New Delhi:
John Abraham is back to his tough cop avatar to ignite the right amount of patriotism in you on the 73rd Indpenedence day with the release of Batla House. Helmed by Nikkhil Advani, the movie is based on the Batla House encounter which took place in 2008.
John plays the controversial role of ACP Sanjeev Kumar Yadav in the film. Batla House also features actors like Mrunal Thakur, Ravi Kishan and Rajesh Sharma in pivotal parts.
The Delhi High court on Tuesday gave green signal to the release of movie ‘Batla House’ on August 15 after the film makers agreed to certain modifications.
Justice Vibhu Bakhru passed the consent order and said the film makers are bound by their statement and disposed of the petition.
The film makers agreed to put certain disclaimers and delete some scenes in the movie which were objectionable to the petitioners—Ariz Khan, who is facing trial in the Batla House encounter case, and Shahzad Ahmed, who was sentenced to life imprisonment by a trial court and his appeal is pending in the high court.
The petition had claimed that the film, slated to be released on Independence Day, shows a link between the bomb blasts and the encounter and would therefore, prejudicially affect the trial in both cases.
Here are all the highlights:
12.49 PM: Despite some of the flaws and a complicated ending, 'Batla House' makes for a gripping, intense watch.
12.30 PM: Ravi Kishan as Inspector Kishan Kumar Verma is well cast though Rajesh Sharma as the defence lawyer, comes across as over dramatic.
11.50AM: Nora Fatehi does more than delivering an item song but has a full-fledged role of a girl who comes from a small town and whose existence is important in driving the story ahead. Nora plays the love interest of one of man suspects, Dilshad who could be key to solving the whole case.
11. 29 AM: It is worth nothing that director Nikhil Advani does not shy away from showing what really went inside the cocoon of the police force such as the teams's hurrying up to sweep the whole mashup under the carpet by honouring the ACP with a bravery medal.
11.20 AM: The secound half starts with a hot shot lawyer shailesh ready to debunk the truth behind the questionable encounters.
10.57 AM: Be it Satyamev Jayate, Paramanu or RAW, John Abraham has a distinct brand of patriotism—he wouldn’t take sides just like that. Batla House follows a similar trajectory.
10.53 AM: Batla House after its first house raise many questions and is an eye-opener. Mrunal Thakur as Nandita Yadav has not much to do in the first half but her chemistry with John is far from being convincing.
10.00 AM: Suspicions were raised about the police version of events. Was the encounter staged? Was the crime scene dressed up? Sanjeev Kumar Yadav is questioned as he was asked to investigate and hold the alleged criminals captive and not launch an attack!
9.52 AM: Mrunal Thakur makes an impressive entry as journalist Nandita Yadav who is also wife to ACP Sanjeev Yadav. Soon she is informed about the encounters and has to take lead in reporting the incidents that took place in Jamia Nagar. Her personal and professional conflict is visisble as the incident gets sensationalised.
9.45 AM: The movie starts with newspaper clipings of the bombing incidents that shook the national capital a decade back and then takes us inside the life of Sanjeev Kumar Uadav and his wife who are at the verge of breaking down.
9.22 AM: Batla House encounter is perhaps one of the most controversial chapters of the Delhi Police as several questions were raised on the arrests and killings, including that of martyred encounter specialist and Delhi Police inspector Mohan Chand Sharma. The operation was spearheaded by then ACP and now DCP Sanjeev Kumar Yadav. Will the John Abraham film do justice in depicting such a debatable incident? Check this space to know!
9.15 AM: Batla House starts with a vivid disclaimer that it is an unbiased film and the movie has taken creative liberities to depict incident inspired from a true event.
8.50 AM: Box Office India reports, Batla House off for an impressive stars with advance bookings collection of 6 crore.
8.45 AM: Vikash Radheswam of News Nation says, "John Abraham as Sanjeev Kumar Yadav can be called as one of his best performance till date as he portrayed the officer’s helplessness and bravery against the system with ease and perfection ivoking the rioght amount of empathy and anger. Mrunal as Nandita and Ravi Kishan as KK will leave good impact on the audience with their roles."
Read full review here:
Written by Ritesh Shah (who has also penned movies like Pink and Arjun Patiala), Batla House has been jointly produced by Bhushan Kumar, Divya Khosla Kumar, Krishan Kumar and John Abraham.
Film trade analyst Girish Johar is expecting that the fillm will make Rs 13-15 crore collection on the day of its release and the total collection for Independence Day weekend might be around Rs 35-40 crore.
