Review: ‘Picket 43’

When Havaldar Harindran Nair is posted at Picket 43 on the Indo-Pakistan border, he knows that his return alive is doubtful. Only a couple of days before, another soldier had died in an attack by militants.

The posting order comes at a time when Harindran is looking forward to his vacation at home in Kerala so that he can marry his childhood sweetheart, his uncle’s daughter.

Following the call of duty, Harindran takes guard at Picket 43, located on the snowy mountains of Jammu and Kashmir. His rough shelter there has just the basic facilities for cooking and protection from attacks and the biting cold. Keeping him company is Bacardi, a trained military dog. Now and then, he is intimidated with a shower of bullets by the Pakistani soldier on duty on the other side.

Under these circumstances, Harindran is taken aback when one night: while listening to Mohammad Rafi songs on his radio, the Pakistan soldier asks him to increase the volume. Musharaff, the new soldier on duty, is not like the former soldier. Musharaff stretches out his hand of friendship and gradually he and Harindran get to know one another. This camaraderie stretches to discussions about cricket and politics as well as sharing notes on families. When militants attack Picket 43, this friendship is put to the test. But before that, we learn about the presence of the Taliban in Pakistan where Musharaff’s daughter is not allowed to join school, and we also learn that his brother had become a pawn in the hands of the militants.

Unlike Major Ravi’s earlier films that centred more on war, this film dwells on the relationship between the two soldiers.

Taking viewers on a spectacular journey into beautiful Kashmir is cinematographer Jomon T. With snow dominating the landscape, the visuals are breathtaking.

Prithviraj wears Harindran’s boots comfortably. Harindran is not only a patriotic soldier but an ordinary human being with fears and anxieties. Playing the perfect foil to Harindran is Javed Jaffrey; his Musharaff is an endearing one. The director could have worked more on their friendship, though. And it’s hard to believe that the Indian army would post a lone soldier on his border to safeguard the country. But that’s a cinematic liberty that director Ravi has taken. Shorn of regular melodrama and mindless song dance sequences, this story has an enjoyable freshness.

Picket 43 makes you pause and remember those valiant soldiers who face death at every moment.