Mission Majnu

Mission Majnu is an 2023 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Shantanu Bagchi and produced by Ronnie Screwvala, Amar Butala and Garima Mehta. Starring Sidharth Malhotra, the film takes place before and during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971. Rashmika Mandanna, Parmeet Sethi, Sharib Hashmi, Kumud Mishra, and Rajit Kapur play supporting roles.

The film faced multiple delays, first being scheduled for theatrical release on 13 May 2022 and then on 10 June the same year before being indefinitely delayed. Ultimately, the film's theatrical release was cancelled and it was released directly on Netflix on 20 January 2023

Plot
In 1971, Amandeep "Aman" Singh IPS is a deep cover RAW field operative, who is in Pakistan on an undercover assignment under the pseudonym Tariq Hussain. Along the way, Aman falls in love with Nasreen Hussain, a blind girl and the two get married. In May 1974, India conducted its first nuclear test, due to which Pakistan secretly rushed to build its own nuclear weapon with the help of nuclear engineer Abdul Qadeer Khan.

During the 1977 Indian general election campaign, Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is appraised of the situation by RAW Chief R. N. Kao, and she directs him to find the location of the nuclear facility. Kao assigns the mission to Aman. Aman's handler, Sharma, informs him of his new mission named "Mission Majnu". Along the way, Aman meets two other RAW agents - Aslam Usmaniya and Raman Singh (under the pseudonym Maulvi Saab), who are stationed in Pakistan. Aman manages to gather information that Pakistan is indeed making a nuclear weapon.

Following a general election in India, a new government is formed and its new leader and new Prime Minister Morarji Desai believes in building relationships through diplomacy and peaceful means, and is against any form of warfare including spying and intelligence gathering. Kao resigns to keep the operation in Pakistan going, and hidden from the Prime Minister. In the meantime, Israel is readying an attack on the Quetta military facility, wrongly believing it to be a nuclear weapon facility. Aman manages to locate the nuclear facility in Kahuta, but is unable to collect physical evidence.

Sharma discovers that Israel is going to attack Quetta in 48 hours. Aman goes back to Kahuta and collects hair of Army personnel working in the nuclear facility, which he secretively sends to India, where it is tested and found to contain trace of radiation, pointing to the presence of plutonium in Kahuta. Israel's attack on Quetta is averted. The matter is disclosed to Desai in light of new evidence, where he weighs in on Pakistan counterparts and Pakistan's inability to be trusted. ISI hunts down and kills covert RAW agents operating in Pakistan including Aman's colleagues Aslam and Raman.

Aman tries to escape to Dubai with a pregnant Nasreen, who is unaware that ISI agents are chasing them. Aman distracts ISI agents long enough to let Nasreen board an aeroplane and leave unhindered but is killed in the process. Nasreen lands in Dubai, where she meets Kao at the airport and reads a letter from Aman revealing his true identity. She breaks down after reading the letter and the movie then ends with her crying while remembering her love.

Production
The film was announced in December 2020. Principal photography began in February 2021 at Lucknow and the film wrapped up in September 2021.

Soundtrack
The score is composed by Ketan Sodha. The songs are composed by Tanishk Bagchi, Rochak Kohli, Raghav Sachar and Arko, and the lyrics are written by Manoj Muntashir, Shabbir Ahmed, Rohit Sharma and A. M. Turaz.

The first single titled "Rabba Janda" was released on 25 December 2022. The second single titled "Maati Ko Maa Kehte Hain" was released on 17 January 2023.

Reception
Bollywood Hungama rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and termed the film as a "gripping saga" with a tight script, intelligent scenes, taut execution, and a memorable performance." Tushar Joshi for India Today rated 3 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Sidharth is good in scenes where he is battling the stigma and pain of his past yet wants to move ahead and show his loyalty to his country and team. Rashmika Mandanna doesn’t have much to do apart from trying to strike up some chemistry with Sid." Dhaval Roy of The Times of India rated the film 3 out of 5 and wrote that the film is "gripping in parts, but it’s too convenient, which takes away from the narrative. While great, the action stretches in places and makes the movie seem formulaic". Dishya Sharma of News 18 rated the film 3 out of 5 stars and wrote "Mission Majnu robs you of the thrills of a spy film. Watch it to see Sidharth and Rashmika in a different avatars".

Anuj Kumar for The Hindu wrote "There are interesting twists in the way Tariq ekes out information and how Nasreen could sense the truth by touch, but the execution makes it a tad too cloying for a thriller. Thankfully, the film is not overtly jingoistic and makes a clear distinction in the way Indira Gandhi and Morarji Desai handled the tenuous relationship with Pakistan in the 1970s. At the same time, the writers place characters on both sides of the border who could see history beyond the divisive version that the politicians often present." Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV rated the movie only 2 stars out of 5 and wrote "Mission Majnu does not deliver a thrill a minute nor does it produce any exceptional degree of tension and suspense. Yet, parts of the film, especially in the second hour, do spring to life." Shilajit Mitra for The New Indian Express rated 2 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Mission Majnu isn’t as crudely jingoistic as something like Bhuj: The Pride of India. The film also does not comment on the moral implications of nuclear proliferation; for that, you will have to see the pilot of Rocket Boys."