In 2014, a big group of Indian nurses working in Tikrit-Iraq were abducted by the ISIS terrorist group for days before they got rescued with some timely political pressure built. A fearless member of the group played an important role in this operation constantly communicating with the Indian authorities risking her own life and TAKE OFF is fictional presentation of the event that simply excels in its execution leaving a solid impact.
The film begins with a family drama and grabs you right away from its very first scene showcasing the terrorist group and then offers a thoroughly satisfying experience for the next two hours as an exceptionally conceived, brutal, realistic thriller tacking a challenging subject.
Brilliantly recreating the scary scenario with some terrifying visuals well supported by an apt cast, the film repeatedly gives you the impression of watching a well-made international project, quite close to the outstanding Iranian cinema. The human drama and emotions remain its two important merits throughout and one finds hard to believe that such a powerful and polished film is the debut attempt of its director Mahesh Narayan.
The so authentically written and visualized sequences never let you leave the theater even for a moment and despite being predictable it does bring smiles back on your faces as the ladies reach back home. As another appreciable feature the writer/director also addresses the plight of Indian nurses working abroad in such risky regions, just to take care of their families, pay off their loans and lookout for better prospects as that are not available in their own country.
The highly believable performances from the entire case (particularly Parvathy in the lead), an engaging story progression, stunning cinematography (recreating a war-zone), great production design and pulsating background score truly enhance the overall impact of the film, despite not being any mega budget project as compared to the more famous Hindi films (like AIRLFT and TIGER ZINDA HAI).
However, at times the inserted love story takes too many cinematic liberties in the film that remain highly impossible, especially when it is all happening in the midst of cold blooded ISIS terrorists. So this filmy drama can be stated as the only drawback of the talented director’s fictional take on the incidents that deserves to be seen as a must, before you get into a more filmy zone watching Salman Khan’s TIGER ZINDA HAI also based on the same event.
Rating : 4 / 5
Tags :
TAKE OFF (Malayalam/2017) Review by Bobby Sing at bobbytalkscinema.com, Must Watch Malayalam Films List, Must Watch Indian Regional Language Gems by Bobby Sing, Not To Be Missed Indian Regional Language Films for all.
