Nikhil Siddhartha is going great guns in his career and is signing back-to-back films. One of them is SPY which has been directed by Garry BH. Nikhil plays an action-packed role in this film which has been released today. Let’s see whether it lives up to all the hype or not.
Story: Khader Khan is a dreaded terrorist which the RAW agent gun down in a special mission. But in a tragic turnaround of events, Khader is still alive and now to nab him Jay (Nikhil Siddhartha) is assigned the job. Khader is even more deadly this time as he is planning to launch a nuclear attack on India. The rest of the story is about how Jay (Nikhil Siddhartha) teams up with an NIA agent (Iswarya Menon) and a fellow agent (Abhinav Gomatam) and saves his country.
Performances: Nikhil makes a terrific transformation and plays an action-packed for the first time in his career and he packs a punch. All these days, Nikhil has played soft roles but in SPY, he changes gears and is amazing as the RAW Agent. Be it his look or screen presence, Nikhil has done a fabulous job. Iswarya Menon is also great in the film and ably supports Nikhil. Abhinav Gomatam plays a key role and he evokes good laughs and also his supporting act is quite good.
Technicalities: As the film’s director is an editor himself, Garry BH has done a great job with his editing part. Though there are a few lags in scenes, the rest of the editing when it comes to action episodes is good. The film has great visuals and the ones which show the RAW agent setup are great. The drone shots were amazing. The screenplay by Garry BH could have been even better in the emotional department. The production design, action blocks, and stylish slow-motion shots have been handled well.
Analysis: SPY is Nikhil’s first spy drama where he plays a RAW Agent. The manner in which the story is woven having a connection with the legendary Subhash Chandra Bose looks great. The setup, Nikhil’s entry, and the mission he has to go through suit the body language of the young hero. Spy thrillers are getting made frequently in recent years. A readily available blueprint, aka formula, with easy placement of actions and thrills, is the luring factor and the same happens with SPY as well.
But SPY has enough meat for the audience to savor the action blocks. The manner in which Nikhil takes on the mission and the supporting cast add things up and look neat in the film. Unfortunately, the narrative doesn’t give it (Subhash Chandra Bose angle) much chance and progresses on the spy genre to engage more in this aspect.
The opening mission and hero introduction set the tone of the film perfectly. There is a sense of predictability in most parts but the breezy narration holds the attention of the audience till the end. What’s special is that the performance of Nikhil is what makes things work. There are not many dull moments as the narration is lavish.
Also, there are a few action scenes that should have been toned down as they look repeated. The story and setting of any SPY drama are most of the time the same but what makes things work is the narration which holds your attention and it does in SPY.
Verdict: SPY is Nikhil’s biggest release to date and the film has surely lived up to the hype created. The film has a great premise and Nikhil steals the show in an action-packed avatar. The action episodes are cool and so are the thrills. If you ignore a few predictable scenes in the second half, SPY is a breezy action drama that will engage all action movie lovers.
Bottom Line- Stylish and action-packed
Rating: 2.75/5
