Code Name Tiranga is ridiculous saga of ‘ace’ espionage agent

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Some combinations seem to be lethal—this is Reliance Entertainment’s second film with producer Vivek B. Agrawal, director Ribhu Dasgupta and Parineeti Chopra, and like the first, The Girl on the Train (2021), the fact that it is disappointing is superfluous.

Barely 45 minutes into the overlong 2.17 hour movie, I cottoned on to the fact that I was watching a pointless, utterly meaningless insult not just to audience intelligence but also to our worthwhile movies on Indian intelligence—real or fictional! This is a classic case where more than one party has been conned by more than one party!

Suffice to say that I would not like to waste space (like the makers have wasted footage, even if it is not raw stock anymore!) and resources in assembling this apology of a story for public consumption!

It is all happening in Afghanistan. Briefly then, Code Name: Tiranga (what an ambitious name!) is the story of ace agent Durga (Parineeti Chopra), whose mission includes befriending Dr. Mirza (Harrdy Sandhu) just so he can be her ‘passport’ to a wedding where dreaded terrorist Omar (Sharad Kelkar), wanted for the Indian Parliament attack in 2001, is in attendance and can be caught or eliminated. Dr. Mirza is shocked when he realizes that Durga, who introduces herself to him as Ismat, a Punjabi girl based in Afghanistan on work is not who she says she is, for by that time, he is smitten by her.

Of course, she too has feelings for him, but she prefers her nation, see? Dr. Mirza, we are told, has a Punjabi mother and a Turkish father, and is around in Afghanistan on some U.N. mission, with ambitions of private practice, which he soon starts in Afgahnistan itself.

Around Durga is Bakshi (Dibyendu Bhattacharya), and another agent (Rajit Kapur). Suddenly, we come to know back in Delhi that Bakshi is declared “the third RAW agent in recent times to turn traitor” and must be killed too. On a mission, Durga kills Omar’s wife and now, Omar wants to kill her. There is a complicated climax wherein the true traitor is revealed, and Omar is then hunted down by a blindfolded Durga. Seriously! I am not kidding!

If I must be blunt, The Girl on the Train, officially based on a novel and a Hollywood film of the same name, was a classic compared to this one. Nothing here makes sense, forget substance.

Parineeti kills enemies like a superwoman by firing guns, slicing agents and even hand-to-hand combat where she shows her martial arts skills. . As an actress, she is merely passable. The director elects to muzzle her cries of anguish, when they come twice during the film. A graveyard in the snows, presumably of a loved one (who has been blown to smithereens) is just one more of the ludicrous scenes we watch in the film.

Ribhu Dasgupta’s filmography continues to be immensely mediocre. His cinematographer Tribhuvan Babu Sadineni salvages the film’s quality with his work, but can obviously do little more. And for a music company’s co-production, the songs are pathetic, including the poorest version of Dam-a-dam mast kalandar we have heard so far.

An array of supporting artistes of immense talent are criminally wasted, led by Sharad Kelkar, Dibyendu Bhattacharya,  Rajit Kapoor, Sabyascvhi Chakrbarty and Shishir Sharma. Deesh Mariwala, shown as one of India’s top RAW honchos, looks anything but.

Does the film offer entertainment or stir patriotic feelings? Anything but!

Rating: * 

T-Series Films, Reliance Entertainment & Film Hangar present Code Name:  Tiranga  Produced by: Bhushan Kumar, Krishan Kumar, Ribhu Dasgupta, Vivek B. Agrawal & Reliance Entertainment  Written & Directed by: Ribhu Dasgupta Music: Jaidev Kumar & Vipin Patwa Starring: Parineeti Chopra, Harrdy Sandhu, Sabyasachi Chakrabarty, Sharad Kelkar, Rajit Kapur, Dibyendu Bhattacharya, Shishir Sharma, Deesh Mariwala & others