Tehran REVIEW: John Abraham’s Suspense-Filled Action Thriller Will Keep You Glued To Your Seat

Film:
Tehran

Director: Arun Gopalan

Writers: Bindni Karia, Ritesh Shah, Ashish Prakash Verma (Co-screenplay writer)

Cast: John Abraham, Neeru Bajwa, Manushi Chhillar, Madhurima Tuli, Elnaaz Norduzi, Dinker Sharma, Alyy Khan, Quashik Mukherjee

Runtime: 1 hour, 56 minutes

Platform: Zee5

Tehran Review

Dinesh Vijan, Shobhna Yadav, Vipin Agnihotri and Sandeep Leyzell’s Tehran has released on Zee5 and this action thriller based on true events – the 2012 attacks on Israeli diplomats in different countries across the globe, will have your complete attention from the very first frame to the last. While a few cinematic liberties have been taken, the narrative is engaging thanks to the detailed narrative, crisp writing and raw, honest performances of the entire star cast.

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Arun Gopalan’s Tehran following ACP Rajeev Kumar (John Abraham) as he tackles spies spread across the country and attempts to keep his country and its people safe and sound. Within the first few minutes of the film we are introduced to RK, a no-nonsense, sarfira officer who will go to any length to keep his family safe after they’ve been threatened by goons. Soon after he kills one the man responsible for wanting to harm his family, a bomb blast take place in Delhi and target is a Israeli diplomatic car. While the intended target sustains serious injuries but is safe post medical attention, an innocent child looses her life.

Joining him in his crusade are Sheilaja (Neeru Bajwa), Divya Rana (Manushi Chhillar). Will he be able to avenge the child’s death and keep his countrymen safe while in another country on an unsactioned mission? How will he return to his family, his wife, his child and his homeland when he being hunted by Iran, abandoned by Israel and deserted by Indian? To know the answers, all you need to do is watch this action thriller on Zee5, and you will not be disappointed.

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What’s Works

The gripping narrative will keep you glued to you seat for the entire duration of the film. The emotional undercurrents of the film will keep you from taking a washroom or water break. While the film would be have been a stellar theatrical release, it releasing on Zee5 is a boon (you will know why in the very next section).

What Doesn’t Work

Several characters in the film speak Farsi and English with heavy accent. To help the viewers comprehend what’s being said, subtitles have been provided; alas it takes time to read it and may hinder the viewer experience to a certain limit.

Technical Analysis

Direction

The captain of the ship, Arun Gopalan has managed to deliver exactly what he promised when he released the gripping, action-packed trailer a couple of days ago. From capturing the raw emotions John Abraham’s ACP Rajeev Kumar feels towards those close to him and his country to the torture people undergo when caught by opposing intelligence or terrorists. Kudos sir.

Story & Screenplay

Bindni Karia’s story – written by Karia and Ritesh Shah alongside Ashish Prakash- it is clear that the narrative has taken several cinematic liberties, but that is expected from such films. The storytelling is engaging and manages to keep you hooked from the very first scene.

Music

The music – composed, produced and arranged by Tanishk Bagchi with lyrics by Irshad Kamil, does little in taking the narrative forward. The BGM by Ketan Sodha is loud and distracting at times – you may not hear the dialogues.

Editing

Akshara Prabhakar has done a commendable job by keeping the runtime below the 2-hour mark; any lengthier and people would have got bored.

Action

Doug Coleman and Amritpal Singh have done a good job when it comes to the action in Tehran. While there are few to no complaints about the stunts performed. However, some choreographies involved in the fight sequences seem out of place – like a gun appearing in the docks just when John needs it in the middle of a shootout.

Star Cast

John Abraham is the star of the show and manages to make you feel all the emotions his character Rajeev Kumar experiences. Be it the empathy he feels for the deceased child’s now-orphaned brother, the love he has for his wife and daughter or the strong bond he shares with his team and the allies he makes along the work. While these positive emotions will touch your heart, his ruthlessness when interacting with the enemy will give you chills.

Hadi Khajanpour as the film’s antagonist Asraf Khan – a terrorist, delivers as menacing performance without falling into a mould we have seen several times in the past. The performances of all the grey shaded characters are so convincing that you’ll find yourself truly despising them.

Neeru Bajwa as Sheilaja and Manushi Chhillar as Divya Rana do just to their roles given their limited screentime. Madhurima Tuli as Vandana and Elnaaz Norduzi as Layla fail to leave a lasting impression and that mainly due to their characters being onscreen for barely 5 minutes total.

Conclusion

With Independence Day less than 24 hours away, make sure you watch this John Abraham-led actioner to feel proud not only for your country but also to acknowledge and honour the nameless men and woman who sacrifice more than just their lives to make sure everyone is safe. Tehran is a must watch for its realistic representation of what our heroes do for us without expecting anything in return – even the guarantee that they may not be able to every return back to their homeland.

Watch the trailer of Tehran here:

Also Read: Son Of Sardaar 2 REVIEW: Ajay Devgn, Mrunal Thakur Deliver A Much-Needed Clean Comedy Suitable For All To Watch

Grinell Jacinto

With nearly 10 years of experience, Grinell Esther Jacinto is the Desk Head of Bollywood Bubble. Her interests lie in everything that is kaleshi and she loves to dig deeper into the lives of B-town actors. She has a problem though – she loves horror films but will have chills the minute the theatres lights dims. She’s previously worked with Koimoi, UrbanAsian and SpotboyE.