"Not All Wars are fought on battlefield…" the punch line exudes its war theme with a difference. War films have been losing prepositions in Bollywood after the debacles of films like 'L.o.C' and 'Lakshya'. Mani Shanker has tried to explore the human façade of brave soldiers who laid their lives for their country. BSF (Border Security Forces) have been glamorized into celluloid though the director Mani Shanker calls it an "anti- war" film. Mani Shanker's '16th December' has been path breaking success as it coagulated sci-fi effects with a crime thriller.
'Tango Charlie' seems to be another feather in his cap as with this he has experimented a different war film. 'Tango Charlie' comes out with the tagline "the heart of a hero" as it is journey into the soft corners of national heroes. The film exemplifies the struggles and aspirations of BSF jawans as they share their experiences with life. It seems that lessons have been learnt from earlier mistakes as the director has clubbed love stories and human emotions with action-packed theme intensely.
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'Tango Charlie' is the war code name of the soldier Tarun Chauhan (Bobby Deol), the pivotal character of the film. He has an identity "Tango Charlie" as his senior Havalder Muhammad Ali (Ajay Devgan) is "Mike Alpha" on the war front. The film is a journey into the events experienced by Tarun Chauhan alias Tango Charlie. The film starts off with Captain Vikram Rathod (Sanjay Dutt) and Lt Col Shezaad Khan (Suniel Shetty)'s air travel as they find one injured Indian soldier. The soldier is Tarun Chauhan. His experiences are encapsulated into his personal diary.
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Vikram and Shezaad share his experiences by going through his personal diary. The diary narrates the emotional and sentimental traits of personality of physically strong "Tango Charlie" (Tarun Chauhan). The first war experience has been the most unforgettable and the cruelest for him as he experiences the brutality and death of his dear associates. Havalder Muhammad Ali (Ajay Devgan) teaches him the rights and duties of a soldier as he confronts death with solidarity. The "killer instinct" makes a man out of him as he prepares himself for his ladylove Lachhi (Tanishaa).
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Love blossoms between them with some light-hearted moments and songs. Duty brings him back to face another terrorist attack as this experience shows him the darker side of his associates. In hot pursuit of protecting terrorist girl being raped by his associate he kills him. The shocking episode shakes him as he describes it to be one of his most unfortunate incidents of his life. In another unpleasant incident, he fires an innocent man by mistake while controlling an irate mob in Gujarat. These two events make him emotionally weak and remorseful.
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Muhammad Ali consoles as he narrates his confrontation with Communists in Bengal. It was during this time he meets Shyamolee (Nandana Sen), naïve Bengali girl. The scenario shifts to the Kargil war scene. This brings glorious opportunity for him to prove his worth. The war scenes are well hatched and the war strategies are discussed at length. This is the most engrossing period of the film. The director deserves all the accolades for narration. Muhammad Ali sacrifices his life but encourages his most trusted Tango Charlie to fight till his last breath. Tango Charlie fights bravely and intelligently as he succeeds in his mission. The film ends on a promising note with a message that war is injurious to mankind and should be avoided worldwide.
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Ajay Devgan and Bobby Deol have reasons to smile, as this can be their best performance of this year. Ajay Devgan has a string of flops and this might end his draught. Bobby has faced major failure with 'Jurm' and his last year's releases have sunk without trace. 'Tango Charlie' will be a stepping-stone for them. Both have lived up to the expectations of the audiences. Tanishaa (younger sister of Kajol) has improvised her acting skills after the failures of 'SSSHH' and 'Popcorn Khao Mast Ho Jao'. She has a brief yet important part in the film, and she has executed it very well.
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The chemistry between her and Bobby is well conceived on the beautiful landscaped locations. Nandana Sen started off impressively this year with 'Black' and with this film she maintains her winning streak. Sanjay Dutt and Suniel Shetty have accommodated the scenario with their guest appearances. Their bondage in Mani Shanker's last flick 'Rudraksh' was fruitless. Kelly Dorji, model- tured- actor (better identified as Lara Dutta's boyfriend) has been the surprise package in this eventful war film. Kelly's character (Bodos leader) has been modeled on notorious gangster Veerappan as he brutally bludgeons innocent people and army men in the jungle. The male bonding has been the prize factor as Shahbaz Khan and Sudesh Berry have done their roles very well.
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The action sequences and cinematography has played a pivotal role in the film. Actions by Jai Kumar are breathtaking as the sequences between Bodos (terrorist militant group) and BSF jawans are well executed. Kargil war scenes are equally mind-blowing. These scenes are the strongest points of the film. Cinematography by Surendra Shetty is another strong point as the film explores the dreadful jungles of Manipur and lofty mountains of Kashmir with sheer brilliance. Himesh Reshammiya's music is average and customary as music has been on back seat in an action film.
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Director Mani Shanker should be appreciated for his socially relevant subject. Like others he has not materialized the sex wave nor has he imitated foreign films. This seems to be the most promising and gifted trait of his workmanship. 'Tango Charlie' might bring relief to audiences and Bollywood. Year 2005 has been disappointing so far with films bombing disastrously and business nose-diving at an all- time low. 'Dhoom' was the last successful action film. After that it was thumbs down for action flicks. It is assumed that 'Tango Charlie' will break this jinx and can be easily termed as "well conceived war film".
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