Ghazi (film) explained

Ghazi / The Ghazi Attack
Director:Sankalp Reddy
Producer:Anvesh Reddy
Dil Raju
Prasad V Potluri
NM Pasha
Jagan Mohan Vancha
Screenplay:Sankalp Reddy
Gangaraju Gunnam
Niranjan Reddy
Starring:Rana Daggubati
Atul Kulkarni
Kay Kay Menon
Taapsee Pannu
Rahul Singh
Satya Dev
Music:Krishna Kumar
Tapas Nayak
Cinematography:R. Madhi
Editing:A. Sreekar Prasad
Studio:PVP Cinema
Matinee Entertainment
Runtime:123 minutes
Country:India
Language:Telugu
Hindi
Budget:15 crore[1]
Gross: 62 crore [2]

Ghazi is a 2017 Indian war film written and directed by Sankalp Reddy. The film is produced in the Telugu film industry, and is shot simultaneously in Telugu and Hindi languages, with the latter titled as The Ghazi Attack.[3] The film stars Kay Kay Menon, Atul Kulkarni, Rana Daggubati, Taapsee Pannu and Satya Dev.[4] The film grossed over on a budget of .[5]

Ghazi is inspired by the fictional events from the mysterious sinking of during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.[6] The story is about a submarine of the Indian Navy, an executive naval officer and his team, who remained underwater for 18 days.[7] It is about the valour of the crew aboard the Indian submarine INS Karanj (S21), which according to Indian claims destroyed the Pakistani PNS Ghazi submarine when it ventured into Indian waters to destroy on the shores of Visakhapatnam.[8] [9] [10]

The film was released theatrically on 17 February 2017 to widespread critical acclaim and did decent business.[11] It was declared "Hit" by Box Office India.[12] The film later won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Telugu.[13] It was also nominated for Best Film and Best Director at 65th Filmfare Awards South.

Plot

In November 1971, India and Pakistan are on the verge of declaring war on each other, as a result of the refugee crisis precipitated by the Pakistan Army under Operation Searchlight. The Indian Navy and RAW decipher a secret code sent from Pakistan to East Pakistan (modern-day Bangladesh), relating to a possible attack on an Indian naval vessel. The Navy deduces that the target may be, India's sole aircraft carrier. The top command dispatches the submarine S21, under the command of Captain Ranvijay Singh for recce missions. To temper Singh's belligerent tendencies, the Indian Navy Admiral assigns Lt. Cmdr Arjun Varma to S21, with orders to ensure that Singh does not confront any Pakistani warships and trigger a war.

The Navy's top command soon learns that the Pakistan Navy has dispatched PNS Ghazi, under Cmdr. Razak Khan, to the Bay of Bengal to confront Vikrant. Meanwhile, to divert the attention of the enemy, Ghazi torpedoes an Indian merchant ship. The attack is picked by S21, which races to the scene. Noticing survivors in the wreckage, Arjun jumps into the sea and manages to rescue a girl child and a woman, both of whom are Bengali refugees. During surveillance, S21 acquires a sonar signal of Ghazi.

Singh believes that they should track down Ghazi and attack, while Arjun obstructs, reiterating his instructions. Singh then orders the ship's EXO, Lt. Commander Santosh Devraj to conduct a drill and target Ghazi while doing so, despite Arjun's protests. They fire a torpedo, which misses Ghazi narrowly, thus alerting them of their presence. Aware of the enemy's presence, Razak orders his crew to head towards Visakhapatnam Port at full speed and to set up mines en route, planning to destroy S21.

S21 pursues Ghazi's path, but they realize at the last moment that it is headed into mines. Singh and Arjun frantically attempt to change its course but a mine explodes in the stern and damages most of the sub's batteries, propellers and circuits. The sub blows open many leaks, with the forward torpedo compartment flooded, crippling the sub and barring it from firing its forward torpedoes. Singh dies while trying to save Arjun, as S21 sinks to the sea-bed.

Arjun, now in command of the sub, regroups and work towards reviving S21. They manage to clog the sub's leaks and pumps the excess water out, before holding a final farewell for Singh. The crew notice that the vessel is incapable of moving in any direction, except upwards or downwards. Since they are unable to chase Ghazi, the crew artificially trigger one of the naval mines in its vicinity to lure Ghazi to their position. Razak, believing S21 is still operational, orders his crew to turn around to sink S21.Arjun and Devraj plan to lure Ghazi within its range of firing, but a suspicious Razak orders Ghazi's course to be changed at the last minute.

Ghazi, now having the ability to attack S21, fires six torpedoes, all of which are avoided by S21 through depth changing maneuvers, much to Razak's frustration. S21 dives to 350 m, in order to slip from Ghazi's sonar range despite being designed for a maximum of 250 m depth. With very limited battery support, Arjun instigates Ghazi into attacking by transmitting his crew singing 'Saare Jahaan se Achchha' and the Indian National Anthem. Riled up by S21's defiance, Razak orders another torpedo attack on S21, for which Ghazi will have to turn by port 180 degrees. Arjun dives into the flooded forward compartment to manually trigger the torpedoes, successfully managing to do so. Ghazi also launches its torpedo at the same time. The torpedo launched by Ghazi misses S21 narrowly, but it is hit by S21's torpedo and disintegrates in the water, killing the entire crew. S21 surfaces and the crew manages to save Arjun from the flooded compartment in the nick of time. S21 is later saved by a patrolling Indian Navy vessel.

The ending titles narrate the mysterious circumstances of Ghazi's fate, with its sinking credited to the actions of INS Rajput. It also mentions that in the aftermath of Ghazi's sinking, India and Pakistan had declared war on each other, which would ultimately result in India's victory, Pakistan's surrender and the creation of Bangladesh.

Cast

Production

Development

PVP Cinema has produced the film.[14] [15] Karan Johar distributed the Hindi version.[16] The music is composed by K.[17] Visual Effects handled by Eva Motion Studios.

Casting and crew

The film stars Rana Daggubati[18] [19] and Taapsee Pannu[20] [21] in the lead along with Kay Kay Menon,[22] Satyadev Kancharana,[23] Atul Kulkarni, Ramanuj Dubey, Kunal Kaushik, Priyadarshi Pulikonda, Rahul Singh, Akshay Mittal, Malyaban Lahiri and Naren Yadav.[24] Cinematography is done by Madhi, music composed by K, Visual Effects Supervisor Vasudeva R Enugala and editing by Sreeker Prasad.[25] [26]

Filming

The film shooting started on 3 January 2016.[27] [28]

Historical accuracy

It is not so sure to say that "Indian Navy sunk the PNS Ghazi on 3 December 1971 at the Vishakhapatnam harbour when then Captain Inder Singh of INS Rajput ordered the attack upon it". Because Indian Navy official Vice Admiral Gulab Mohanlal Hiranandani said in his book (Transition to Triumph: history of the indian navy, 1965-1975) "the truth about ghazi is unknown to many" and Pakistan Navy and neutral analysts believes the Ghazi might have sunk due to it mistakenly entering its own minefield and collided with one of the mines, which resulted in the violent underwater explosion.[29] [30] [31] Historically sinking of german submarine U-864 remains the only incident in the history of naval warfare where one submarine sank another while both were submerged.

Box office

Ghazi grossed a total of overall, including, with a share of ₹24.45 in India and ₹6.7 crore overseas.[32]

Critical reception

Renuka Vyavahare of The Times of India gave the film a rating of 3 out of 5 and said that, "While the visuals and special effects lack finesse, the film compensates for it with its riveting story. Despite the hitches, this underwater thriller is worth a watch."[33] Shalini Langer of The Indian Express gave the film a rating of 1.5 out of 5 saying that the film "could have been an engrossing crisis-at-sea drama but the film is so busy slaying Pakistanis that it loses sight of its core strengths."[34] Prasanna D Zore of Rediff said that, "The Ghazi Attack is a riveting telling of a war story" and gave the film a rating of 4 out of 5.[35] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV gave the film a rating of 2.5 out of 5 saying that, "The Ghazi Attack delivers many a riveting moment and is bolstered by the talent of a few capable actors. Its plot, however, is devoid of any mystery."[36] Bollywood Hungama gave the film a rating of 3.5 out of 5 saying that the movie "is a gripping war drama that leaves a stunning impact."[37] Divya Pal of News18 criticized the screenplay and direction of the film and gave the film a rating of 1.5 out of 5 saying that, "All in all, "The Ghazi Attack" is utterly disappointing."[38] Authors at "The Reading Hook" featured this film in their list of best Bollywood War Movies ever made and was positively accepted by their readers."[39]

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryNomineeResultRef
3 May 201865th National Film AwardsBest Feature Film in TeluguGhazi[40]
16 June 201865th Filmfare Awards SouthBest Film – TeluguPVP Cinema
Matinee Entertainment
[41]
Best Director – TeluguSankalp Reddy
26 August 201816th Santosham Film AwardsSankalp Reddy
14–15 September 20187th South Indian International Movie AwardsBest Film (Telugu)PVP Cinema
Matinee Entertainment
[42] [43]
Best Director (Telugu)Sankalp Reddy
Best Debut Director – Telugu
Best Supporting Actor (Telugu)Kay Kay Menon
Entertainer of the YearRana Daggubati

See also

Notes and References

  1. Rana Daggubati and Akreta Saim. ScoopWhoop Townhall ft. Rana Daggubati Ep. 8. 14 June 2019. Schoopwhoop Unscripted.
  2. Web site: Ghazi Final Total WW Collections. andhraboxoffice . 19 June 2024.
  3. Web site: The Ghazi Attack: Why did India destroy records of one of its greatest naval victories – InUth. 13 January 2017.
  4. Web site: 19 January 2016. Taapsee Pannu taking History lessons for 'Ghazi'.
  5. Rana Daggubati and Akreta Saim. ScoopWhoop Townhall ft. Rana Daggubati Ep. 8. 14 June 2019. Schoopwhoop Unscripted.
  6. Web site: The Ghazi Attack: An Indo-Pak War So Deep Underwater That It Never Surfaced In History. ScoopWhoop. 11 January 2017.
  7. Web site: The truth behind the Navy's 'sinking' of Ghazi . https://web.archive.org/web/20150426095655/http://www.sify.com/news/the-truth-behind-the-navy-s-sinking-of-ghazi-news-columns-kfztj3bhjehsi.html . dead . 26 April 2015 . 26 May 2010 . . 2019-08-29.
  8. News: Visakhapatnam: Sunk Pakistani submarine Ghazi is an enigma. Deccan Chronicle.
  9. News: From a small outpost to a major command. Sumit Bhattacharjee. The Hindu. 24 January 2016 .
  10. Web site: Visakhapatnam: Sunk Pakistani submarine Ghazi is an enigma . S.N.V. SUDHIR . 24 November 2015.
  11. Web site: Hooli. Shekhar H.. 2017-02-17. Ghazi movie review roundup: Rana Daggubati's film gets good verdict, ratings from Telugu critics. 2021-01-02. IB Times. en.
  12. Web site: The Ghazi Attack . BoxOfficeIndia . 21 July 2017.
  13. Web site: 65th National Film Awards LIVE: Sridevi Posthumously Awarded Best Actress; Vinod Khanna Honoured With Dada Saheb Phalke Award . 13 April 2018 . News 18date=13 April 2018. 13 April 2018.
  14. News: Rana to act in India's first submarine film. The Times of India. Pranita. Jonnalagedda. 15 January 2017. 1 July 2021.
  15. News: Taapsee to play refugee in Ghazi opposite Rana Daggubati. Deccan Chronicle.
  16. Web site: Karan Johar to distribute Ghazi.
  17. Web site: Interview with K – "Aandavan Kattalai is an exciting prospect for me". 18 May 2016. Only Kollywood.
  18. News: From 'Baahubali' to 'Ghazi', Rana Daggubati has come a long way. Times of India.
  19. Web site: 7 January 2016. Rana Daggubati begins shooting for 'Ghazi'. The Indian Express.
  20. Web site: I play a Bangladeshi refugee in Ghazi, says Taapsee Pannu . 2 February 2016.
  21. Web site: 18 January 2016. Taapsee Pannu intrigued by 'Ghazi'. The Indian Express.
  22. Web site: Kay Kay Menon enters T'wood with Ghazi . 19 Jan 2016.
  23. Web site: Ghazi turns Satyadev into a sonar operator . 6 February 2016.
  24. News: What lies beneath? . Y. Sunita Chowdhary . . 8 December 2015 .
  25. News: Ghazi – Story of unwritten heroes of our country. 2017-02-11. Top 10 Cinema. en-US.
  26. News: The Ghazi Attack on Bhaskar.com . . 17 January 2017 . 13 July 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180713074001/http://epaper.bhaskar.com/detail/117850/1163912875/bihar/map/tabs-1/01-16-2017/456/1/image/ . dead .
  27. News: Rana Daggubati's diving expeditions for 1971 war drama, 'Ghazi' . The Times of India . 27 January 2017 . 2019-08-29.
  28. Web site: Rana shoots for Ghazi, based on sinking of Pak submarine in 1971. Hindustan Times. 7 January 2016 .
  29. Web site: The Ghazi Attack: A few facts that you should know about one of India's greatest naval victories. Parismita. Goswami. . 16 February 2017 .
  30. Web site: Datta . Saikat . 2017-01-27 . What happened to the Pakistani submarine that inspired the movie ‘The Ghazi Attack’? . 2024-03-02 . Scroll.in . en-US.
  31. Web site: 2012-05-27 . Warriors of the waves . 2024-03-02 . The Express Tribune . en.
  32. Web site: Ghazi Final Total WW Collections AndhraBoxOffice.com . 2024-06-19 . andhraboxoffice.com.
  33. News: The Ghazi Attack Movie Review . The Times of India.
  34. News: The Ghazi Attack movie review: India's first underwater film drowns under its weight . . 2019-08-29.
  35. Web site: Review: The Ghazi Attack: A Must Watch Film . . 2019-08-29.
  36. Web site: The Ghazi Attack Movie Review: Rana Daggubati's Film Is Devoid Of Mystery . . 15 May 2018 . 16 May 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20180516015029/http://movies.ndtv.com/movie-reviews/the-ghazi-attack-movie-review-rana-daggubatis-film-misses-the-mark-like-the-torpedoes-that-are-fired-3013 . dead .
  37. News: Movie Review: The Ghazi Attack . Bollywood Hungama.
  38. Web site: The Ghazi Attack Movie Review: Poor Script, Flawed Direction Dilutes The Impact . . 17 February 2017 . 2019-08-29.
  39. Web site: Best Indian War Movies Ever Made . . 2019-08-29.
  40. Web site: National Awards 2018: Ghazi gets best movie, Baahubali 2 wins 3 honors. International Business Times. 2018-04-13. 2019-12-21.
  41. Web site: Nominations for the 65th Jio Filmfare Awards (South) 2018. Filmfare. 4 June 2018. 21 December 2019.
  42. Web site: SIIMA Awards 2018 - Telugu, Kannada nomination list out: Date, place of 7th edition revealed. International Business Times. 2018-08-05. 2019-12-21.
  43. Web site: SIIMA Awards 2018 Telugu Kannada winners list live updates: Baahubali 2 and Rajakumara turn best movies [Photos]]. International Business Times. 2018-09-16. 2019-12-21.