For all those wondering whether there is anything left to say about spies on lengthy missions in hostile territory after Dhurandhar, here is Udta Teer. In Akash A Kaushik’s Hindi-language comedy, the situation is reversed: a Pakistani agent has worked his way up to the top of India’s counter-terrorism unit.
Bilal (Ayushmann Khurrana), who is passing himself off as Vikrant, is not only his agency’s top operative but also a family man – his wife Yamini (Sara Ali Khan) is in the Defence ministry. When Bilal’s boss Burman (Rahul Bose) suspects that there is a mole in his office, he asks Bilal to investigate. Such is the trust that Bilal commands.
Alas, Bilal is scheming away in the shadows along with a couple of other undercover Pakistanis. Bilal arranges the escape of Pakistani terrorist Maqsood (Mukul Dev) but then loses his memory.
Bilal wakes up as Vikrant, confused about which country he is supposed to protect. Bilal is now a true-blue Indian patriot, who prays in a Hindu temple with gusto and goes after Maqsood with a vengeance.
The confusion resulting from Bilal’s about-turn generates the most effective humour in Udta Teer. The rest of the time, the cartoonish and slapstick film aims slingshots at hard-to-miss targets.
These include everybody on the Pakistani side, from Bilal’s...