 "‘Berlin’ movie review: Rahul Bose, Aparshakti Khurana, Ishwak Singh’s thriller is chaotic, moody, atmospheric, and stylish")
Star Cast: Aparshakti Khurana, Ishwak Singh, Rahul Bose, Anupriya Goenka, and Kabir Bedi
Director: Atul Sabharwal
Language: Hindi
This new film called Berlin may not take us to Germany but the style and the design do give it an international feel. The atmospherics are both charismatic and claustrophobic. Writer and director Atul Sabharwal is obsessed with past and history. The seedy Class of 83, the sprawling Jubilee, and now the noir world of Berlin, based in the year 1993. The devil is in the details. The pace is sedate that is usually described as slow-burn. Even a volatile performer like Aparshakti Khurrana sheds all his energy and enthusiasm to play a sign language teacher who’s literally a headless chicken in this story.
He’s told he could be saving the nation, but when have noir-like and slow-burn psychological thrillers given us easy answers. It’s good to see the commanding Rahul Bose after long, and he walks into the frame with all enigma. And Ishwak Singh as Ashok Kumar attacks the role of a deaf and mute suspect with all passion and rage. Baring those busy montages of a cafe I shall not name here, Berlin is a curiously empty and lonely film. Most of the conversations unfold on empty streets and spaces that add more tension to the pulsating narrative. Even the brightest of frames illicit darkness. Cinematographer Shreedutta Namjoshi‘s job was clear. He was clearly shooting for a film that has to dazzle and yet keep the viewers in the dark, both literally and metaphorically.
For those tired of tripes about hyperactive nationalism and xenophobia, _Berlin_ transcends boundaries for a change. This time, it’s none other than the Russian president that could be the prey. Good thing it’s 1993, the lack of availability of technology only makes things worse and harder. Time is running out on these white-collared gentlemen who never seem to be who they are. But they all have been styled beautifully. It would be incorrect to reveal anything more about the plot.
Khurrana and Singh’s chemistry is in sync with the required restlessness of the story and situation. But the film cannot save itself from certain cliches. However, any character who cannot be trusted will try his best to make sure his secret is not spilled. And it’s always fun to watch a film, where we do not know which character will turn out to be white, black or grey. Despite the chaos that happens inside the interrogation room in Berlin, everything else is staged with composure. This is no Abbas Mastan or Rajiv Rai murder mystery.
In an exclusive interview with Firstpost, Bose spoke about the film and described it as this- “I do not think it’s been done here before, which is the psychological, slow burn, silence filled, shadowy exploration of people in the espionage world. A bit like John le Carré. Smiley’s People, The Spy Who Came In From The Cold, where it’s the atmospherics, it’s the writing, it’s not the plot.” Berlin could make you impatient but also make you bite your nails. Now that’s something that rarely happens, in India or in Berlin.
Rating: 3 (out of 5 stars)
Berlin is streaming on Zee5
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