Last Updated: January 21, 2023, 10:27 IST
Sidharth Malhotra’s Mission Majnu released on January 20.
Sidharth Malhotras’ Mission Majnu reminds viewers of Alia Bhatt’s Raazi. Both the films are espionage thrillers uncovering threats from Pakistan to India.
Siddharth Malhotra’s recently released film Mission Majnu has been receiving mixed response from fans and critics. The film released on the 20th January on Netflix. Helmed by Shantanu Bagchi, the story revolves around an Indian spy in Pakistan who passes on confidential information for the betterment of his country. Prior to its release, several viewers pointed out a few similarities between Mission Majnu and Raazi as the Alia Bhatt starrer was also a spy-thriller.
In an interview with Film Companion, Sidharth addressed the comparisons and said, “It is never a bad thing if people are trying to find a reference point for a film. It (Raazi) is a good film. It doesn’t feel like it the comparison is such an alarming thing. Yes, the elements on the outer periphery seeing the trailer might look similar. It is in the same decade (1970s), has similar elements, but I think the experience is completely different. It is only fair to speak to people once they see the film… I think it’s fair. Comparison with a good film is always welcome, it is not a bad thing at all”.
When asked if his character in the film creates a stereotype of Pakistanis in Hindi films, the 38-year-old actor said, “We have consciously made an effort in the writing that it is never to take on a particular community. I recently did a film called Shershaah, which is based on India and Pakistan, and the battle that we had, which was documented. Once you see the film, consciously we never really concentrated, barring maybe four scenes on the other side, it was purely about this side (India) and this man’s journey, captain Vikram Batra sacrificing his life…”
He further elaborated, “So there is the same conscious effort with Mission Majnu, there is no personal animosity with anyone, these are just documented historical points, which we will never get complete facts of, so for that you need to establish possibly certain characters in an x amount of time. And the shots they are referring to from the trailer are meant to be tongue-and-cheek in the film. So, I think it will be a fair dialogue once everyone sees the film… it is never about a community or taking a dig, which digresses from the film… a religion or a community is never an issue in the film.”
Helmed by Shantanu Bagchi, co-produced by Ronnie Screwvala, Mission Majnu also stars Rashmika Mandanna, Sharib Hashmi and Kumud Mishra in pivotal roles. It shows Sidharth playing the role of a RAW agent who uncovers an illegal operation in Pakistan which caused a possible threat to India.
