Phantom ~ The world of Kabir Khan, where fiction merges with reality.

Release date - 28'th August 2015

One Word which describes the film - Optimistic

Best Dialogue - ' Aap pooch rahe the kya chahta hai India, India insaaf chahta hai.'

Genre - Action/ Thriller

Music - Pritam Chakraborty

Producer - Sajid Nadiadwala, Siddharth Roy Kapur

Story- Kabir Khan, Kausar Munir (Based on Mumbai Avengers by Hussain Zaidi)

Direction -Kabir Khan

Cast -Saif Ali Khan, Katrina Kaif, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub

Budget- 50 Crores approximately

Kabir Khan made his directorial debut in 1999 with the documentary 'The Forgotten Army' , based on Subhas Chandra Bose's Indian National Army. Since then he has constantly tried to bring to limelight the strength of character and courage of Indians in front of the whole world by making films which are full of patriotism and the never say die attitude of the central characters.
Whether it was Kabul Express (2006), New York (2009), Ek Tha Tiger (2012) or Bajrangi Bhaijaan (2015) all his films will make you think that sometimes innocent people become mere pawns in the game of few corrupt people who have both power and money.

There is undoubtedly a lot of pressure that comes with recognition, which can be a good thing and bad thing all at the same time.

After Kabir Khan's Bajrangi Bhaijaan became the most successful film of 2015, people were just waiting to find some fault in his next film. I also went with mixed feelings as had read many negative comments from everyone basically saying that the film is overall boring.

Phantom begins with a car chase in Chicago. From there we are taken to the office of the Indian R.A.W. chief, then to the snowy peaks of Kashmir, then to London, then to Beirut, then to a Syrian refugee camp and finally to a small town in Malerkotla, Punjab which was recreated using Urdu hoarding, posters and flags to resemble a Pakistani town. I don't know how people can get bored in such a happening journey.

We all know that the film deals with the master minds behind the 26/11 Mumbai attacks who are still living freely in some part of the world.

Any operation deals with three basic steps, the plan, it's execution and then the return to safety. The film has a very well written script and the first half of the film has a good pace. The second half of the film which takes us to a Pakistani town is a bit slow, has few songs and several scenes which will touch your heart and fill you with pride. The only flaw in the perfect story was that the execution of the plan happened too abruptly and the return to safety took too long.

Saif Ali Khan in the titular role had ample opportunity to show his talents. He has given a good performance considering how difficult it's for him to get rid of his rich guy attitude and accent.  

I don't know whose idea was it to name a beautiful lady like Katrina Kaif, Nawaz. All through the film her attire were simple and very less attention was paid on glamorizing her so that the focus of the film doesn't shift from the graver issues.

After giving a forgetful performance in All is Well, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub is back in form and how. His role is small but he represents all us Indians who are full of anger and frustration and wish there is some way in which a lesson can be taught to the wrong doers.

Music is average. The film has a soulful song "Saware"  sung by Arijit Singh.

The film was released in 2500 screens and due to bad reviews got a poor opening. By the end of the day because of good word of mouth the film managed to collect almost 8

cr on Friday, 13 Crores on Saturday and 12 Crores on Sunday. With Welcome Back releasing this week the film will surely not get a chance to enter the 100 Crore club but it will surely recover it's production costs.

In a line the film is full of hope and optimism and you will surely wish that all of it was true. 

Good one time watch. Can be seen in theaters.