Raazi (2018)

Directed by Meghna Gulzar. Starring Alia Bhatt, Vicky Kaushal, Jaideep Ahlawat, Shishir Sharma, Rajit Kapur, Amruta Khanvilkar, Soni Razdan, Ashwath Bhatt.

Overlong Hindi spy melodrama inspired by the based-in-truth story of a young female intelligence agent in India named Sehmat (Bhatt), placed into an arranged marriage with the son of a Pakistan Army officer so that she can relay information about the foreign nation’s military plans. Bhatt repeatedly lurches from phlegmatic to histrionic and back again, which doesn’t make for an especially convincing (or sympathetic) spy—she cries more than a packed house watching Old Yeller for the first time—and the jingoistic touches are overkill, but at least it’s a fresh spin on the cookie-cutter espionage thriller model, willing to sacrifice tautness and special effects for emotional stakes. The star’s sobbing is counterbalanced by a more complex portrayal from Kaushal as the husband she betrays, and the gravitas of Ahlawat as her handler/mentor, no matter the tacky dialogue he’s forced to periodically spout. The incessant music cues are a distracting irritant, although fans of that sort of music may disagree. Adapted from Harinder Sikka’s historical novel, “Calling Sehmat.”

58/100