Aiyaary – A Bollywood Thriller With More Frills Than Thrills

The much-anticipated espionage thriller – Neeraj Pandey’s Aiyaary has released after a series of delays and postponement of dates. I was eagerly awaiting the film’s release and now after watching the thriller set amidst the background of armed forces would like to spill my views on the thriller.

The plot of the film as is evident in the promos is the story of Colonel Abhay Singh (Manoj Bajpai), who is an army officer leading a coveted operation. Things go for a twist when Jai Bakshi (Sidharth Malhotra) goes out of hand and rebels against the system after getting disillusioned with its operation. What follows next is a series of cat and mouse chase with lots of disguises (giving justice to its title – Aiyaary) and twists and turns.

The story as in the thriller trilogy of Neeraj Pandey – A Wednesday, Special 26 and Baby is interesting on paper. Neeraj has developed a knack for making realistic thrillers and Aiyaary falls in the same genre. The film has its moments for sure where Neeraj succeeds in doing justice as a writer and a director too.

On the flip side, the film drops in pace and appears sluggish in getting the complicated plot right. The film is watchable for sure but does not have the emotional impact of A Wednesday, the surprise climax of Special 26 or the breakneck speed of Baby.

However, the film is lifted by its performances and Manoj Bajpai leads the cast with effortless performance. Along with him Siddharth Malhotra also acts well, though one misses Neeraj’s favorite Akshay Kumar here. Naseeruddin Shah is back after A Wednesday and shines in the cameo. Anupam Kher, Adil Hussain and Kumud Mishra are average. The ladies Rakul Preet Singh and Pooja Chopra are mostly frivolous.

On the whole, Aiyaary is a decent thriller, which falls short of high expectations but still is a decent watch.