Pukar aka "The Call" is a movie about how a soldier (Jaidev played by Anil Kapoor) raises to the occasion whenever his nation calls irrespective of his personal issues. What makes Pukar interesting is that, inside the story there is also a different kind of pukar, the call from a dear one (Anjali played by Madhuri Dixit) who truly loves him but he does not feel or see or responds to her love. Rajkumar Santhoshi blends these two "pukar"s very nicely with right amount of emotion, beautiful visuals, stunts and, entertains us for about 3hrs.
Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit have given first rate commendable performances. The chemistry between them is not like their earlier youthful movies (Tezaab, Ram Lakhan etc.), it is more restrained, mature and appealing. Definitely it is one of the best of Anil-Madhuri combination. It could have been little better if Anil Kapoor looked a bit younger. Though, Om Puri as Colonel Hussein and Rohini Hatangadi as Mrs. Mallappa have little screen presence, they have played their role very well. Rest of the acting crew has supported well. I felt Girish Karnad, an actor of high calibre has been wasted in this movie.
A. R. Rahman's music is OK. The songs are hummable especially "Kay Sera Sera" and "Sunta Hai Mera Khuda", but the background score does not leave any lasting impression. The choreography of the song "Kay Sera Sera.." is commendable. The visuals and locations are beautiful. Rajkumar Santhoshi's direction is crisp and good, but it is not in the league of his previous best movies Ghayal and Damini. The story remains on its track all the time, there are no subplots and, unlike usual bollywood movies does not digresses into unnecessary petty comedies, emotions, and remarks about any particular country or organization.
The main weak point of the movie is that the story is not air tight: 1. The way the commando operation is carried out to save the minister shows that the army already knew Abhrush's hide out and so, they could have done it well before. 2. Anjali as daughter of an army personnel should have known the meaning or consequence of leaking confidential information. 3. Army intelligence work is downplayed. Logically, when Om Puri is killed in such a "big" terrorist attack, there should have been an inquiry and, that would have lead to the cancellation of the independence day function due to security risk.
Inspite of these flaws, Santhoshi's direction and dialogues keep the attention of the viewer till the end. The first half of the movie is fast paced but the pace weakens in the second half. If you want to watch a quality commercial movie with good acting, visuals, and dialogues then I would recommend it.
