Ulajh Movie Review | Filmfare.com (2024)

Suhana Bhatia (Janhvi Kapoor) is a young, ambitious, high ranking officer at the Indian embassy situated in London. Her posting there has been a bit controversial as it's hinted it was done at the behest of her father Dhanraj Bhatia (Adil Hussain). Sebin Josephkutty (Roshan Mathew), a RAW agent embedded inside the embassy, is irked by it the most and doesn't take kindly to her appointment. She meets a mysterious stranger Nakul (Gulshan Devaiah), and promptly falls in lust with him. But Nakul is not who he seems. She finds herself caught in a web of lies and deceit where those close to her might be perpetrators to a larger conspiracy targeting India. How she gets out of the dastardly situation and fouls the plan of the villains forms the crux of the film.

The makers of the film have made a smart choice in casting Janhvi Kapoor as the protagonist. She's someone who has been tackling the tag of nepo-kid all her life. So to play a character accused of being the same would seem like second skin for her. She's also a woman successfully navigating a man's world. In one of her interviews, she mentioned that despite her background and legacy, she still sometimes lacks the confidence of putting across her point of view as she doesn't want to hurt anyone's ego. That's precisely what her character constantly also grows through. Despite being the smartest person in the room, she's made to feel small and incompetent by the males around her. So the casting was bang on.

In a world inundated with smartphones, and smart devices, there's very little privacy left for anybody. The fear of their intimate moments being made public is a real threat for celebrities. Let alone celebs, we often hear of girls from common households being blackmailed through the use of sex videos. The hookup culture may have its virtues but your partner can also turn out to be a wolf in sheep's clothing. In such circ*mstances, sometimes a person has nowhere to go and even has suicidal thoughts. It's hard to get out of such traps as they are set inside your mind and get strengthened with every negative thought. These very real life issues as well as the casual sexist behaviour and patriarchy faced by women at the workplace, are brought out in a way we can all relate to in the film. The good thing is that Janhvi isn’t painted as a victim but a survivor. She learns to rise above her fears and face life head on. Like a wounded tigress, she fights for lost pride and dignity and finally gets her life back on track. This struggle for survival later takes a tinge of patriotism as well, making the cause more noble in the process. National security takes precedence over personal gains and the heroine is shown fighting tooth and nail for her nation.

The first half of the film flows smoothly. The duplicity of Gulshan Devaiah’s character gets to you. You instantly root for Janhvi’s character and want her to get out of the mess as soon as possible. The emotional turmoil which she endures seems both real and scary. The film goes into a different zone then, making a shift from her personal issues to espionage. This transition could have been navigated better. The explosive climax makes up for the earlier hiccups. The ending leaves room for a sequel. Basically, one can view this film as the origin story for Janhvi’s character Suhana, who is all set to be a super spy in the next instalment. There’s also Jitendra Joshi, who plays a somewhat bumbling agent called Kamat and Ally Khan, who plays Suhana’s dapper boss.

Gulshan Devaiah looks good as a smooth-faced villain. He’s totally amoral and his arguments sound compelling. Thankfully, he isn’t shown as a radical terrorist but a mercenary. Rajesh Tailang, who plays the chauffeur, Adil Hussain and Rajendra Gupta, who is the corrupt minister, all do their bit, as does Meiyang Chang in his role of a loyal agent. Roshan Mathew hasn’t much to do initially but comes into his own later as a die-hard RAW agent willing to go any distance for his county. Janhvi starts off as the picture of poise and grace initially. Watching her go through her day as an embassy official or as a free-spirited girl having the time of her life after hours in London is easy on the eye. And as said earlier, you root for her when her world crumbles. Her transformation from a broken-down woman who climbs back to sanity and redemption is the film in a nutshell. A more nuanced writing would have served her better. She has given her all to the film and her sincere effort is to be lauded.