1971 Beyond Borders: More of the same

Every time, Major Ravi announces another installment to his war series, Mohanlal fans wait for the magic to happen. They expect war, action and emotion from an ex-army man who brought alive a war hero to the Malayalam scene. And Major Ravi deserves a salute for always trying to tell a story that many directors would not dare to attempt. 

There is action in 1971 Beyond Borders when Colonel Mahadevan (Mohanlal) saves a Pakistani soldier during a UN war mission in Georgia. And also, when, during a flashback, a duty-bound officer (Colonel Sahadevan, Mahadevan’s father) delivers punchy statements on patriotism to instill confidence to his subordinates while fighting the Pakistan army. 

However, despite the fancy hair-raising dialogues and war sequences, there is more that the director could have given. His exploration of human emotions is refreshing and the director has done some homework to tell his audience that there are no villains in the line of war, only people who are forced to kill each other due to selfish reasons and ‘orders’.

But, the time taken to tell these stories also slows down the tempo, to an extent. Asha Sarath, as Colonel Sahadevan’s wife, carries herself with the effective poise and emotions of an army man’s wife. Bollywood actor Arunodhyay Singh has excelled in his role as a commander of the Pakistan army forces: he is a worthy leader. Two salutes to him.

Allu Sirish, who marked his debut in Mollywood through this war movie, is good in his role, though his character gets the exit very soon. Sudheer Karamana too deserves a worthy mention. Sujith Vaassudev’s cinematography is notable and helps uplift the movie, which is complemented by a few patriotic song numbers. However, the plot fails to enthuse the audience, even though Major Ravi tried hard.

You can head to the cinemas if you are a fan of the director but keep in mind that this is yet another Major Ravi movie only with a different war being fought this time.