BERLIN rests on the terrific performances

Berlin Review {2.0/5} & Review Rating

Director: Atul Sabharwal 

Berlin Movie Review Synopsis:
BERLIN is the story of a deaf and mute man’s bond with a sign language expert. The year is 1993. Ashok Kumar (Ishwak Singh) is arrested in Delhi by the ‘Bureau’ for spying on behalf of a foreign intelligence agency. The investigation is headed by Jagdish Sondhi (Rahul Bose) in the Bureau. Ashok is deaf and mute and hence, a sign language expert Pushkin Verma (Aparshakti Khurana) is deployed to the Bureau office. His job is to ask questions to Ashok in sign language and find out who he’s working for. While questioning him, Pushkin forms a bond with Ashok. The mention of ‘Berlin’ crops up during the investigation and it intrigues Pushkin. He soon finds himself caught between a tussle between the ‘Bureau’ and the ‘Wing’ as well as a plot to assassinate the Russian president. What happens next forms the rest of the film.

Berlin Movie Story Review:
Atul Sabharwal’s story is original, and the relevance of the title is fascinating. But Atul Sabharwal’s screenplay is very poor, especially in the second half. Atul Sabharwal’s dialogues, however, are sharp.

Atul Sabharwal’s direction is not up to the mark. To give credit where it’s due, he has given it a very Hollywood-style treatment and it reminds one of films like TINKER TAILOR SOLDIER SPY [2011], BRIDGE OF SPIES [2015], etc. The Berlin element is intriguing and so is the world of intelligence agencies fighting with each other. The scenes of Ashok and Pushkin are engaging while the bond between Pushkin and Jagdish adds to the tension.

On the flipside, the film goes downhill in the second half. The scene of Ashok putting up the poster at the bus stop is very far-fetched. If that is not enough, the following scene of him conveniently making duplicate keys, too, takes the aspect of cinematic liberty too far. The finale is confusing and soul-less and after a solid build-up in the first half, viewers would be disappointed with the culmination.

Berlin Movie Review Performances:
The performances save the day. Ishwak Singh doesn’t speak a single dialogue but rocks the show. He gets the nuances right and the way he laughs is amusing. This is easily his most accomplished performance. Aparshakti Khurana, last seen in a hilarious role in STREE 2, is in a diametrically different zone. Yet, his performance is top-notch. Rahul Bose gets overshadowed but manages to give his best shot. Anupriya Goenka has a stunning screen presence and does well. She has a crucial role to play but shockingly, her screen time is not more than 7-8 minutes. One wishes she got more footage, especially when the film revolves around her in a way. Similarly, Kabir Bedi (Jagdish’s boss) and Joy Sengupta (Archana’s father) are wasted. Late Nitesh Pandey (Mehta), Ujjwal Chopra (Kapil Mahajan) and Deepak Qazir Kejriwal (J V Raman) are fair. The actors playing Dhingra, Narain, Satpal, Aaron, Berlin café owner are decent.

Berlin movie music and other technical aspects:
BERLIN is a song-less drama. K’s background score adds to the tension and is in sync with the mood. Shreedutta Namjoshi’s cinematography is neat. Vikram Dahiya’s action and Divvya Gambhir and Nidhhi Gambhir’s costumes are realistic. Sandeep Shelkar and Ashok Lokare’s production design have a vintage as well as classy look. Irene Dhar Malik’s editing could have been slicker.

Berlin Movie Review Conclusion:
On the whole, BERLIN rests on the terrific performances by Ishwak Singh and Aparshakti Khurana. However, the film disappoints due to the slow narrative and a very poor second half.