Vishal Bhardwaj Keeps Gripping Spy Thriller Khufiya Simple And Direct

Review of Khufiya: The performances are top-notch, with the dependable Tabu leading the way

Khufiya doesn’t contain much that is particularly or purposefully obscure, but the suspenseful Netflix spy thriller created and produced by Vishal Bhardwaj depends on the hidden, private aspects of the lives of three alluring women and a cunning man as they navigate the geopolitical whirlwind that is the aftermath of the Kargil War.

The screenplay by Bhardwaj and Rohan Narula, loosely based on Escape to Nowhere by retired R&AW employee Amar Bhushan, transforms the source material into an intriguing, compelling drama that adheres to the genre’s rules without completely succumbing to the constraints that tried-and-true techniques frequently impose.

Khufiya is likely, at least on the surface, one of the very few plain genre movies that Bhardwaj has produced (it follows his Agatha Christie murder mystery series, Charlie Chopra & the Mystery of Solang Valley). Even his failures—indeed, especially his failures—have been distinguished by the kind of bravery that Mumbai filmmakers who operate inside conventional boundaries aren’t typically recognized for.

Be it a Shakespearean adaptation (Maqbool, Omkara, Haider), a crime drama (Kaminey), a pitch-dark comedy (7 Khoon Maaf), a politico-romantic period saga (Rangoon), an acutely tangential allegory (Matru ki Bijlee Ka Mandola, Pataakha), or even a children’s film (Makdee, his directorial debut), Bhardwaj has never been a slave to narrative-form constrictions.

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Therefore, it is only to be expected that Khufiya will use well-established storytelling principles to create a movie that is equally interested in exploring character features as it is in juggling plot details to create tension and suspense. The assured movie, which was superbly acted in and directed with a noteworthy light touch, succeeds on every level without drawing attention to its outstanding technical accomplishments.

A mole on a woman’s jugular notch, that delicate curve in the centre of the collarbone, a conceit and an image that immediately conjures up both mystery and sensuality, are these details included in any Mumbai spy thriller?

The next thing Khufiya does is go for the kill and surprise us with a “mole”; both of these things are said matter-of-factly. At a Bangladeshi brigadier’s birthday party, an undercover agent is killed — a crime committed with complete impunity and made possible by a leak from India’s intelligence network.

Early on, the identity of the main suspect is made clear, and the rest of the movie centers on R&AW’s quest to apprehend the evading traitor. Krishna Mehra (Tabu), KM to agency insiders and assets, is in charge of the operation, code-named Brutus, which in the world of William Shakespeare’s finest tragedies is a byword for betrayal.

The intentions of the cunning Ravi Mohan (Ali Fazal), an Indian secret service agent who is simply paid but lives a lifestyle that does not correspond to his known sources of wealth, are as mysterious as KM’s life. There is nothing in black and white about the steely woman tasked with exposing the puppeteer hiding behind the puppet.

Greys, which are not defined in purely moral terms, rule her life. The seasoned spy has a tense relationship with her 19-year-old son Vikram (Meet Vohra), an actor and singer who feels that his mother keeps too much from him and has the chutzpah to cross the line when necessary. She is divorced from her spouse Shashank (Atul Kulkarni in a cameo).

A few years after the Kargil conflict, around the turn of the millennium, KM, while working for the Indian high commission in Dhaka, hires Heena Rehman (Azmeri Haque Badhon), and forms a special bond with her. This bond motivates her to take the journey from Delhi to chilly South Dakota (a Canadian setting substitutes for the American Midwest).

It seems that Ravi Mohan’s life has been significantly less noteworthy. He works at a desk in the R&AW headquarters in Delhi, commutes in a plain hatchback, and resides with his mother Lalita (Navnindra Behl), wife Charu (Wamiqa Gabbi), and son Kunal, a primary school student. But it becomes clear early on in the movie that the man is more complex than first appears.

Yaar Jogiya (Indian Ocean’s Rahul Ram, who gives his voice and performative energy to the movie) is a new-age spiritualist who sings songs inspired by Kabir to communicate with his flock. Ravi and his mother are followers of Yaar Jogiya.

Khufiya, on the other hand, is more about the women than the men we see on screen; in addition to Ravi, Yaar Jogiya, and Shashank, there is Jeev (Ashish Vidyarthi), KM’s boss. That also applies to Ravi’s aging, obstinate mother, a matron capable of horrible deeds.

Dutiful and conscious of her many responsibilities as a mother, wife, and daughter-in-law, Ravi’s wife has a flaw that allows the spies who are tracking her husband to believe that she is not only aware of her husband’s betrayal of his country but also a willing partner.

Heena Rehman, a Bangladeshi agent who works for India’s secret agency, may seem to be the least significant of the three women that make up Khufiya, but she is every bit as intriguing and mysterious as the other two. This is both a love story and a narrative of retaliation because of her presence and absence.

The vivacious Charu has a fascination on the songs from Jawani Diwani, a Hindi movie from fifty years ago. When no one is looking, she lets her hair down in multiple ways and sways with gay abandon to the songs, one upbeat and the other sultry. 

By far the most important character in Khufiya is KM, a mysterious secret agent whose mysteries extend beyond her work and into her personal life. She is a significant figure in the mystery that she is trying to solve as well as a sleuth; in one stray scene, we see her sitting on a park bench reading an Agatha Christie novel.

The performances are top-notch and are led by the consistently dependable Tabu. Khufiya is just another shining achievement for Wamiqa Gabbi. She always plays her part perfectly, even though it changes dramatically midway through the movie in terms of tone. She succeeds.

It’s a joy to witness Azmeri Haque Badhon (the lead actress of the Cannes entry Rehana Maryam Noor), who gives a daring, sexy undercover agent astonishingly subtle depth and skillfully balances the character’s indomitability against her frailty.

Ali Fazal gives a measured portrayal as a man who allows himself to be influenced while well aware of what he is getting into.

In Khufiya, director Vishal Bhardwaj doesn’t seem to be working nonstop. The movie gains continuous solidity from the way he approaches the complexities of espionage and its human components. He keeps it straightforward and avoids becoming overly spectacular. Not to be overlooked.  

Cast:

Tabu, Azmeri Haque Badhon, Wamiqa Gabbi, and Ali Fazal

Director:

Bhardwaj, Vishal