Bell Bottom

There were two reasons why I was super excited to watch Bell Bottom. First, the excitement of watching a film on the big screen five months after the last theatre release, Mumbai Saga, in March. Second, the promo had given the impression of this Akshay Kumar starrer belonging to the genre of Baby and Airlift, two of the actor's best loved films.

What follows of course is Akshay Kumar as the hero in and as Bell Bottom - by some measure the youngest 53-year-old, flashing back to his youth. Where he's not just a multi-linguist - proficient in languages like French and German enough to teach -he's also a national-level chess champion, besides an aspirant to the civil services. Much later in the movie, when one of the characters compares the hero to Chacha Chaudhary, whose brain works faster than a computer, he shuts him off.

Just like the well-tailored suits that Akshay Kumar has worn in BellBottom, his role as an R&AW agent is also tailor-made for him. Gritty, determined, suave and stylish, while keeping up with the retro look and charm of the 80s, Akshay is stunning in this espionage thriller.

BellBottom is said to be inspired from real-life events. In 1984, a covert operation was successfully carried out on foreign soil for the first time ever by RAW (Research and Analysis Wing) agents. The film takes one through the journey of this operation, which had the blessings of the then Prime Minister, Indira Gandhi. A set of terrorists hijacked a plane carrying 210 passengers and diverted it to Dubai.

BELLBOTTOM is an espionage thriller, inspired by a true event. On August 24, 1984, ICC 691 flight takes off from Delhi and gets hijacked. This is the 5th hijack in 7 years. In the past, the hijackers landed their plane in Lahore, Pakistan, after which the Pakistani authorities negotiated and managed to get a safe release for the passengers. This time, too, the flight moves to Lahore. Prime Minister of India, Indira Gandhi (Lara Dutta) is all set to negotiate. But she is stopped by a RAW agent, Anshul Malhotra aka Bell Bottom (Akshay Kumar).

It's for a noble cause after all. BellBottom becomes the first major Bollywood film to release in cinemas after the deadly second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. It was also one of the first Indian films to start shoot during the pandemic. It's set in the 1980s against the backdrop of a number of Indian Airlines hijackings by forces hostile to India.

Set in the late 70s & early 80s, we're thrown straight into the mission of the Indian government trying to tackle the constant plane hijackings happenings around the country. Following the usual template, the story offers the 'problem solver' in RAW agent Anshul, who is codenamed Bell Bottom (Akshay Kumar), to keep his real identity intact.

With a piece of catchy theme music, classic storytelling gusto and an undeniable strength to find terrains for optimism with every move, Akshay Kumar once again successfully dramatises a real-life story into Bollywood drama with Bell Bottom. Making his job easier and believable is Adil Hussain, who never disappoints with a surprise addition of Lara Dutta. Together they weave a story about a national crisis when an Indian airplane is hijacked by a terrorist group that is forced to land in a foreign country.

Starring Akshay Kumar as a 1980s Research & Analysis Wing (RAW) agent who leads a covert operation to rescue 210 passengers held hostage on an Indian Airlines plane hijacked by Pakistan-sponsored desperados, Bell Bottom marks Hindi cinema's return to the big screen after a protracted lull necessitated by the second wave of the Coronavirus pandemic. It isn't, however, the big-bang affair one had expected.

If a Hindi film telling us about 'new India' were a drinking game, we would end up like characters in a Hangover film. It has happened so often in the last seven years that someone might even be deranged enough to recognise a pattern in it. In Ranjit M Tewari's Bell Bottom, the first big-ticket Hindi film to release since the devastating second-wave of COVID-19 , we hear just another not-nearly-as-subtle-as-the-makers-think version of 'new India.'

It is simple protocol that RAW agents have to be known by a code name, in order, of course, to keep their identity a secret. Akshay Kumar's Anshul instinctively opts for 'Bell Bottom' during his training. He is literally thrust into RAW, at a time when India is grappling with back-to-back hijacks, the inevitable hostage negotiations that follow and the ultimate freeing of captured terrorists along with crores of money to ensure no lives are lost. It is the 80s, Indira Gandhi (played by Lara Dutta) holds the Prime Ministers's chair, with her trusted aide, RN Kao (Denzil Smith) by her side.

In the espionage thriller Bell Bottom, Akshay Kumar plays a Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) undercover agent who goes by the code name 'Bell Bottom'. After a plane is hijacked and lands in Amritsar, the seventh hijacking incident in five years, Kumar is brought in to save the day. The film centres around his plans of a daring covert operation to rescue 210 hostages and neutralise four hijackers. The fact that his operation is connected to personal tragedy makes it more impactful.

Remember the faintly ridiculous bell bottoms, those massively flared trousers sported by fashionistas and plebs alike in the 70s and 80s? Akshay Kumar's RAW agent, Code Name Bell Bottom, carries them off with cheerful comic book flair. That's exactly the tone of the film, which doesn't make the mistake of taking itself too seriously, despite the seriousness of its subject.

One Word Review... Bell Bottom: GRIPPING. #BellBottom is an entertainer meant for the #BigScreen experience... Loaded with super performances and absorbing second half... #AkshayKumar sparkles yet again... #RanjitTiwari's direction is top notch. #BellBottomReview