Phantom – The Ghost who disappoints. Review on Phantom

A covert operation to eliminate the masterminds of 26/11.

The public by now is well aware that the screenplay is inspired by Hussain Zaidi’s book ‘Mumbai Avengers’.

However, onscreen, ‘Phantom’ is a product derived by stealing the plot of'D-Day', borrowing the emotional drama from Manoj Kumar’s ‘Kranti’ and shamelessly copying the climax of ‘Titanic’.

Story:  Post 26/11, India’s concerted efforts to punish the culprits fail consistently.  When the attempts through political and international channels do not seem to succeed, a covert operation is envisaged by the Research and Analysis Wing(RAW).

It was a valuable input provided by a RAW Agent(Mohammed Zeeshan Ayub) that if America could kill ‘Osama’ by entering Pakistan, then why India cannot do the same. The mission required someone who is capable of successfully carrying out the task and at the same time his antecedents should not be traced which means he should non-existent – a ‘Phantom’.

After rigorous screening of the prospects, they identify a disgraced Army man – Daniyal Khan(Saif Ali Khan) who was accused of leaving his post during a battle and later court marshalled for his cowardly act.

In order to make his country proud and win back his lost honor, Daniyal accepts the RAW challenge to eliminate the four masterminds of 26/11.  His first assignment is in London where he meets Nawaz Mistry(Katrina Kaif), an undercover RAW civilian in disguise as a Security Consultant for a Company ‘Dark Water’.

His second assignment is to eliminate David Headley who is confined in Chicago jail. The remaining two targets are in Pakistan when the Lashkar learn about Daniyal being behind the killing of their two key members. This is when the RAW abandon Daniyal and their mission.  Determined to fulfil his assignment, he seeks help of Nawaz to enter into Pakistan.

Here they are assisted by their contacts to plan the attack. As it always happens, not all plans are foolproof.  They miss their target and now the police and ISI are closing in on Daniyal, Nawaz and their network.  With grit and determination, Daniyal succeeds in his mission and is now headed back to India.

Cast Performance: The performances of most of the key characters came across below average. Saif did not match up to the character of an Avenger and lacked an impactful dialogue delivery.  Katrina Kaif known for her looks rather than acting skills was disappointing. Her cheeks looked swollen as if injected before a tooth extraction and acted like an amateur.  Mohammed Zeeshan Ayub’s performance also came across mediocre.  Maybe it was the script that the cast was not convinced of that resulted in such a superficial performance.  None of the lead actors seemed to be really involved in their characters.  The negative characters however came across satisfactory.

Direction: The big Brand known for Direction – Kabir Khan did not live up to his caliber.The Direction was below par and inconsistent with his capabilities. Not sure if the plot had to be blamed but the editing was poor and there were many loose ends. The screenplay was weak in several places and unconvincing.  There were many areas he did not do his homework. Daniyal and Nawaz Mistry are shown easily locating a guy they have never seen before in a cricket stadium crowd of 30, 000 sitting at a viewing distance with the only hint that the target cuts the filter of the cigarette before smoking.  After abandoning their mission RAW is abruptly shown assisting Daniyal escape from Pakistan. Having been warned not to call them directly, Daniyal is seen communicating conveniently with RAW.  Furthermore, the screenplay of RAW operations and decision making does not come out strong. Daniyal - Nawaz romance came across shallow. There were some tense moments nicely executed along with the fight scenes and car chase, but overall the direction and cast performance seemed to be half-hearted. The background score was good and he managed the placement of the songs though knowing it would be difficult to fit in the grim storyline.

Irony: The entire world knows where the global terrorist Haaris Saeed(Hafiz Saeed) lives and yet the Americans have put a prize money of USD10 million for his whereabouts and capture.  Indians cannot do what America did because India is not America.

Conclusion: There was an honest attempt to punish the culprits of 26/11 onscreen.  We are aware that such projects are challenging and not all directors are able to do justice to the plot. This was not an alien terrain and Kabir Khan had done it wonderfully in ‘Ek Tha Tiger’. With top-notch cast and resources at his disposal, he should have done better. It is good that ‘Phantom’ is banned in Pakistan thus saving the blushes for the Director.  I just hope the glory that he was crowned with ‘Bajrangi Bhaijaan’ is not lost with this current venture.  ‘Phantom’ is a mixed bag consisting of action, drag, emotions, boredom, insipid romance and thrill.  Do not go with high expectations and you may enjoy it. The movie is good enough for a one time watch and I can assure you – ‘you will never want to watch it all over again’.