“What does it mean to be a soldier?”
“Sir is sawaal ka jawaab diya nahin jaa sakta, sirf jiya sakta hai!”
[Sir, this question cannot be answered, it can only be lived]
The above two dialogues are a clear indication of the direction ‘Major’ is going to take. Based on the 26/11 attacks, and one of its brave hearts, Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan [Ashoka Chakra, Posthumous], this film is an earnest attempt at portraying the life of Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, who laid his down while saving several hostages from the murderous Islamists at the Taj Hotel, and will make your subconscious mind echo the sentiment – “Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan Amar Rahe”!
Directed by Sashi Kiran Tikka, and the bilingual film, made both in Hindi and Telugu, stars Adivi Sesh in the titular role, supported by Prakash Raj, Revathy, Saiee Manjrekar, Sobhita Dhulipala, Murli Sharma among others. The film, to quote Revathy’s character herself, is not just about the night of 26/11 and Major Unnikrishnan’s role, but his own life, that was less explored, from the time when he stepped into the hallowed premises of the National Defence Academy, Pune, in order to be trained as an officer of the Indian Army.
There have been many movies based on the theme of patriotism, but ever since the success of ‘URI’ and ‘SHERSHAAH’, films that have the right dose of patriotism as well as realism are being prioritized, and thankfully ‘Major’ is one such film too. Some scenes in this movie would give audience vibes of ‘Lakshya’ and ‘Shershaah’ as well. There is nothing extreme in it, except for a few scenes that might look bizarre to many, but the tight screenplay and the moving narrative convince the moviegoers to ignore those minor flaws for the greater experience. The climax will leave many moved, as well as proud of the valor of our armed forces.
However, this is not the only factor that makes ‘Major’ an enriching experience. The way the movie has depicted the 26/11 attacks, it is something not even the boldest in the film industry would take a shot at. For some, even the mere mention of the terrorists is akin to sacrilege, but in ‘Major’, not only are the terrorists named, but also their handlers are named without hesitation, be it Headley or Hafeez. Fun fact, even the way media handled these attacks, inadvertently ‘helping the cause’ of the terrorists has been portrayed without an iota of subtlety, something the left liberals will have trouble digesting for sure.
As for the acting, Adivi Sesh, has almost made us forget that it was him in ‘Major’. For a moment, it almost felt as if the real Major had come up live on screen, and that is a rare achievement in itself. What was expected of Akshay Kumar in “Samrat Prithviraj” has actually been delivered by Adivi Sesh as Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan in ‘Major’. Who knew that someone, who was once casted as Bhallaldev’s son in the eponymous ‘Baahubali’ would make his mark like THAT?
Apart from Adivi Sesh, Prakash Raj and Revathy have literally lived their roles as the parents of Major Unnikrishnan. While Prakash Raj has his own ideological nonsense to sort out, his acting abilities do make a mark, as shown in “Major”. Even Saiee Manjrekar, trolled brutally for her acting in her debut ‘Dabangg 3’, has shown considerable, if not legendary improvement, as an actress. Murali Sharma has done justice to his role as the NSG commander.
If there was a flaw in ‘Major’, it was only in some scenes, where in the name of creative scenes, a couple of scenes looked haphazard, borderline bizarre if you may say so. However, on a whole, ‘Major’ is an earnest tribute to the life of Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan, and as quoted, “He said face to face with Death – You can take me, you can take me but not my country!”