Uri: The Surgical Strike

India!

A country with a lot of interesting history to tell us, with very unique folk music and a lot of amazing food traditions. I have never been to India so far, but i am hoping to visit the country at some point. In culture i have always been fascinated by India, especially when different bands have borrowed indian music influences into their music, and i am especially thinking about British rock band Kula Shaker´s debut album K. This amazing rock album, released in 1996, became one of my absolute favourite albums of the 90´s. I listened to this album constantly, and every time i heard Tattva, Govinda, Grateful When You´re Dead or Hey Dude, i just wanted to rock out all over India. If you ask me, i would say that this is one of the best British rock albums ever made. Kula Shaker could never make such a great album again unfortunately, even though i did enjoy some songs on their second album Peasants, Pigs & Astronauts in 1999. If you have not heard Kula Shaker´s fantastic debut album K, you have made one of the biggest mistakes of all time. This is an album you need to own on Vinyl or CD, instead of playing it on Spotify. Another thing that reminds me of Indian culture is when i first watched the 1988 film Salaam Bombay! from director Mira Nair. This was the first Indian movie i have ever seen, and i was really affected by this film for many reasons. Salaam Bombay is a very tragic film about homeless children, drug abuse and poverty in general in the city of Bombay. Director Mira Nair really gave us an honest portrait of how rough life can be for children living in poverty. A must see if you have not seen this film. Recently i was going through a list of films i have not seen, and came across a film called Uri: The Surgical Strike. Not knowing anything about the film, i noticed that it is based on a true story of what happened during the 2016 Uri attack. Since i have not seen any Indian films for many years, this seemed to be an interesting plot. Is the film Uri a powerful film experience, or should you be watching something else instead ?

On 18 September, 2016, four heavily armed militants attack the brigade headquarters at Uri, Jammu and Kashmir at dawn, killing 19 Soldiers in their sleep. The terrorists who attacked are all killed, but Major Karan Kashyap ( Mohit Raina ) dies in a grenade explosion. At the funeral of Major Karan, his family is devastated, where his young daughter want justice to be done.The ministry decides to strike back against the terrorists for what they did at Uri. National Security Advisor Govind Bhardwaj ( Paresh Rawal ) suggests the idea of a surgical strike. The Prime Minister approve Govind´s suggestion and the military operation begins. The Indian Army is now prepared to strike with Major Vihan Singh Shergill ( Vicky Kaushal ), but the question is can they really finish this mission ?

As i was watching Uri: The Surgical Strike, i realized that i did not know much at all about this enormous tragedy. I have heard on the news about the tragedy back in 2016, but news only tend to tell you certain details. In this film you find out more about the background story, and why Uri was attacked. Of course the Indian army strikes back, and closer to the end of the film we get to see some epic war battle scenes. Since i have never seen a war movie from India before, i have to say that i am impressed by the production design of this film. Now, let´s get into the acting, Lead actor Vicky Kaushal as Major Vihan is a really good choice for this character. He really goes into his role, who want to make sure that the terrorists who attacked Uri will regret that they did. I also enjoy the performance of actor Paresh Rawal, playing the character Govind Bhardwaj. The scene where he makes the decision to attack the terrorists, you can feel that he wants to revenge for the lives who were lost. Actress Yami Gautam makes a great performance as well, playing 2 different characters in this film ( not often you see someone do that these days, not since Double Impact with Jean-Claude Van Damme ). There are other great performances as well here, but let´s get into what is best about this film. The action scenes are surprisingly really well made, and especially in the end when the Indian army strikes back after the terrorists attacked Uri. There are some intensive moments here, and i have to say it has been a long time since i have seen such well made war scenes. For the most part this film works, except in the dramatic scenes. I feel that some of the drama scenes go on a bit too long. Apart from this i feel that Uri: The Surgical Strike is a film you should see, knowing it is based on a true story. Director Aditya Dhar have proved himself to be a great director when it comes to action scenes, and he shows that clearly in this film. This is his directorial debut, and i must say i am impressed. I hope he keeps making action films, and less drama scenes, because he knows how to make an action film clearly. Too bad Uri: The Surgical Strike is not available on DVD or Blu Ray so far in Scandinavia, i think this film should be released here for a wider audience, who wants to see a quality film at home.

Rating: DDD