanish.

I would specially like to mention a action sequence, where the whole scene of around 3-4 minutes is filmed in a single shot, with a song being played in the background. Simply fantastic!

However on the flip side, there are at least 2 to 3 sequences where luck plays a major role rather than screenplay. Other part which I didn’t appreciate, was the characterization of Agent Vinod, as there is minimum background given for the character, nor there are any specific traits of his, which are depicted properly other than his risk taking attitude. Whenever you think about James Bond or Jason Bourne a specific persona comes to your mind, but I didn’t got any such image for Agent Vinod when I left the Cinema Hall. Maybe this was a conscious effort by the makes to have a unpredictable characterization for the Protagonist or maybe he is saving the same for a Sequel. However the positives simply overtake all the negatives by a good margin.

On the whole, the movie is the best effort till date in Hindi Cinema to make a spy thriller. If you like hi octane entertainment, this is the movie to go.

Rating ***1/2