What happens when a Pakistani spy infiltrating India’s counter-terrorism establishment forgets which side he is working for? In Udta Teer, the answer is a generous dose of confusion, political satire and Bollywood-style madness.
Directed by Akash A Kaushik, the film turns the familiar espionage thriller on its head. Instead of another muscle-flexing patriot saving the nation from across the border, it gives us a Pakistani operative who, following a memory loss, begins believing he is an Indian security officer. The resulting identity crisis is the film’s strongest weapon, offering a playful alternative to Bollywood’s increasingly chest-thumping spy dramas.
AT A GLANCE:
Film: Udta Teer (Theatres)
Director: Akash A Kaushik
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Sara Ali Khan, Rahul Bose, Ram Kapoor, Gulshan Grover, Mukul Dev and Suhail Nayyar.
Rating: ★★★☆☆
Ayushmann Khurrana plays Bilal Ahmed, a Pakistani agent operating undercover as Indian counter-terrorism officer Vikrant Thapar. When an accident wipes his memory, Bilal begins taking his assumed identity seriously, much to the horror of his Pakistani handlers. The man they had planted inside India’s security establishment becomes an unexpected obstacle to their own plans.
It is an inspired setup, and Khurrana makes the most of it. His ability to play bewilderment without losing his composure gives the character a comic charm. He is convincing as a trained operative caught in circumstances he cannot understand, and his performance anchors a story that occasionally seems as confused about its direction as its protagonist.
The supporting cast adds to the fun. Rahul Bose brings a welcome eccentricity to the intelligence establishment, while Ram Kapoor and Gulshan Grover contribute to the absurdity unfolding on the Pakistani side. Mukul Dev also makes an impression, adding comic energy to the proceedings. The film’s humour works best when it allows its characters to become ridiculous without overexplaining the joke.
There is an obvious political dimension to Udta Teer. In the shadow of films such as Dhurandhar, it reverses the familiar premise of the Indian spy infiltrating Pakistan. Here, the infiltrator is already inside India, and the comedy emerges from watching a carefully constructed operation unravel because its central operative no longer remembers who he is.
The reversal offers opportunities to poke fun at intelligence agencies, military hierarchies and the conventions of patriotic cinema. Rather than relying entirely on the seriousness of national security, the film occasionally finds humour in the absurdity of the machinery surrounding it. For an audience familiar with the formula of the contemporary Hindi spy thriller, this change of perspective is refreshing.
Unfortunately, a clever premise is not the same as a consistently clever screenplay.
The film gets off to a promising start, with situational comedy and mistaken identity providing plenty of material. But as the narrative progresses, the gags become less consistent, and the story struggles to decide whether it wants to remain a broad spy spoof or turn into a more conventional patriotic drama. The shift weakens the momentum, with sentiment and familiar genre conventions occasionally intruding on the irreverence that makes the film interesting in the first place.
Sara Ali Khan, who plays Yamini, Vikrant’s wife and a Defence Ministry employee, is given comparatively little to work with. Her character could have offered another layer to the central deception, particularly given her proximity to sensitive information. Instead, the role feels underdeveloped, and the relationship provides less emotional or comic payoff than the premise promises.
The film’s other weakness is its tendency to keep adding to an already elaborate setup. The central joke of a Pakistani spy inadvertently working against his own handlers, is strong enough to sustain a comedy, but the screenplay does not always trust it. Additional twists and tonal detours dilute the simplicity of the original idea.
Yet Udta Teer is not without its pleasures. Khurrana’s performance, the supporting actors’ comic timing and the sheer absurdity of the situation keep the film afloat even when the writing loses direction. Its willingness to make fun of the spy-thriller template is welcome, even if the satire could have been sharper and more consistent.
Ultimately, Udta Teer is an entertaining idea that only partially fulfils its potential. It takes aim at the conventions of patriotic espionage cinema, but occasionally falls back on the very formulas it sets out to parody. There are laughs to be had, and Khurrana remains an engaging presence, but the film could have done with greater confidence in its own comic instincts.
The arrow flies in an intriguing direction. It just does not essentially hit its target.
Read Also: Dhurandhar : Film Review
