'Tehran' Movie Review: John Abraham, Manushi Chhillar’s spy thriller is intense, engaging and sharp

Director: Arun Gopalan

Cast: John Abraham, Maanushi Chhillar, Neeru Bajwa, and others

One doesn’t need to be a ‘by the book’ officer to be considered good at his job. John Abraham who plays a police officer, DCP Rajeev Kumar, is one such man, who cannot take his job dispassionately. He is emotional too. From the beginning of the film, we realise that it is not going to be a simple espionage thriller.

The twists and turns to this film are plenty. From the very beginning the geopolitical tension between Iran and Israel is what makes the story strong. John Abraham delivers his career-best performance. The script and the cinematography is solid and it never thins down and that is the best part of Tehran.

Inspired by real events, all the characters are fictitious.  _Tehran_ movie begins with a bombing in Delhi, which killed a little girl who was selling flowers. DCP Rajeev Kumar ( John Abraham) couldn’t get over this incident. Kumar is put on this case.

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But as usual, he gets personal because he knew this girl from whom he had bought flowers. The girl dies in the hospital, but her face keeps haunting him. He immerses himself in the case as if it is his personal loss. He makes arrangements for this girl’s brother in an orphanage and spends time with this young kid too. While Rajeev is a patriot, he soon finds himself abandoned by India and Israel and hunted by Iran. This movie shows how he fights back when his own country literally abandons him.

“Iran wants to kill him, Israel has ditched him, and India has deserted him.” These were the exact words that were told to his wife by diplomat Sheilaja (Neeru Bajwa). But his wife doesn’t give up and waits for his call. But will the phone ring in Rajeev’s house again?

Though Manushi Chhillar, as SI Divya Rana, was given limited screen time. Yet she plays a strong role and delivers her best. Without much dialogue, she makes her presence felt. I don’t think anybody else would have done a better job than her. The same goes for Neeru Bajwa’s role as diplomat, which is also very powerful. These women with limited dialogues show their position in the most graceful possible way.

We realise that the job of a civil servant is not as glamorous as it appears to be. The differences of opinions among civil servants are nothing less than wars, except for the fact that they are first fought in boardrooms. Just like Diplomat, Tehran too is not a typical high-octane action packed thriller where we see John flexing his muscles.

The movie is a slow burn. Some may even find it like a documentary. But it is a must-watch for those who take interest in geopolitics because the storytelling is sharp without any chest-thumping patriotism. After John Abraham’s performance in _Diplomat_ and now Tehran, it is good to see him break away from his usual action hero image and going for such nuanced roles.

Rating: 3 out of 5

WATCH the trailer of Zee5’s Tehran here: