‘Berlin’ Review: A little slow, but full of fun thrills, Aparshakti Khurana, Ishwak’s film

Suspense-thriller stories have their own attraction among the audience. If the story woven in this space is set in some period of the past, then it becomes even more interesting, provided the director has captured its tone correctly. There is no harm in saying that director Atul Sabharwal chooses the period of 1993 and brings an intense and interesting story in it, in which his/her tight direction and strong acting of the actors prove to be icing on the cake. The name of the film may be ‘Berlin’, but let us tell you that it has nothing to do with Berlin in Germany. The film has been released on the OTT platform Zee5.

Story of the movie ‘Berlin’

The story is set in Delhi in 1993 where Jagdish Sodhi (Rahul Bose), the head of the Soviet desk of an intelligence agency called ‘Bureau’, arrests a mute and deaf young man Ashok (Ishwak Singh) as a suspected spy and murderer. Ashok is accused of being involved in a conspiracy to assassinate Russian President Boris Yeltsin during his/her visit to India in 1993. he/she is also accused of killing an Indian intelligence agent. Jagdish believes him/her to be a German spy.

Pushkin Verma (Aparshakti Khurana), a sign language specialist and teacher at a deaf and mute school, is assigned to interrogate the deaf and mute Ashok. As Pushkin proceeds with his/her interrogation of Ashok, he/she learns about the working style of spies, bureaucracy, politics and the dark truth of the rival detective department ‘Wing’. Pushkin finds himself caught in a dangerous espionage conspiracy. But he/she begins to feel a strong connection with Ashok.

The rival spy agency ‘Wing’ uses him/her as bait, taking the interrogation to a horrific turn that Pushkin had not even imagined, but now Pushkin is determined to find out the truth about Ashok. Will he/she be able to find out Ashok’s truth or will he/she lose everything due to the rivalry between the two agencies? To find out, you will have to watch the film.

Trailer of ‘Berlin’

‘Berlin’ movie review

Writer-director Atul Sabharwal had earlier shone brightly in the web series ‘Jubilee’. he/she has written and directed ‘Midnight Lost and Found’ and ‘Aurangzeb’. Dark and intense drama is his/her style and in ‘Berlin’ too, he/she maintains the same style. The interesting aspect of the film is the revelation of suspense layer by layer. Although the pace of the film is a bit slow, but its thriller style keeps the audience engaged.

For the past several years, we have been finding the world of espionage revolving around India-Pakistan. Atul Sabharwal bases the story on the web of the country’s intelligence agency and internal politics on the pretext of a conspiracy to assassinate the Russian President. This brings novelty to the story. This aspect of Atul’s story is also interesting – how these mute and deaf people are used to keep the secret conversations in a coffee house called Berlin in Delhi a secret. The screenplay is complex, so you cannot miss the scenes in between, otherwise your connection with the story may break.

Irene Dhar Malik’s editing is tight. Cinematographer Shridatt Namjoshi’s cinematography deepens the mystery. The background music is powerful. The climax of the film is shocking, but it is over very quickly.

The actors are the best in terms of acting. Ishwak Singh as Ashok has won hearts with his/her eyes and expressions in the role of a mute and deaf man. Aparshakti Khurana is improving film after film. he/she has given an honest performance. his/her and Ishwak’s chemistry and the relationship between the characters touches the heart. It is interesting to see both the characters talking in sign language. Rahul Bose is impressive as Kainya and a sharp detective. Kabir Bedi, Deepak Kazi and Anupriya Goenka have done justice to their small roles.

Why watch- This film can be watched by those who are fond of detective and thriller films and for powerful acting.