The film 1971 - Beyond Borders opens into the snow laden streets of Georgia. As you take in its sheer beauty, a volley of bullets shatters the calm. Caught in the attack are a group of Pakistani soldiers travelling in a jeep. They belong to the UN Peacekeeping Force.
As bullets fly back and forth, another UN jeep enters the neighbourhood and Indian commander Colonel Sahadevan (Mohan Lal) saves the life of Pakistani soldier Lieutenant Ajmal.
Ajmal and Sahadevan belong to two warring countries but they soon find out that their ties date back to the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war, when their fathers fought from opposite sides of the fence.
Based on true incidents and directed by Major Ravi, 1971 - Beyond Borders is the new instalment in the series featuring Major Mahadevan, which began with Keerthi Chakra in 2006.
Lal plays two roles as Mahadevan and his son, Sahadevan. Lal’s fans can look forward to a double treat.
Standing tall and making a powerful presence in the story is Arunoday Singh as Colonel Raja of the Pakistani army. Raja believes in fair play and follows it to the tee in the war zone. He wins the respect of Mahadevan.
Telugu actor Allu Sirish in his debut impresses as Lieutenant Chinmay.
The women in this war drama have little to do, be it Asha Sharath as Mahadevan’s wife or Shrusti Dange as Chinmay’s fiance.
Beyond Borders is about the powers to be behind a war and how the common man and the soldier’s life is jeopardised with no fault of their own. While empathising with the travails of the soldiers it prays for a time when there will be no wars.
One beautiful scene is when Indian soldiers who have pitched tents in the desert drop their guns at the sight of the postman on his motorbike. Scrambling down the slopes of the hills they grab the letters and soon settle down to reading. Moments like these make us ponder on the sacrifice of our soldiers to whom we owe so much.
Despite these messages, the film lacks the intensity of Keerthi Chakra. There is neither suspense nor strategy in the war scenes. The writing suffers and becomes generic.
