Battle won without Bullets!!

Battle won without Bullets: My quick take on the movie “IB 71” (Disney +)

I am always fascinated by war stories, stories of valor and courage of unsung heroes has always inspired me. IB 71 is one such heroic saga from the pages of secret service (RAW) जिसमे हमने दुश्मन के घर घुस कर उसको मामू बनाया 😜. Our agency staged a plane hijack and landed an Indian Airlines plane in Lahore, thereby accusing Pakistan of abetting with hijackers hence treating this as an act of war which eventually led to blocking of air corridor between east and west Pakistan. This proves to be a masterstroke for our war strategist who could get enough time to plan and prepare for liberation of East Pakistan.

It was bit surprising as to why this movie received lukewarm response in theaters, (now it is available on OTT), because as per me it had all the ingredients to become a box office success. It was directed by a guy who has given us big hit like “Gazi attack”, it was shot in Kashmir, mind you Kashmir in winter looks heavenly, movie is without any jingoism, no song and dance rituals, no unnecessary action, even the protagonist Vidyut Jamwaal is not shown in his kick-ass avatar. Even the CGI of creating turboprop plane is admirable. Dilip Tahil’s cameo as Zulfikar Bhutto is impressive. Maybe audience were expecting Vidyut Jamwaal in his usual high voltage vidyut avatar!! Or the makers failed to recreate a nail biting, edge-of-the-seat, palm-sweating tension. I felt that makers should have taken some creative liberties and done some “Howz the josh” or “Yeh Dil mange more” moments to this documentarist narration and given some jingoistic touch.

I loved this heroic saga which was an important milestone in creation of a new country. Salute to so many unsung heroes who won us Battle without firing a bullet.