Film Udta Punjab is worthy to watch once due to entertainment quotient and a few terrific performanc !!

Welcome to Chaubey's Punjab; a world you may not inhabit, but cannot ignore. As infamous as Mexico in the current context, the state that is known for wrestlers and wheat, serves up heroin, opium, cocaine faster than parathas and lassis. Yes, Punjab the land of the five rivers, is a description only reserved for the text-books. In realism, it's a place inundated by cartels, cocaine and corrupt cops.

 

A brutally honest take on rampant drug abuse in Punjab, Udta Punjab was said to be more honest than Black Friday by Anurag Kashyap. But is it as hard-hitting and effective?

 

Set in Punjab, which is soon turning into Mexico as one character points out, Udta Punjab revolves around four lives- Tommy Singh (Shahid Kapoor), a coke-snorting rockstar, whose addiction to nose candy is sure to cause his downfall, Preet Sahani (Kareena Kapoor Khan), a doctor on a mission to end the menace of drug abuse in Punjab, Sartaj Singh (Diljit Dosanjh), a cop, who previously turned a blind eye to the flourishing drug trade, but has now decided to fight it when tragedy struck home and a migrant from Bihar (Alia Bhatt), who stumbles on a drug smuggling operation and ends up being an addict.

 

To give credit to the makers of the movie, the movie has represented Punjab like never before. There are 'sarson ka fields', but drug dealers hide their merchandise in it and there is no 'balle balle' good cheer in the air. The first half of the movie goes on to show how the drug trade has held Punjab in its vicious grip and it does succeed in sending a slight chill up your spine.

 

But, where the movie goes wrong is in the second half, as is the issue with most movies. For some reason, the makers decide to go the predictable Bollywood route and introduce love in the story. In a predictable turn of events, Sartaj and Preet fall in love with each other and Tommy goes cold turkey the day he meets Alia's character and decides to be her knight in shining armour. Really, guys, there was no need to force romantic subplots in a story that was moving ahead on its own steam.

 

Furthermore, the second half stretches on and on and one wishes the makers could have done some sharp editing to keep the tale in check.

 

Shahid Kapoor has played the quirky Tommy quite well, but he does tend to get carried away at times. But, one cannot deny that it is indeed entertaining to watch his antics.

 

Kareena doesn't lend depth to her character, though she is a good actress and had a role she could have done wonders with.

 

Diljit, who makes his Bollywood debut with this movie, astonishes with his controlled act as the cop facing a moral dilemma while Alia Bhatt, who has always played the modern urban girl, simply wows you with her role as the Bihari migrant and comes up with a heart-breaking act. The supporting actors, like Satish Kaushik and Manav Vij, who plays Sartaj's elder brother, have done good job in their short roles.

 

Overall, it is worthy to watch once due to entertainment quotient and a few terrific performances from the Udta Puanjab’s sat cast.