Red Alert: The War Within

A real good movie.Suniel Shetty, who is often underestimated in bollywood,is seen in one of his best roles here,humble,emotional and simple.Hence the title for my review. There's plenty of action stuff,no dance sequences or unnecessary scenes that can spoil a film based on social issues like this.Music is remarkable.

A poor cook is caught in the raging battle between Naxalites and police in Andhra Pradesh when he goes to work in a different town near the jungles to earn a little more money for his wife and kids,and is forced to work with the naxalites against his will. The film traces the story of a young man who struggles to come out of the situation he is in, between working for naxals,trying to take care of his family away from him, and his conscience which he has to battle as well. It also goes in depth into the lives of naxalites. The others like Vinod Khanna,Gulshan grover,Ashish are also seen at their best.

All in all,worth a watch.Deserved more attention really.

Ananth Narayan Mahadevan's 'Red Alert: The War Within' is an honest effort, that has some engaging moments, and a stellar performance by Sunil Shetty. However, the writing in the second hour lacks the bite.

'Red Alert: The War Within' tells the story of a common man caught in a movement. The Common Man struggles to fight with the Naxalites and the Police. It's a journey that is filled with bloodshed and cruelty, but the commoner still survives it.

Ananth Narayan Mahadevan has made an honest film in all respects. 'Red Alert: The War Within' is arguably his finest film as a storyteller. His work truly deserves brownie points. Screenplay by Aruna Raje, is super in the first hour, but lacks the bite post-interval. Also, the culmination doesn't leave any impact. How one wishes if these minuses could've been worked on!

Performance Wise: Sunil Shetty is the life of the show. The once-known bad actor, delivers an amazing performance from start to end. He gets into the skin of the character. This truly ranks amongst the finest performances of recent times. Vinod Khanna is excellent in a brief role, while Seema Biswas shines in a strong supporting role. Sameera Reddy is alright. Ashish Vidyarthi, Makrand Deshpande, Bhagyashree, Gulshan Grover & Ayesha Dharker are satisfactory. Nasseruddin Shah hams in a tiny role.

On the whole, 'Red Alert: The War Within' surely deserves a watch for the sheer honesty it's been made with, and also for the performances it packs in, especially by it's leading man.

Seldom do we see movies being produced even after knowing very well that it would be get a lukewarm response at the box office.RED ALERT is one such movie and this thing really propels me to think that why such movies do not attract audiences?As very evident from the earlier reviews this movie circumscribes the most burning issue which has exposed the whole agenda of "Inclusive Growth" of Indian Government.It is one thing to make a movie which is concocted with issues like poverty,politics,violence and it is other thing to show the reality...and when i mean reality,it stays reality.I am assuring you..when you would be through with this movie,i don't know whether it would leave a good impression in your mind or a bad one but it would for sure stretch your mind and bring you closer to the conscience of Naxalite problem.As expected,in my city,this movie did not get a single screen presence and audience did not care too.I feel this movie should have been promoted on a large scale so that everyone would have understood what the problem is all about.I mean,we have poverty in northern India too,but we don't have Naxalism there.This movie pierces the realms of any other movie till date on Naxalism.

If "Hazaron Khawhishe Aise" was the starting,"Red Alert" is the culmination.What i really liked about the movie was that it was not about how the Naxalites operate or how the govt operates against them.The soul of the movie was that how poverty and desperation drives common pastoral people to their revolution.This is brilliantly portrayed by Sunil Shetty who i thought played the role of his life.He is not concerned about the revolution even after he joins it and he is unsure about the means of achieving their ultimate goal.He openly questions Vinod Khanna too,who is the mastermind behind this so called revolution.This process reflects some interesting points.

1st is the attitude of the group leader towards the newcomers.This is brilliantly reflected in a scene where the leader is interviewed by a pro Naxalite journalist and he makes tall claims about socialistic ideas and his vision of development,but finds himself a bit embarrassed when Sunil Shetty demands his monthly wage saying that he has been denied that before too.The journalist watches the proceedings quietly and the leader in order to redeem his image,gives some money to Sunil Shetty but after making his displeasure very clear.That scene showed the shallow root of this movement.

2nd point is the attitude of police towards the villagers and how the Naxalites use it to their advantage.Sameera Reddy was also quite convincing in her role and i was particularly impressed by the scenes where she was convinced by her comrades that violence is the only option and that having a bullet in your hand is good.

3rd point is where Sunil Shetty expresses his willingness to study and is helped by an intellectual who for unknown reasons is also a part of the revolution.This shows the human side of Naxals and unfurls an hitherto obscure mindset of the naxals.These conversations also subtlety points to the failure of government to tap the talents of educated people and how they join this movement.

4th and the most important point which i felt made the movie worth watch are the two conversations between Sunil Shetty and Vinod Khanna.While the first conversation is about indignant defiance of the methods adopted,the second conversation is about introspection.This passage rightly focuses on how the Naxal movement has lost not only its way but also its purpose.The point which Vinod Khanna makes is very interesting where he says that he has no idea that whether he can live a peaceful life in his lifetime and what would he achieve out of it!The second conversation remarkably reflects how the leader accepts the loss of vision and how he could have done differently to avoid this day.

Finally acting skills displayed by the complete cast are amazing.Sunil Shetty's neural recess was perfectly captured in the scene where he feels the guilt of murdering a person who trusted him and when he is unable to save a school children.I believe he has matured as an actor during this movie.Vinod khanna was a big relief after his stupid role of a maniac father in dabang.He justifies his role as a leader and looked tough.All other people were excellent though i don't understand why Naseerudin shah was given a solitary scene.I also felt that Gulshan Grover could have been used more effectively.

The movie has its share of glitches with the most prominent glitch being how the Naxals find out the informer.But i feel that the movie has heralded a path where most others did not go till now and that to me is the biggest achievement.Music is excellent and the last song is amazing.The lyrics are from Javed Akthar so you can expect some class here.The lyrics of the last song where credits roll out are excellent.It is a pity that most of the audience would miss this movie but the people who would watch it would be experiencing anything but gratification.It leaves you with a heavy mind and compels you to introspect how and where did we go wrong?are we too responsible for the mess which is continuously gulping thousands of individuals in this useless Armageddon?

My last suggestion would be go and watch this movie.Do not expect technical brilliance or eye catching cinematography!Just focus on the soul of the movie which is the message,and then you would feel the agony of the protagonist which despite all odds is only concerned about his family.

Last month, we saw Raavan by Mani Ratnam in which the character in the title role was (perhaps) a naxlite. However that movie was neither realistic nor very impressive. The last good movie upon this ever burning issue of rural India was Lal Salaam (2002) starring Nandita Das and Sharad Kapoor. Now after eight long years, a movie has come upon this topic which is truly a movie with a soul. This highly admirable movie is miles ahead of the over-hyped hollow movies like Raajneeti and Raavan.

The story revolves around a poor tiffin-supplier in rural Andhra Pradesh, Narsimha (Suneel Shetty) who just wants to earn some additional bucks to support his family consisting of his wife Uma (Bhagyashree) and two children. However destiny drags him into the naxlite group led by Velu Anna (Aashish Vidyarthi), the mastermind behind the group being Krishnaraj (Vinod Khanna). Despite playing an active role in their adventures, he is never with them by heart. Being always concerned for the welfare of not only his own family but also hundreds of innocents being killed, he ultimately succeeds in redeeming himself of the shackles of the naxlite activities but not without the wounds leaving permanent scars on his tender and sensitive heart.

Director Anant Mahadevan has given us many third class movies during the past few years. Now, after a long wait, he has come up with an outstanding movie. It is said that behind every successful man, there is a woman. The woman behind this success of his is Aruna Raje, inarguably one of the most talented lady directors of Indian cinema. She has written a highly sensitive and utterly realistic script which Anant has ably directed. The grip of the narrative upon the viewer is nowhere loosened. The viewer just keeps on watching for around two hours, holding his breath. This movie is nothing less than an edge of the seat thriller.

The narrator has presented the side of both the conflicting groups, that is, the government and the naxlites, quite honestly, impartially and frankly. He has presented a very pertinent question though the hunger and the injustice lead the poor villagers to take the path of bullet and they are correct in their own right, yet what's the use of winning the battles and losing the war. Yes, there is difference between terrorism and revolution but should this revolution be allowed to last for decades and centuries without any hope of the ultimate victory ? The first pre-requisite of a worthwhile and well-justified revolution is the clear-cut aim behind it. When the aim itself is not clear, just running a parallel government type organization in the name of revolution is nothing but deceiving yourself and others who have faith in you.

The narrator has exposed the hypocrisy of the self-acclaimed revolutionary leaders too, always talking big and preaching ideals but totally indifferent, selfish and inhuman when dealing with the individuals working for them. The attitude of Aashish Vidyarthi towards Suneel Shetty reflects the huge difference between what these so-called revolutionary leaders publicise as their deeds and what they actually do.

Like Priyamani was shown as raped by the policemen in the police station in Raavan, Sameera Reddy has been shown as raped by the same uniformed people in the same venue in this movie. And this is the bitter truth of rural (even urban) India which again forces me to think why the Indian police stations are rape stations ? What is this strange trait of the police or military uniform which arouses the beast in the wearing male, turning him into the predator, ever ready to pounce upon its poor prey, that is, the female ? Any answers ? Many scenes of this movie are reminiscent of Maachis (1996), the controversial movie of Gulzar. I had a very strong feeling of deja vu when I saw one of the main characters of Maachis, Suneel Sinha in a similar role and even with the ditto get-up in this movie.

The performances are all up to the mark though the screenplay has not done justice to certain actors like Nasiruddin Shah, Gulshan Grover and Bhagyashree.Whatever might have been theopinion of the viewers (and reviewers) about Suneel Shetty, I have always kept him in high esteem as an actor since J.P. Dutta's Border (1997). This is his career best performance and he deserves an award.He is so natural that throughout the movie I was feeling as I were him, the protagonist, running for his life and concerned every moment for the welfare of his wife and children and sensitive towards the life and well-being of every innocent, willingly or unwillingly involved in this avoidable havoc.

Among others, I specially mention Sameera Reddy who has demonstrated that she can act brilliantly when handled by an able director in a strong role.

The background score, the cinematography, the editing and other relevant aspects are all up to the standards. The story (based upon a true story) has been picturized in the backdrop of Andhra Pradesh and the writer-director duo have exasperated the contemporary Andhrite environment in the movie quite efficiently.

This movie is just superb and gives a priceless message in the end in the words of Omar Bin Laden (given by him to his father, Osama Bin Laden) - find another way (other than violence). It must be existing. The only thing you need is to admit its existence and then look for it.

Red Alert review :

Written by veteran Aruna Raje, Red Alert is a good exposè on the naxalite movement plaguing the country. Suniel Shetty plays the innocent cook who is drawn in to the naxal brigade for no fault of his and the film chronicles his incredible journey to redemption. The actors are good, the setting is quite realistic and the narrative doesn't over stay its time. I have been a fan of Aruna Raje since Shaque (1976) and here again, she is still in her solid form. Ananth Mahahdevan has directed the movie competently as well.

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.