Khufiya (2023) Movie Review – Vishal Bhardwaj’s aspirational effort is uneven but sincere

Vishal Bhardwaj’s aspirational effort is uneven but sincere

Vishal Bhardwaj is a film royalty in Bollywood. His long-spanning career in cinema is beset with hits like Omkara, Satya, and Haider among countless other projects. The general norm is that Bhardwaj is one of the few Indian directors who cannot make a bad film. It is upheld for most parts of Khufiya, his latest movie on Netflix, but it frustratingly misses the mark despite having all the essentials to hit the bullseye.

Khufiya stars Tabu, Wamiqa Gabbi, and Ali Fazal in central roles, who all flourish under Bhardwaj’s generous direction. The film is set in the early 2000s when the Indian subcontinent had recently emerged from a deadly war between Pakistan and India. The latter emerged victorious and the neighbors continued vying for the upper hand. One of the ways to do so was by influencing cross-border politics and installing puppet regimes.

Khufiya is both an exploration of political tension between the countries and a story with a personal character for our protagonist, KM (Tabu). She is at the centre of love, tragedy, and revenge, all woven into one fantastic story that sustains the viewer despite its three-hour runtime.

Right until the second half started, I was struck by how effective Bhardwaj’s worldbuilding was in embuing the characters in his story. The story flows with immense ease and a certain gravitas that always afflicts his films. Storytelling is in itself a difficult art. Pair that with the espionage genre where it is easy to draw in the viewer but difficult to balance outcomes based on the supplying of information, and you have a double whammy of tough luck. But Bhardwaj does not face too many difficulties in navigating those challenges. He really lets his cinematic universe breathe and take shape on its own, while keeping a strict vigil and urgency to make sure the momentum doesn’t die down.

Unfortunately, it does, but that isn’t because of the choices in direction. It happens primarily in the second half and stems from the choices he made with Rohit Narula while writing the screenplay. The direction that Khufiya goes in after the pause in the plot feels wasteful and wishful. It is too ambitious for all the good work done in the earlier half.

The mismatch between the two halves is quite apparent. The betrayal of turning Khufiya into a cognizant revenge story is very offputting. Charu’s arc in the latter half becomes a stranger to the one before it. The spark of KM and Heena’s passion isn’t realized to its full extent. It would have been a unique sight to see a mature portrayal of same-sex love in an Indian film, the glowing examples of which are scarce. In fact, that is why one facet of the complexities of KM’s character remains unresolved. Both of those things do not come to a pass.

Bhardwaj and Narula try to bring more dimensions to their screenplay by venturing outside the core plot. There is a lot more to Khufiya than just its espionage story. The layered narrative offers potent avenues and social commentary on issues across the cultural spectrum. Khufiya weaponizes its characters and their conceits not to take potshots at the establishment but to bring out its inherently dehumanizing nature.

I am especially impressed by how the writing pair seamlessly dovetails the sacrifices that families make in service to their country. The detour from the story feels so fresh and authentic, especially (and ironically) when they steal a bit of romance in a bid to keep the family together, in spite of challenges.

The dynamism of and multi-faceted approach to Tabu’s character is a pivotal creative choice from Bhardwaj that allows him to do so many things with Khufiya. But it also limits the attention he can give to important arcs like KM’s roguish love affair with Heena and her constant run-ins with Vikram about her work. Although we see enough to root her experience of these entanglements in her behaviour, something feels missing. Tabu is nonetheless a fierce performer, embracing all of KM’s pitfalls, imperfections, and guile comfortably. She creates a compelling portrayal with able support from the writers. Shades of her sparkling chemistry with Bangladeshi actress Azmeri Bhadon also bedazzle, albeit briefly. 

Gabbi feels at her best when she plays a loving wife with a carefree spirit but perhaps out of her depths as the grieving mother. I wouldn’t call it a blot on her body of work as it mostly stems from mischaracterization by Bhardwaj and Narula.

Ali Fazal’s supporting play is also an attraction. He is so easily ingrained in the background in the skin of his character that he hardly offers a false note. Fazal’s confidence is infectious and a testament to his vast experience in and exposure to world cinema.

Khufiya is not a bad film by any stretch of the imagination. The few missteps in its conception end up undermining its most brilliant parts which are a rare sight in the Indian film landscape. Khufiya displays a stout resistance to the “OTT touch” that has made so many films today unbearable in the way they are grounded in longstanding film conventions.

Read More: Khufiya Ending Explained

Feel free to check out more of our movie reviews here!