“State Of Siege: Temple Attack” – Direction Aces Where Plot Fails

Gripping right from the first minute with a burst of patriotic flavor, Zee5’s “State of Siege: Temple Attack” is the latest tale of heroism displayed by the fearless Indian soldiers. Directed by Ken Ghosh and inspired by true events, the film features Akshaye Khanna in the lead role as Major Hanut Singh along with other known artists such as Sameer Soni, Gautam Rode, and Abhimanyu Singh.

When the fictional Krishna Dham temple in Gandhinagar, Gujarat is attacked by terrorists, NSG commando Major Hanut Singh, who is in the vicinity, volunteers to take over the situation with his team. Guilty and scarred from a previous incident after disobeying orders, Major Singh is on the path of redemption. But uncertainty about the depth of danger combined with a hostage crisis makes the situation even more challenging.

“State of Siege: Temple Attack” is shot from the perspective of several different characters in addition to that of the protagonist. There’s a woman whose parents, husband, and daughter are all taken as hostages, a shopkeeper at the temple whose son was giving some tourists a tour inside the temple, a female security employee, and an NSG commando who left his wife in labor hours before he could see his newborn child. Each perspective is unique, and each story is heartbreaking to watch unfold as you can see the hope of survival diminishing from the characters’ eyes as the movie progresses.

Akshaye Khanna is all class as an NSG commando and maintains a calm demeanor despite his character being headstrong and impulsive. Manjari Fadnnis does a great job as the woman desperate for a glimpse of her family who got stuck inside the temple while she stepped out momentarily to go to the car.

There are some breathtaking shots of Manali portrayed as Kashmir by the director of photography Tejal Shetye. Certain scenes were inconsequential such as the terrorist making the children sing their school’s morning prayer or the janitor who tries to talk sense into the terrorists in the name of religion. “State of Siege: Temple Attack” is a good watch however and where it lacks in plot, it makes up with excellent direction by Ken Ghosh in his first action feature film.