‘Rashtra Kavach Om’ Review: Aditya Roy Kapur As Om Saved The Nation With His Glistening Biceps But Couldn’t Save The Film
I’m not a sucker for action films but I don’t mind them either. And coming from a fauji background, I personally LOVE every film made around the concept of national security or the Armed Forces. That’s probably why I had my eye on the upcoming film Rashtra Kavach Om, previously titled ‘Om: The Battle Within’. Directed by Kapil Verma and produced by Zee Studios and Ahmed Khan, this film stars Aditya Roy Kapur, Sanjana Sanghi, Jackie Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Prakash Raj and Prachee Shah Paandya. Rashtra Kavach Om is set to hit the big screens across the world on July 1 and I couldn’t help but watch the film to save y’all the trouble and review yet another one for you.
The Story
Rashtra Kavach Om follows the story of *drumrolls please* Om, a RAW agent who is no less than a superhero. He’s one of the best soldiers who had led some successful missions of the Indian Army and RAW. But during one of his missions, he’s shot in the head which changes his life forever. Om, played by Aditya Roy Kapur, loses his memory and while he struggles to recall his life, he also goes on a mission to clear his father’s (played by Jackie Shroff) name, who has been tagged as a traitor. The film opens with Om’s badass character pumping bullets into criminals but it is followed by several flashbacks of his life after he loses his memory. Dev Rathod, Om’s father, played by Jackie Shroff, was a scientist who was assigned with the task of creating a shield for the country against missiles but suddenly he goes missing and is never found after which he is tagged as a traitor as the word is that he has disappeared with all his research. With the help of his nurse/doctor/fellow agent Kavya Sharma, played by Sanjana Sanghi, Om goes on to find out more about his life and continues his mission with his teammates from RAW including his adoptive father and team leader Jai Rathod, played by Ashutosh Rana. It is also revealed that Om’s real name is actually Rishi (identity crisis much?). Amid all the action and family drama, Om goes on to find out who the real culprit it but all is not what it seems. TBH, I knew who the culprit is 5 seconds into the film. We all know that Prakash Raj is destined to play the villain but let me add, Jackie Shroff’s sob story does not make him any less of a villain. We know he’s also involved in the crime with free will and it’s extremely obvious.
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Cast And Characters
Aditya Roy Kapur as Om aka Rishi Rathod: We’ve known Aditya Roy Kapur to be this adorbs chocolate boy, lover boy and a drunkard. While we’ve seen him pull off some action scenes in Malang, an action-packed film might just not be his thing. As much as we love his ripped and muscular body, he epically fails to pull off a Sunny Deol/Salmaan Khan whatever you’d like to call it. Aditya Roy Kapur’s character is introduced with a shot of him pumping bullets into people and TBH, that’s what he’s doing till the very end and let me add, he looks rather uncomfortable doing it. And let’s not forget the major identity crisis that his character struggles with throughout the film.NGL, but the only thing watchable in the film is ARK in his full ripped form with a spray tan and oil on his body. His character has no arc and a done-to-death storyline. Aditya did his best but even he couldn’t save the bad writing.
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Sanjana Sanghi as Kavya Sharma: She starts off great with her role as a nurse/doctor/RAW agent/Om’s love interest and she’s even badass in the first 15 mins of the film, making one think that she actually has a meaty role only to discover that Sanjana Sanghi’s character is nothing more than a showpiece. But I couldn’t help but notice how she comes to battle armed with curly hair and ties up only parts of her hair to prep for a battle. Can we be a little more realistic, guys? Having said that, she’s a total misfit in the entire situation. Not only does she look uncomfortable in her character, but she also fails to even smile like she means it. The chemistry she supposedly shares with Om does not reflect. I don’t fancy being harsh but on her part, it was simply bad acting. She brings nothing more than looks to the table. But then again, there’s only so much one can do with bad writing. FYI, her character name isn’t revealed until like an hour into the film.
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Jackie Shroff as Dev Rathod, Om’s Father: As much as I love Jackie Shroff, he seemed very out of his element in this film. His attempt to convince his son that he’s not the traitor is full of bad acting but imagine failing to act bad acting. Yepp, that’s what happened here. And we know Jackie Shroff to be a good actor which is what makes it worse.
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Ashutosh Rana as Jai Rathod, Dev’s Brother and Om’s Adoptive Father: I wish his character hadn’t died in the film because he was the only character who was watchable but what can I really say about horribly cliché dialogues.
Prachee Shah Paandya as Jai’s Wife and Om’s Mother: Prachee Shah Paandya was yet another female actor being used as a showpiece in a testosterone-packed film. TBH, her dialogues reminded me of Mother India.
Prakash Raj As Unnamed Character: The villain that remains unnamed is not a bad actor but a proof that even the best actors cannot save a film from bad writing. Also, I cannot get this one scene out of my mind where Prakash Raj’s character tries to flag down a helicopter!
The rest of the cast was also as good as they come but they were tarnished with the bad writing.
Music
I will take a moment to point out that it’s a film, guys, not a video game. It does not need the constant shrill background music. Having said that, the end credits song was fine but the random item number in the middle with the shots of cleavage was unnecessary and uncalled for. It was a failed attempt to add glamour to the film. The only thing it did was make it look sleazy and cheap. There’s objectification of women and then there’s this! Close-up shots of cleavage and belly, thanks but no thanks.
Verdict
I’m just going to start with the battleground dialogue – ‘Jai Bhavani’ and give Rashtra Kavach Om 1 star out of 5 and this star is only for Aditya Roy Kapur’s effort in getting that ripped hot bod which was TBH, the only thing watchable in the film. Plus we had a chocolate boy covered in spray tan and oil trying to pull off an action hero look. Apart from ARK’s character Om/Rishi, this film also had severe identity issues with half-baked subplots and underdeveloped, shabbily written characters. The film literally opens with a video-game-like action sequence, with an annoying background score that made my ears bleed throughout the film, while objectifying Adity Roy Kapur’s body. Now, that’s extremely problematic. Not only does this film objectify the hero, but it’s also all about ARK’s ripped body and if the tables were turned, we wouldn’t like a woman being objectified.
Rashtra Kavach Om was not only action-packed but also testosterone-packed and the lack of female representation in the sausage fest was rather upsetting. Despite Sanjana Sanghi being on the cast, the film failed to give her enough importance or a meaty role. I mean, her character’s name was revealed nearly an hour into the film. Sanjana’s character’s trajectory is also just as confusing. She starts off as a nurse and is then shown as a doctor, a RAW agent and also as Om’s love interest, who he takes NO interest in. Moreover, the chemistry between Sanjana Sanghi’s Kavya and Aditya Roy Kapur’s Om was so dull that it made me cringe. But the real question is why even add a love interest angle if you’re not even going to work on it?
I cannot stress the fact that the writing was more than just bad. Apart from the failed plot, bad storyline, lack of suspense or thrill and a pathetic screenplay, the dialogues were also cringe-worthy and cliché. From all the “maa ka dil” and “maa ka pyaar” to stating the obvious, the dialogues were just pointless. Moreover, the multiple flashbacks in no particular order made it much more difficult to digest. Having said that, I must add that it seems like something about the writing managed to push the ensemble cast out of their element. Plus the writers seem to have taken too much creative liberty. I mean we have Prakash Raj flagging down a HELICOPTER, taxi thodi hai yaar. And we have Aditya Roy Kapur pulling down a helicopter with a chain, Avengers hai kya? Oh and let’s not forget the part where Sanjana Sanghi’s character gets shot in the chest and 5 seconds later she’s up and about fighting and doing whatnot. FYI, she wasn’t wearing a bullet-proof jacket.
Also Read: ‘Forensic’ Review: Convincing Characters, Unpredictable Plot-Twist And Logical Explanations Make This One A Mindful Murder-Thriller
Speaking of the cinematography, I don’t think they could’ve done a worse job. From the excessive spray tan on Aditya Roy Kapur’s body to all those zoom-ins into his abs and muscular body and the cleavage shots in a rather unnecessary item number made a bad film worse. The repetitive background score, disjointed screenplay and narrative, poorly directed action sequences that were written with too much creative liberty (the writer forgot all about the human body, logic, gravity, etc), made the film too difficult to digest. I mean, 15 mins into the film, Aditya Roy Kapur gets shot in the HEAD and manages to survive but loses his memory, can we also lose our memory of this film now? And that’s not all, the film legit defies all logic. Prakash Raj being an experienced RAW agent seems to forget that he has a GUN in his hand when Om starts walking toward him. And for the life of me, I cannot seem to forget the scene where Prakash Raj points out that Om did not react much to him capturing his teammate and then adds that he wants a stronger reaction and then he goes on to show him that he has captured Kavya as well and then, my friends, Om reacts by screaming on top of his lungs. Well….if that wasn’t bad enough, did you know Aditya Roy Kapur’s Om fights off an armed man by banging his torso into him? NGL but the memory of this film is giving me headaches the way the Om’s memories gave him headaches but I wouldn’t mind watching the film again but only for ARK’s ripped bod.
