Mission Kashmir (2000)

The one thing that captured my attention was the amazing cinematography, especially in the river scene where the Arabic words(signifies Islam), face of Jesus, and the submerged LOTUS. That scene was really well done, almost the whole movie was full of such metaphors, its an Indian movie and to make the movie a commercial hit in India, the directors have to chip in all the 'masala' stuff in the movies but this one was done brilliantly. The climax was shot on Dal lake and it is simply stunning, one of the best cinematography I have seen in world cinema, it often happen that we don't give much credit to movies made outside Hollywood in this regard but by watching movies like this one realizes how wrong is that. Mission Kashmir is a brilliant movie on terrorism & its influence on lives.

Vidhu Vinod Chopra's films are always extremely well made in terms of both writing and technique. They're often much more realistic, mature, and the stories are often issue-based and serious. Mission Kashmir is no exception in this regard. It's an impressive and enjoyable movie set in the valley of Kashmir and once again dealing with the ceaseless conflicts between India and Pakistan. The story follows a young boy named Altaaf who is adopted by Inayat Khan, a police officer who unintentionally killed his entire family while trying to eliminate terrorists right after the death of his son. Altaaf lives with Inayat and his wife Neelima for a couple of years, gradually starting to consider them his parents and forgetting the tragic accident. But one day he finds out the truth and runs away. Finding refuge in a terrorist group led by Hilal Kohistani, Altaaf grows up to be a deeply tormented and angry young man who decisively wants to kill the man who killed his family and whom he himself considered to be his own father.Mission Kashmir shows how crucially tragic events happening at times of a war affect the lives of children and their perception of life, all through the character of Altaaf. His life is miserable and not one single day goes by without the terrible images of his parents' death popping up in his mind and torturing him to no end. As a result he seeks revenge at any cost, believing this will relieve his pain. This message was conveyed very efficiently and the moral of the story is truly laudable. Technically, the movie is marvelously slick. The cinematography is stupendous, the editing is fantastic, the background score perfectly suits the film's atmosphere and dark mood. The music, composed by Shankar Ehsaan-Loy, is generally good, though some of the songs are less necessary. In fact, numbers like "Bumbro" and "Maaf Karo" were too joyful for an intensely dramatic feature like this. The film is very well written - with brilliant dialogues that some of may be a bit sentimental at points but are overall effective enough for the film. On the flip side, I think the terrorism thing could have been a little toned down. I could not understand why Altaaf had to find solace in being a part of a terrorist group. At times I also felt his character was a bit over the top. I'm referring to his overly strong will to take revenge. The relationship portrayed between Altaaf and Sufiya Parvez, his childhood friend and current love interest, was a little under-developed. I mean, they met after 10 long years and instantly became a pair. Well, the movie still could rise above these flaws with its technical brilliance and interesting story, and above all, many great scenes. I think the action scenes were refreshingly good in this movie, and the climax was very good. One of the film's best scenes is the one in which Altaaf tells his girlfriend that he can see nothing but blood and scary scenes of murder and she offers him to try and look at the world through her eyes. There starts a nice peaceful song, "Chupke Se Sun".The acting is roundly excellent, and the one who leads the cast is undoubtedly Sanjay Dutt. He is excellent in his role and delivers one of his finest performances - natural, heartfelt and great. Hrithik Roshan is wonderful in some scenes and over-expressive in others, but overall is well cast in the role of a tormented young man, which he plays with sincerity and style. Preity Zinta shines as the young TV reporter and Altaaf's love interest. The chemistry between Roshan and Zinta is very good. Sonali Kulkarni is outstanding as Neelima Khan. She is compelling and moving and plays her character's suffering and pain with depth. The character of Jackie Shroff looked really like a caricature villain to me at some points. To sum it up, Mission Kashmir is one entertaining and well made film which, in spite of its flaws here and there, manages to move and impress. Vidhu Vinod Chopra's direction is very good, and so is the film's message. It's definitely worth watching and for more than one reason.

Minor SpoilersIn Kashmir, Inayat Khan (Sanjay Dutt) is the supervisor of the police, married with the Hindu Neelima (Sonali Kulkarni) and having the beloved son Irfaan (Master Yogin Soni). After a mission against terrorists, Khan is hurt and a doctor, friend of his family, heals him, although the prohibition (called 'fatwah') by the terrorist Malik-ul-Khan (Puru Rajkumar), who fights for the independence of Kashmir. The doctor and his family are executed by Malik-ul-Khan, as an example to be followed by the other doctors. Some days later, Irfaan suffers an accident, and no doctor treats him, afraid of the 'fatwah' and the boy dies. Later, Khan gets an information where Malik-ul-Khan would be, and he goes to the place with his men wearing ninja mask. The terrorists are lodged in a house of a local family, and Khan and his men, blinded with the feeling of revenge, shoot in everybody in the house, including the father, the mother and the six years old sister of the young boy Altaaf (Master Mohsin). The boy becomes speechless and Neelima convinces Khan to adopt him. One night, the boy accidentally finds the truth and goes away from Neelima and Khan. Ten years later, Altaaf (Hrithik Roshan) becomes a terrorist, raised by the Afghan killer Hilal Kohistani (Jackie Shroff), and comes back with an assignment against Kashmir and a personal vendetta against his former father and presently Inspector Khan. This unknown movie is one of the best action movies I have ever seen. The direction and the performance of the cast are outstanding. The soundtrack is something wonderful. The dances, with colored costumes and magnificent choreography, are marvelous. The special effects are also great. The screenplay is excellent, having a complex and dramatic story, and in order to help other users to understand the plot of 'Mission Kashmir', let me provide some additional clarifications based on the Heritage Illustrated Dictionary. India is a sub-continent situated in southern Asia and comprising the Republic of India, Nepal, Bhutan, Sikkim, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. Officially, India is called Republic of India. Kashmir, also called Jammu and Kashmir, is a territory occupying 86,024 square miles north of the Republic of India and between Pakistan and China; claimed as a state by India and partially occupied by Pakistan in a dispute dating from 1947. Therefore, the dispute in the movie is ancient. Although having a production of films greater than in Hollywood, movies from Indian 'Bollywood' are not common in Brazil. However, the sample that I have seen shows a high-quality industry with excellent movies. I agree with the comment of another user, who wrote that if 'Mission Kashmir' were an American movie, would be indicated (and even awarded) in many categories of Oscar. The unique negative remark is the end of the story, which is corny for my standards. But I do not know much about their culture and religion, and therefore the last scene might be acceptable for their beliefs. My vote is nine.Title (Brazil): 'Missão Kashmir' ('Mission Kashmir')Note: I received the following remark from an IMDb User on 14 Sep 2006:"Well India is not a sub-continent but a country recognised by U.N. since its independence from British colonial rule in 1947 . Pakistan , Nepal , Bhutan , Bangladesh are other U.N.-recognised countries , separated from the main country of India . Sikkim is a state in India."

It looked like a musical mission impossible 2. Acting was awful and the story looked like it was writen by Barbara Cartland. Fighting scenes were absolutely junk and were always intrerrupted by singing. I've seen a lot of bad movies but this one is defintely in the top ten.