Film: “Azaan”

Cast: Sachiin Joshi, Candice Boucher, Sarita Choudhary, Aly Khan, Ravi Kissen and Aarya Babbar

Director: Prashant Chadha

As we see rescue operations post a bombing attack being carried out in slow motion, the soundtrack goes almost inert in a show of frozen protest…And you know there and then that “Azaan” has something out-of-the-ordinary to offer to the action genre.

Tackling global terrorism and Islamic isolation as seen through the eyes of a tormented Muslim secret agent, “Azaan” heads towards its flaming phases of flash-points with the least amount of fuss or ostentation. The narrative knows all the sign posts.

The screenplay by Shubra Swaroop is gritty and gripping, ensuring that every episode stays a step ahead of the audiences’ expectations. The characters speak a language that belongs to the world of terrorism and anti-terrorism.

And yet the spoken words in various languages including Hebrew and French do not obtrude or impinge on the harmony that the narrative creates in the discordant disembodies world of serial bombing across the world.

Explosive as the theme is, no one is here to have a blast. The most remarkable aspect of the action in “Azaan” is the lack of flamboyance. The hero (debutant Sachiin Joshi, decent and modest) is a one-man army but no super-hero.

He bleeds, he hurts, he feels the lashes on his soul of a world hell bent on destroying itself. We feel him feeling all of this, partly because the screenplay doesn’t shy away from emotions when required. Men do cry. But not for long. Really, guns don’t go with violins.

There is a touching but distant story about two brothers ideologically separated by extremism in Taliban-torn Afghanistan who come together towards the end in a show of strength where the script emerges the real hero.

Post-interval the clenched tactile plot (no comic relief here) introduces a brief romance between the hero and Caucasian woman, who we are told, practices a very unusual vocation. Afreen (Candice Boucher, eye-catching) is a sand designer (not to be confused with a sound designer who does a fine job on this film).

Afreen’s little daughter could possibly save the world from a deadly viral terrorism. Don’t ask how. The action moves with quiet dexterity from Morocco to Agra. The Taj Mahal is under threat. Luckily the action genre is safe.

The merger of the themes of global terrorism and the personal demons that drive the characters beyond the edge, is achieved with a surprising lack of brouhaha. Though “Azaan” is arguably the best-looking action film shot in India, it neither flaunts its resources nor takes the narrative on a world tour just for the heck of it.