Romeo Akbar Walter review: John Abraham’s taut and edgy spy-thriller will keep you hooked

Bollywood has seen an upswing in spy thrillers in the past few years. And we have seen that narratives of many of these espionage dramas either succumb to the overtly heroic machoism of our stars muscling their way to safeguard the country, or falling prey to extreme jingoism. John Abraham’s Romeo Akbar Walter may not be the best spy film to be churned out in the genre, but it’s definitely not guilty of these two charges that Bollywood spy movies often face. The film’s narrative is smartly dealt with and superbly supported by the strong performances of the cast. But is the Robbie Grewal-directed Romeo Akbar Walter worth your money? Read on to find out

What Romeo Akbar Walter is all about: The film is set in 1971 with East Pakistan’s fight for liberation looming large in the backdrop and India’s war against Pakistan that ultimately resulted in the creation of Bangladesh. Romeo Akbar Walter is the story of one of the many faceless spies who have played a major role in helping India secure victory against Pakistan. Rehmatullah Ali aka Romeo (John Abraham) is a bank-cashier by profession, but a theatre actor by passion and a master of disguise. He is trained and recruited by India’s foreign intelligence agency RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) chief Shrikant Rai (Jackie Shroff) to be sent on a special undercover mission to Pakistan as Akbar Malik. He soon wins the trust of the biggest arms dealer Isaq Afridi (Anil George) who has close ties with the Pakistan Army General Zorawar (Purnendu Bhattacharya). John infiltrates the higher ranks in spite of being relentlessly chased by an ISI officer Colonel Khudabaqsh Khan (Sikander Kher). But what happens when he is finally caught and threatens to go rogue is what the story revolves around, leading right up to the 1971 Indo-Pak war.

Yay: John Abraham trades off his machoism and star power to showcase his acting chops in this one. Restrained and nuanced, John delivers a convincing and a strong performance in a complex role. As an actor he aces in both roles – a spy on a mission, as well as a son yearning and worried about his mother, Waheeda (Alka Amin) back home in India. The mother-son emotional scenes between John and Alka Amin are predictable, yet endearing. Providing an able opponent worthy of a tagdi takkar is Sikander Kher, as the hot-in-pursuit Pakistani officer. The actor is a revelation here and his effortless accent is not to be missed. We do hope to see him in more films after this. Jackie Shroff is in great form and shows a natural flair as R&AW chief.

Shadab Khan is under-utilised as an actor, yet makes an impact in his small role as the scheming Nawab Afridi. Anil George, Raghubir Yadav (Mudassar), Rajesh Shringapore (Awasthi) and Alka Amin are all effortless and impressive in supporting cast. Suchitra Krishnamoorthi as journalist Rehana Kazmi makes her presence felt in a brief role. Mouni Roy looked promising, but it felt like she didn’t get a fair chance to showcase her acting skills.

Performances apart, the highlight of the film is the cinematography (Tapan Basu) and the outstanding production design (Madhur Madhavan), both of which are in superlative form. The film is set in the 70’s and right from the cars to the costumes, the film easily slips back in time. The prosthetics team (Preetisheel Kaur & Co.) has done a good job too. The sepia-tones, rains and the weather in the backdrop effectively permeate the grim and tense mood of the film, adding to the suspense. The narrative is well-executed and the plotline keeps the audience intrigued. This is one of the few films wherein the second half is better than the first one. The climax presents an interesting twist. Bereft of all the jingoism, the dialogues are simple yet sharp.

Nay: The predictability in many scenes that give a feeling of déjà vu from the umpteen thrillers we have seen earlier is a spoiler. John’s training in the film’s first half strongly reminds one of Alia Bhatt undergoing similar training in Raazi. In fact, it felt like the director himself rushed through those scenes knowing well that they have already been explored on the screen before.

The songs hamper the goings-on and could’ve been completely done away with. The first half could’ve been edited better. There are scenes that could’ve been given more gravitas by the director, and the audience is left desiring for a little more substance too.

CineBlitz Verdict: Romeo Akbar Walter has its high moments and makes for an interesting watch. The spy – John Abraham – and the nature of the film, both lend itself to the possibility of a sequel and the star’s fans will vouch for it too. John Abraham’s performance is top-notch. The film is gripping, well-crafted, the twists well-revealed and the story-ably handled and well-supported by the cast’s performances. All in all, Romeo Akbar Walter is worth a watch and a must-watch if you are a fan of either John or the genre!