There are several parallels to be drawn between Bollywood’s nepo-baby Janhvi Kapoor and her latest character, Suhana Bhatia, from the thriller Ulajh. Both are portraits of privilege, access, and naiveté. Like the late actress Sridevi and producer Boney Kapoor’s daughter, her character in Ulajh — a dynamic Indian Foreign Officer (IFS) rapidly promoted to a high-ranking diplomat in the United Kingdom — invites derision and sexism-riddled ridicule about the golden opportunities that land in her lap. Much to the chagrin of her peers, Suhana — an alumnus of Harvard University and St. Stephen's College in Delhi — is sent to the United Kingdom to take on the role of Deputy High Commissioner of India. She’s the youngest IFS official to assume such a position, we are told.
Just like Janhvi in real life, Suhana wears her privilege like a cape and with an easy shrug. However, her professional life unravels at a frenetic pace when she becomes a target of high-stakes international espionage.
In the early parts of the movie, there’s an interesting conversation between Suhana and her diplomat father (an on-point Adil Hussain) where he remarks that it’s rather unusual for her to receive the promotion, considering her limited experience. While he has a valid point, she interprets it as her father being tough on her as usual and stingy with affection. Just as one of her own questions her rapid rise, viewers also wonder why this film gives such a wide berth to Janhvi Kapoor, the star kid, at the expense of other characters portrayed with greater command by seasoned actors like Gulshan Devaiah (Nakul) and Roshan Matthew (Sebin Kutty).
Matthew plays a RAW agent in Suhana’s team, while Devaiah is the smooth operator who makes sinister look highly desirable. Both these actors and the film would have benefited greatly from more attention and adoration. But their roles are severely underwritten and weigh this promising and propulsive thriller down.
That said, this is a spy thriller that grabs your attention from the word go. With great economy in scenes and emotions, director Sudhanshu Saria sets the tone of this engaging film. If you can look past some bizarre product placements of candies and French-luxury canvas totes, there’s some wicked escapist fun to be had in Kapoor-focused Ulajh, which has undercover agents from India and Pakistan outwitting each other. The first half is downright suspenseful and fun, while the second half steers into ludicrous and outlandish territory. But it’s delightful to watch Devaiah in action. He’s dark and dangerous but makes all his unsavory actions look infinitely cool. The scenes in which he spars with Kapoor’s character are a treat to watch.
South Indian actor Matthew, who resorts to cursing in his native language Malayalam when pushed against a wall, is endearing.
Our gripe? Why was his character, a trained RAW agent, reduced to a supporting act making room for Kapoor to shine? Fortunately, the actress doesn’t do shabbily either. In the emotionally charged sequences, the actress — who’s on call to do all the heavy lifting — shows immense promise. But her character graph, in which she’s desperate and clueless, is difficult to buy. While we are constantly told that IFS officers and diplomats aren’t trained operatives, it’s still difficult to believe that Kapoor’s character was so naïve that she didn’t see any of the problems hurtling her way. Her steely resolve to serve her country while being incredibly trusting of the goodness of others is a bit difficult to swallow.
The same could be said about the bits where a major assassination bid is thwarted towards the end. The manner in which an untrained diplomat like Suhana averts a crisis with geopolitical war ramifications is borderline laughable. But as they say, don’t let the truth get in the way of a good story. And Ulajh treads that line but falls short of being a nail-biting thriller. Give this movie a shot if you are in the mood for some good performances from the men and a woman who calls the shots. Does she deserve to? That’s up to you to answer.
