''Mission Majnu'' is an 2023 Indian Hindi-language

spy thriller film Spy fiction is a genre of literature involving espionage as an important context or plot device. It emerged in the early twentieth century, inspired by rivalries and intrigues between the major powers, and the establishment of modern intellige ...

directed by Shantanu Bagchi and produced by Ronnie Screwvala, Amar Butala and Garima Mehta. Starring

Sidharth Malhotra Sidharth Malhotra (; born 16 January 1985) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films. He began his career as a fashion model, but left it to pursue an acting career. He made his acting debut with a minor role in the television serial ''Dhart ...

, the film takes place before and during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

Rashmika Mandanna Rashmika Mandanna (born 5 April 1996) is an Indian actress who works predominantly in Telugu and Kannada films besides few Hindi and Tamil films. She is a recipient of four SIIMA Awards and a Filmfare Award South. She made her acting debut wi ...

, Parmeet Sethi, Sharib Hashmi, Kumud Mishra, and

Rajit Kapur Rajit Kapur is an Indian film and theatre actor and director. He is known for his portrayal of Mahatma Gandhi in the 1996 film, '' The Making of the Mahatma'' for which he won the National Film Award for Best Actor. Other notable roles are as ...

play supporting roles. The film faced multiple delays, first being scheduled for theatrical release on 13 May 2022 and then on 10 June the same year before being indefinitely delayed. Ultimately, the film's theatrical release was cancelled and it was released directly on Netflix on 20 January 2023

Plot

Amandeep Singh IPS, a deep cover

RAW Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

field operative In espionage, a field agent is an agent who works in the field as opposed to one who operates at the office or headquarters. A field agent can work alone or in a group but usually has a case officer who is in charge. Field agents can be undercover ...

is activated in Pakistan on an undercover mission to investigate Pakistan's involvement in creating nuclear weapons. Along the way, he must join hands with Aslam Usmaniya and Raman Singh, two other RAW agents stationed in Pakistan. Although, it wasn't enough to just know the whereabouts of the nuclear factory, they had to provide physical evidence so that India could stop Israel from bombing the wrong location. During his journey, he has to balance his professional and personal life with his blind wife Nasreen.

Cast

as Amandeep Ajitpal Singh IPS (Aman) / Tariq Hussain, a

agent *

as Nasreen Hussain/Nasreen Singh, Tariq’s wife/Aman, who is blind * Parmeet Sethi as

R.N. Kao Rameshwar Nath Kao (R.N. Kao) (10 May 1918 – 20 January 2002) was an Indian spymaster and the first chief of India's external intelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) from its founding in 1968 to 1977. Kao was one of India' ...

* Sharib Hashmi as Aslam Usmaniya, a

field agent * Mir Sarwar as

Abdul Qadeer Khan Abdul Qadeer Khan, (; ur, ; 1 April 1936 – 10 October 2021), known as A. Q. Khan, was a Pakistani nuclear physicist and metallurgical engineer. He was a key figure in Pakistan’s nuclear weapons program and is colloquially known as the ...

, a Nuclear Scientist from Pakistan * Kumud Mishra as Raman Singh / Maulvi Saab, Senior Field agent * Ashwath Bhatt as General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq *

Zakir Hussain Zakir Hussain ( ur, , link=no) is the name of: * Zakir Husain (politician), an Indian politician and former president of India * Zakir Hussain (actor), Bollywood actor * Zakir Hussain (field hockey) (1934–2019), Pakistani field hockey player * ...

as Sharma,

spy handler *

as Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, Prime Minister of Pakistan *

Avijit Dutt Avijit Dutt is an Indian filmmaker, actor, theater director and communications consultant. Living and working out of New Delhi. He has done his masters from Calcutta University in English Literature and began his career at an English Faculty in ...

as Morarji Desai, Prime Minister of India * Avantika Akerkar as

Indira Gandhi Indira Priyadarshini Gandhi (; Given name, ''née'' Nehru; 19 November 1917 – 31 October 1984) was an Indian politician and a central figure of the Indian National Congress. She was elected as third prime minister of India in 1966 ...

, Prime Minister of India

Production

The film was announced in December 2020. Principal photography began in February 2021 at Lucknow and the film wrapped up in September 2021.

Soundtrack

The score is composed by Ketan Sodha. The songs are composed by Tanishk Bagchi, Rochak Kohli,

Raghav Sachar Raghav Sachar (born 24 July 1981, in India) is an Indian singer, composer and film scorer. Early life and career Sachar was born to father, R. K. Sachar, and mother, Usha Sachar in Calcutta . He is the youngest of three children. He started ...

and Arko, and the lyrics are written by Manoj Muntashir, Shabbir Ahmed, Rohit Sharma and A. M. Turaz. The first single titled "Rabba Janda" was released on 25 December 2022. The second single titled "Maati Ko Maa Kehte Hain" was released on 17 January 2023.

Reception

'' Bollywood Hungama'' rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and termed the film as a "gripping saga" with a tight script, intelligent scenes, taut execution, and a memorable performance." Tushar Joshi for '' India Today'' rated 3 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Sidharth is good in scenes where he is battling the stigma and pain of his past yet wants to move ahead and show his loyalty to his country and team. Rashmika Mandanna doesn’t have much to do apart from trying to strike up some chemistry with Sid." Dhaval Roy of '' The Times of India'' rated the film 3 out of 5 and wrote that the film is "gripping in parts, but it’s too convenient, which takes away from the narrative. While great, the action stretches in places and makes the movie seem formulaic". Dishya Sharma of '' News 18'' rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "''Mission Majnu'' robs you of the thrills of a spy film. Watch it to see Sidharth and Rashmika in a different avatars". Anuj Kumar for ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It began as a weekly in 1878 and became a daily in 1889. It is one of the Indian newspapers of record and the secon ...

'' wrote "There are interesting twists in the way Tariq ekes out information and how Nasreen could sense the truth by touch, but the execution makes it a tad too cloying for a thriller. Thankfully, the film is not overtly jingoistic and makes a clear distinction in the way

and Morarji Desai handled the tenuous relationship with Pakistan in the 1970s. At the same time, the writers place characters on both sides of the border who could see history beyond the divisive version that the politicians often present."

Saibal Chatterjee Saibal Chatterjee is an Indian film critic, an author of a book on Gulzar, co-editor of a book on films; and a documentary scriptwriter. He was a columnist at BBC News, Business Standard, Hindustan Times and Financial Express. And a staff writer of ...

of '' NDTV'' rated the movie only 2 stars out of 5 and wrote "Mission Majnu does not deliver a thrill a minute nor does it produce any exceptional degree of tension and suspense. Yet, parts of the film, especially in the second hour, do spring to life." Shilajit Mitra for '' The New Indian Express'' rated 2 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Mission Majnu isn’t as crudely jingoistic as something like Bhuj: The Pride of India. The film also does not comment on the moral implications of nuclear proliferation; for that, you will have to see the pilot of Rocket Boys."

References

External links

* {{Portal bar, India, Bollywood, Films 2020s spy films Indian spy thriller films 2020s Hindi-language films Indian action thriller films 2023 action thriller films