Sanak movie review: Vidyut Jammwal's latest is a hastily put together, Die Hard-inspired mess

Language: Hindi In the 1988 action film Die Hard, John McClane (Bruce Willis) must save his wife when her office building is taken over by a group of heavily armed terrorists.   In 2021, in Hindi film Sanak, Vidyut Jammwal plays Vivaan Ahuja, a MMA trainer with low blood sugar. His wife Anshika (Rukmini Maitra) is recovering from treatment for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), a genetic heart condition. All is well with her recovery until a group of heavily armed terrorists capture the hospital and take patients and staff hostage. Vivaan must save his wife and free the hostages. Outside the hospital building, ACP Jayati Bhargava (Neha Dhupia) is commanding the official post. As is the format of such action films, the police wait for a civilian on the inside to do most of the dirty work before bursting in at the last minute. Within the corridors of the under-siege building, Vivaan finds two unlikely sidekicks, one is Zubin, a child, and the other is ward boy Riyaaz (Chandan Roy). However, the portrayal of a tween “willing to kill some bad guys” and with extensive knowledge of guns and bombs is disturbing.   Chandan Roy Sanyal plays Saju, the merciless mastermind behind the siege. He is commanding a team of supposedly highly skilled soldiers from around the world. The actors cast in those parts might be quick with their side kicks, flips, and jabs, but their acting needed a great deal more study. So the onus rests on Roy Sanyal to infuse the proceedings with energy.   Action director Andy Long Nyugen has choreographed a collection of set pieces that pit Jammwal against the baddies. Using the location, there is innovative use of equipment found in a hospital including an MRI machine and the physiotherapy room.

Jammwal scores in the Jackie Chan-inspired fight scenes but does not quite nail the emotional moments.  

Sanak feels like a hastily put together project with a script that over-emphasizes the action, leaving the story and the emotional core under-developed.   There is a time-bound mission, many hostages, and lots of gunfire, yet, at a crucial juncture, Vivaan has a long conversation with Riyaaz about Anshika. At the same time, Anshika is recording a cheesy voice message to her husband. There is a particular – unintentionally so – hilarious moment in the climax when Saju tosses aside the very reason he planned the mission. And why does Vivaan repeatedly consume sachets of some powder? Writer Ashish Prakash Varma and director Kanishk Varma seem to be motivated by the John McTiernan-directed Die Hard films that spawned a franchise. Though Vivaan is an impressive one-man army, who almost single-handedly saves the day, one hopes that unlike Die Hard, Sanak (meaning madness) stops at one film only. Sanak is streaming on Disney+ Hotstar Multiplex. Rating: **