Khufiya

Khufiya is an intense combination of suspense and complexity. The different layers and complexities of each of the characters is dealt in the finest possible ways. Through Khufiya, Bhradwaj has handled the LGBTQ angle in a very mature way.

The masterclass of how you should actually treat a true-blue espionage subject without meandering around useless things, though it goes by the book it is adapted from & the closure doesn't match the hype it creates to reach there. The brainy build-up begins to bedim the bespokely built belief in the bargain to bullsh*t in the third act.

Tabu's kohled eyes and witty smile do much more than spying, elevating the espionage narrative with her commanding presence and nuanced performance.

It is a bad sign when you like a trailer of a film better than the film itself. Unfortunately, that is the case with Vishal Bhardwaj's latest, the Netflix thriller 'Khufiya.' An espionage story needs to be taut, brimming with so much tension (loud or otherwise), that you can cut it with a knife. Khufiya simply doesn't have that.

Khufiya is about a lot, but it's also not really sure what it's about. When these narratives collide, there are sparks. But the explosion never arrives. The film is always on the brink of breaking out. And it stays on that brink.

Despite solid craft, meaty individual scenes and a few sharp performances, the film converts a long-distance run into a slog. Having flirted with shining a torch on the moral darkness involved in espionage, Khufiya settles for a routine thriller with an unconvincing outcome.

Vishal Bhardwaj once again employs his command over multiple art forms to generate an immersive experience that turns out to be less than the sum of its parts. He beguiles with the mood and melody but fails to sustain the spell till the end.

Khufiya is a world of 'what if's and 'maybe's and that's how it leaves you feeling, even if you end up with a content smile on your face. That is Khufiya's biggest setback – the reluctance to follow through on its most delicious angles. The film seems like it's often standing on a cliff, ready to take the plunge but it never happens.