Ulajh: Too tangled, later too commonplace

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Haven’t we all heard the saying, “O what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive!”?

Well, over here, director-co-writer Sudhanshu Saria and co-writer Parveez Sheikh weave such a tangled web in the first half of this film that we are ourselves in an “ulajh” or entangled state as the intention is not to deceive! It’s all too confusing in terms of what heroine Suhana Bhatia (Janhvi Kapoor) is facing from all sides—the love of her family of honored patriots in government service, the Indian government with some corrupt officials, the Pakistani officials that also include rotten eggs and a very “fake” Pakistani PM (Rushad Rana) who looks idealistically at a great and genuine rapport between India and his country. And finally, people in London who are also not what they seem to be.

London? Where did that come from in a film that opened with Suhana jogging in the hills of Kathmandu, Nepal? Well, she is a diplomat there and is soon summoned to Delhi and told that she is being posted as the youngest-ever Indian Deputy High Commisioner to the UK. While she is reveling in this unexpected honor (and telling off her mom et al that she is not interested in some caddish suitor whom they all like but we never get to see), her father (Adil Hussain) is a different kettle of fish.

Why? Because he does not really believe in beti’s abilities, see?  He feels that she has been given too high a responsibility. He is also one of those strict dads who is never affectionate and in that sense is not emotionally accessible to Suhana. But she is determined to prove him wrong.

Suhana has barely settled in London when she encounters a young man (Gulshan Devaiah) who is as alone (and new) as her in the huge mega-polis. One thing leads to another, and then its bedtime—together! Her benevolent driver, Salim (Rajesh Tailang) had warned her but she did not heed him. And whaddayaknow? The young man turns out to be ISI man Humayun and has shot their passionate action on video. Ergo, she must spill India’s vital diplomatic secrets to him, or face the music of the video going viral.

From here on, Suhana is obviously disturbed and has no alternative but to obey. A colleague, Jacob (Meiyang Chang) gets suspicious of her. Soon, Suhana considers two options: suicide or resignation. But both will entail serious damage to her time-honored family, which includes a celebrated grandfather.

Things turn when Jacob is shot dead in her apartment, and meanwhile, she is told by RAW (Research & Analysis Wing, the Indian intelligence agency for the unversed) seniors that she must head the investigations into the vital leaks from her department. The irony is supreme: Suhana has herself engineered them, hasn’t she?

From here, we enter inane terrain: Suhana adds two to every two and three and comes up with what the writers decide are the correct answers. She heads to India, with colleague Sebin Josephkutty (Roshan Matthew), who her seniors had deemed the chief suspect and who was Jacob’s ardent buddy. Their mission? To prevent something that would have seriously damaged India’s standing and reputation. Daddy acknowledges beti’s brilliance when she succeeds, comes to know what she has gone through, and regrets not being so close to her that she could have confided her troubles to him.

And after that, we are actually told something which implies that the film will have (at least) one sequel.

Well, if that is to happen, Saria must develop a sense of script that works for Indian sensibilities, because his previous work in India has not resonated with us but has got some appreciation overseas!

Technically upscale, the film loses out also on its typical Punjab-oriented music, though one song, Main hoon tera ae watan makes for pleasant hearing while on, even as, like the other songs, cannot be remembered after 15 minutes. The BGM is alright.

The film’s weight is shouldered by Janhvi Kapoor, with the redoubtable actress once again showing mettle that is far ahead of her contemporaries. Though she is shown as helpless many a time, she is expressive enough not to be monotonous or humdrum. Gulshan Devaiah does his standard rakish villainy, though as the lover-boy, he actually makes himself likable. Rajesh Tailang as the chauffeur and Roshan Matthew as Sebin are, respectively, excellent and very good.

With a little maturity and brainstorming, the film could have been that too, as its theme of the diplomatic world (rather than RAW itself) is a novel setting for Hindi cinema. As things stand, it gets just pass marks from me. Hope the audience gives it that too!

Rating: **1/2

Junglee Pictures’ Ulajh  Produced by: Vineet Jain  Directed by: Sudhanshu Saria  Written by: Sudhanshu Saria & Parveez Sheikh  Music: Shashwat Sachdev  Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Gulshan Devaiah, Roshan Matthew, Meiyang Chang, Rajesh Tailang, Adil Hussain, Alyy Khan, Rushad Rana, Himanshu Malik, Vivek Madan, Jitendra Joshi,  Jaimini Pathak, Sakshi Tanwar, Alison Beneza & others