Batla House Movie Review: John Abraham film is an excellent concept but poorly executed
Between 2005 and 2008, the ISI and its catspaw the Lakshkar-e-Taiba (LeT) set up a local 'franchise' to outsource terrorism. The franchise, the Indian Mujahideen (IM) and headed by the Bhatkal brothers, Riyaz and Yasin carried out a wave of bombings across India. The IM in turn, recruited disgruntled local youth to plant bombs in public spaces in Jaipur, Ahmedabad, Varanasi, Delhi and Hyderabad killing hundreds of civilians. The bombings halted when the IM terror cell was busted in Batla House after the deaths of two terror suspects and a police officer. This is the context for what is arguably the first mainstream film to look at this forgotten piece of recent history.
Bollywood's quest for real life drama knocks at the door of Batla House. The film finds its protagonist in ACP Sanjeev Kumar Yadav (John Abraham) a real life key figure in the Delhi Police’s special cell.
The movie opens on September 19, 2008. The ACP's marriage to TV anchor Nandita (Mrunal Thakur) is on the rocks. It is also the day when his sleuths, hot on the trail of the IM bombers, stumbles on a terror cell in the eponymous house in the national capital. Two IM terrorists are killed in the exchange of fire in which a key special cell officer KK (Ravi Kishan) is killed and ACP Kumar left to face the music.
As the probe into the encounter gets underway, political sharks smell blood and start circling the troubled waters. ACP Kumar is hobbled by 'I see dead people' post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). He has to save his marriage, solve the case, deliver a spiel against Islamist radicalisation and outwit wily defence attorney Rajesh Sharma (in a hideous barrister’s wig) in the courtroom showdown. This burden of mainstream commercial Bollywood expectations weighs down the narrative and sinks what could have been a tight police procedural. Batla House could have been a sniper rifle which instead ends up as a blunderbuss.

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