GROUND ZERO is a no-nonsense, action-packed thriller

Ground Zero Review {3.0/5} & Review Rating

Director: Tejas Prabha Vijay Deoskar

Ground Zero Movie Review Synopsis:
GROUND ZERO is the story of a brave soldier. The year is 2001. Narendra Nath Dhar Dubey (Emraan Hashmi) is a BSF Deputy Commandant stationed in Kashmir. The ‘pistol gang’ has become quite active in Srinagar. It involves misguided college-going students brainwashed into killing soldiers at point-blank range. For every jawan killed, they are paid Rs. 5000. While gathering information on them, the BSF learns that a bigger attack is being planned by the trainers of the ‘pistol gang’. Narendra is able to correctly guess that the attack is planned to target a high-profile minister. Accordingly, he takes the Chief Minister of Kashmir to a safe house. But he sadly gets the place of attack wrong. The attack was planned for Delhi and it takes place in the Parliament on December 13, 2001. The responsibility for the attack is taken by Jaish-E-Mohammed and a message, claiming responsibility, is sent to news channels by its master, Ghazi Baba. Ghazi Baba is a mysterious figure; neither the Army nor the Intelligence Bureau know of his whereabouts or what he even looks like. Narendra, nevertheless, keeps digging. As luck would have it, he comes across a poor brainwashed youth, Husain (Mir Mehrooz). He tries to kill Narendra but the latter stops him from doing so and helps him change his path. This young boy helps Narendra with crucial info. But the challenges remain, especially the lack of evidence about his theories. What happens next forms the rest of the film.

Ground Zero Movie Story Review:
Sanchit Gupta and Priyadarshee Srivastava’s story is inspired by real-life accounts and has a lot of substance. Sanchit Gupta and Priyadarshee Srivastava’s screenplay is engaging but the writing stagnates in between. It also gives a feeling of been-there-done-that in some scenes. Sanchit Gupta and Priyadarshee Srivastava’s dialogues are fine but a few one-liners are memorable.

Tejas Prabha Vijay Deoskar’s direction is decent. He executes the film in a very no-nonsense manner. Hence, the focus is on the mission at hand and in catching the elusive Ghazi Baba. One roots for the protagonist even though he suffers minor defeats on the way. The film also raises an important point through the character of Husain – the solution to peace involves winning the hearts of the common man. The climax is also gripping; the film ends on a clapworthy note.

On the flipside, the film gives a déjà vu of films like URI: THE SURGICAL STRIKE [2019], BABY [2015], ARTICLE 370 [2024], etc. The climax, meanwhile, might remind heavily of ZERO DARK THIRTY [2012]. Also, the engagement level is not consistent. In some places, the interest level drops.

Ground Zero | Official Trailer | Emraan Hashmi | Saie Tamhankar | Zoya Hussain

Ground Zero Movie Review Performances:
Emraan Hashmi looks dashing and delivers a stupendous performance. He doesn’t indulge in unnecessary histrionics and keeps his performance believable. Mir Mehrooz has a crucial role and delivers an impactful performance. Sai Tamhankar (Jaya) is decent but does well in the pre-climax. Zoya Hussain (Aadila) is hardly there in the first half and is fair later on. Ekluvya (Chand Khan), Rockey Raina (Ghazi Baba) and Qazi Faiz (Hakeem) are great in cameos. Mukesh Tiwari (Sanjiv Sharma), Rahul Vohra (IB Chief), Deepak Parmesh (Binu Ramachandra), Lalit Prabhakar (Praveen) and Hanan (Ahmed; who brainwashes Husain) lend able support. Ram Avatar (PM Vajpayee) looks ditto like the former Prime Minister.

Ground Zero movie music and other technical aspects:

All the four songs of the film – ‘So Lene De’, ‘Lahoo’, ‘Fateh’ and ‘Pehli Dafa’ – are forgettable. John Stewart Eduri’s background score exhilarates impact.

Kamaljeet Negi’s cinematography is spectacular in the aerial and fight scenes. But some of the tight close-ups were unwarranted. Shashank Tere’s production design is satisfactory while Kirti and Maria’s costumes are authentic. Vikram Dahiya’s action is straight out of life and not too gory, except for one scene. Chandrashekhar Prajapati’s editing could have been sharper in some scenes.

Ground Zero Movie Review Conclusion:
On the whole, GROUND ZERO is a no-nonsense, action-packed thriller that benefits from Emraan Hashmi’s restrained yet impactful performance and a gripping final act. If supported by positive word of mouth, the film has the potential to enjoy a steady run at the box office.