'Mission Istaanbul' as the title indicates is the story of a mission to Istaanbul. Though the writer-director Apporva Lakhia wanted to shoot the movie in Afghanistan but he wasn't permitted to do so because of wide-ranging violence in the country. Hence, he shifted it to Istaanbul (Turkey). Thus, director Apporva Lakhia's idea of delving into the political conspiracy in Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan and the US is missing! Besides, Apporva concentrates on action, as the story is inadequate or missing. So, the movie lacks emotion and is full of violence, especially fights. In the same way,
Approva chooses terrorism as the theme but loses its sheen by blaming the channel for creating terror in the world. That's why the director depicts Turkish commando, Rizwan Khan played by Vivek Oberoi bumping off Osama bin Laden in the latter's bunker, and Niketan Dheer (Ghazni Hakkam), the channel head who is in involved with the terrorists, intentionally showing the Osama tapes on the channel to increase the TRP.
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Interestingly, the channel located on 13th floor of a fancy-shmanzy building has photos of dead journalists who lost their lives breaking terrorism-related stories. Then, the terrorists changed their strategy and moved to hit India. However, Indian anchor Zayed Khan, his Turkish colleague Vivek Oberoi and their Indian partner (RAW agent) Lara Croft played by Shweta Bhardwaj join hands to counter the channel bid. This is a coincidence that Zayed is recently separated from his wife Shriya Saran and Viveik turns a widower after his wife is killed by terrorists.
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The movie is significant in many respects. First, it is shot in beautiful locales of Istaanbul. Two, Viveik has grown long hair to suit his character. Third, Zayed Khan is be-spectacled to look like a terror. Fourth, Abhishek Bachchan does an item number to oblige his friend Apporva. Lastly, George Bush look-alike, played by a reluctant actor, makes a satire on Bush by stating that President Bush wonders about the Istaanbul problem and asks if the birds are in short supply there?
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Not only that, Bush cautions his aides to `leave those Indians alone with their pen drives' since all the call centres are located in India. The funniest part as depicted is Bush' pronouncing Indian Prime Minister as Man-mo-han, and that on the eve of his visit to India. There is one more gimmick in the movie: Omar Abdullah has been convinced and coerced to appear in the film as an interviewee.
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Let's have a look at the story. Vikas Sagar (Zayed Khan) leaves for Istaanbul to work at the Al Johara channel that is known for scoops on terrorism-linked stories. However, Vikas wife Anjali played by Shriya Saran feels isolated and gets a divorce. At the same time, she warns her husband against joining the "terrorists" channel. So, Vikas calls her dumbo! Vivek Oberoi, who plays Rizwan, is a one-man army and asserts that they look good when identified as criminals on television. Then there is Shweta Bharadwaj, a RAW agent, who has been recruited for the "hot chick" element.
Technically, one gets bored with the continuous music and seeks relief. The story is often cut for an item song.
