Vishal Bhardwaj’s latest film, Khufiya, is inspired by Amar Bhushan’s espionage novel Escape to Nowhere. Starring Tabu, Wamiqa Gabbi, and Ali Fazal in lead roles, Khufiya is an engaging spy thriller. It holds you firmly in its clutches and keeps you on the edge. It is a promising story with some amazing moments, crisp dialogues, and hints of poetic verses. Here’s our review of Khufiya.

Mission Brutus

The movie starts off on an intense note as an assassination attempt in Dhaka leads to a RAW agent, Hina Rehman (Azmeri Haque Badhon), being compromised. This creates an uproar in RAW as it becomes obvious that there is a mole in the agency who leaked sensitive details. Krishna Mehra (Tabu), who was leading the operation, is distraught as she was close to Hina. But soon enough, she gets down to business to find the mole.

One of the main suspects in the story is Ravi Mohan, an agent who has been printing confidential information and passing it on. His lifestyle doesn’t match his income which draws RAW’s attention to his sudden gains and lavish expenses. They hatch a plan called Mission Brutus to uncover the truth and tap his devices and his home with spy cameras. And soon enough, their doubts are confirmed. But is he acting alone or is someone helping him betray his country?

An intense tale with a lot of emotions

Ravi Mohan is a family man who lives with his wife Charu (Wamiqa Gabbi), son, and mother (Navnindra Behl). Ravi’s father was an ex-army officer and the middleman of a European arms dealing company. So when RAW sees the motive of the whole family, they keep an eye on every individual. This also brings Charu on the list who has a very dynamic and mysterious personality that comes out when she is by herself.

Krishna Mehra, who is leading Operation Brutus to avenge the death of Octopus aka Hina, turns no stone unturned to find the mole. This causes a lot of family disturbances with her, and her personal life is hanging by a thread all the time. But she captures your attention every single time she is on the screen with her wit and intense portrayal of a hurt and emotionally tormented woman.

The background and star cast are brilliant

Vishal Bhardwaj is known for his special brand of filmmaking that rides high on emotions and is almost poetic. Even in Khufiya, there are moments of narration by Tabu that will make you appreciate the art of dialogue writing. Throughout the movie, the background score builds up the tension and prepares you for what’s to come next. Bhardwaj has done a great job casting talent houses like Tabu, Wamiqa, and Ali Fazal in lead roles.

Tabu, as KM, is intense but also portrays a softer and more intimate side of being a woman in love. Ali Fazal, as Ravi Mohan, is electrifying to watch as he stands firmly by his ideology of being a patriot, not a traitor. Wamiqa Gabbi, as Charu, is such a complex character but she does a brilliant job of holding your attention. Apart from the main leads, the supporting cast is equally engaging and lends an important narrative to the story. This includes Ashish Vidyarthi, Atul Kulkarni, Navnindra Behl, Shataf Figar, Azmeri Haque Badhon, Lalit Parimoo, Rahul Vohra, and Disney James.

Can you watch it with your family?: Khufiya is an intense and gripping tale that will make for a great family watch. But there are a few intimate scenes that you can quickly fast forward.

Khufiya is now streaming on Netflix.

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