Rashtra Kavach OM review: Save and protect yourself from Aditya Roy Kapur's actioner

1/5

In Rashtra Kavach: OM, a special forces Para commando officer (Aditya Roy Kapur) is on a mission to defend his nation and uncover the answers to the mysteries that have pervaded his life. This heart-pounding action thriller combines self-sacrifice with the bravery of a patriot who will do anything to defend his nation.

In the climax sequence of Rashtra Kavach: OM, Aditya Roy Kapur goes shirtless to flaunt his ripped body, and not just that, he pulls down a helicopter with an iron chain, which has just taken off. That sums up what the film is all about: a bizarre and excruciating plot. Aditya is here to break his typecast image of being a loner and also a lover boy, which we have seen in many of his previous films.

The Mumbai rains are finally on us, and adding to it was the screening held at a single screen in the burbs of the city. With hundreds of "fans" filling the stall part of the screen, we media were stationed at the balcony part. Was that a good decision? Of course not. 

The film starts out of nowhere, and it seemed like the second half of the film was shown first. Only until the title was shown, did we believe that the film had finally started and the hotch potch was a part of the screenplay.

Aditya is shown as a typical hero who loses his memory after an attack on him during a mission. A novel concept, right? Ugh. And the self-discovery path creates messy flashback sequences with overdramatic scenes that might leave you yawning and stunned for the wrong reasons.

The film was earlier titled OM, given that it's the name of Aditya's character. Now that it's called Rashtra Kavach, the mystery of the title is solved organically in the first half. Well, the mystery, like the title, is quite disinteresting and blah, which is sprung upon every now and then.

Rashtra Kavach: OM has nothing new to offer. The emotional sequences attached to the backstory and the quintessential "maa ka pyaar" drag the film to become more of a snoozefest than a pack a punch, which was the initial motto.

The film is touted to have underlying suspense about who is the real "desh ka gaddaar". But at the start of the film, the guessing game is a cakewalk and doesn't add the shock value that the writers' Raj Saluja and Niket Pandey were planning to make it so. 

The efforts of writing this review might have gone in vain because the film didn't make any effort to make it entertaining. Let alone be an actioner. Just adding sequences of jumping from a moving plane to landing on a ship, crashing down a helicopter with just an iron chain, going into the Tiger Zinda Hai mode and blazing a machine gun like playing Diwali, didn't create any sort of visual spectacle.

People who watched Heropanti 2 (directed by Ahmed Khan, who has co-produced Rashtra Kavach: OM) were trying very hard to move on from that project when Rashtra Kavach: OM landed on their lap. It's not that action films are not appreciated and hit machines in Bollywood. The last one which the audience accepted, for obvious reasons, was WAR, which was released in 2019 and starred Hrithik Roshan and Tiger Shroff in the lead roles.

Having over-the-top action sequences with a boring screenplay is hands-down not a combination that audiences look forward to nowadays. Rashtra Kavach: OM fails miserably in that aspect.

Aditya Roy Kapur, who plays the titular role, starts off as an action hero who survives a bullet which is pierced into his brain. Apart from suffering from memory loss, he is shown to be fit as a fiddle. Although he is reminded that he has to be physically fine, despite witnessing that he single-handedly knocks off a pack of people. The funniest part is that he doesn't realise that he has the "superpowers" to perform kickass action.

In Jab Tak Hai Jaan, we saw Shah Rukh Khan's character survive every bomb threat without wearing any safety suit. When Aditya's character is told that a bullet cannot kill him, the villain (not naming the not-so-spoiler character) asks his gang to hit him with guns instead of firing one on him.

This is just one of the many examples of "What the hell is even happening in this film?"

It seems like every time Aditya comes on screen, he is shown making a dhaansu entry. Well, we have figured it out that he is the lead from the first frame itself. I didn't find the need for the reminder every now and then. The shoddy camera angles just made the frame come out the wrong way, and a lot of sequences just could not be unseen in this forgettable film.

The actor maintains a stone-faced expression throughout the film, which is understandable given his memory loss. The expression change is only during the action sequence and not during the emotional scenes, which are frequent in the film. But you can't deny the fact that the efforts are shown in his physicality, which is toned down and also in the high-octane action scenes. But that's not enough, right?

Sanjana Sanghi, who debuted as the female lead in Dil Bechara, is initially shown as a caring woman with perfect makeup and hair while looking after an ailing OM. But, the sudden image makeover shows her kicking some ass and that she is not a damsel in distress.

The pace of her character is the same throughout the film, there are no twists and turns, so it doesn't work in any way. But here, I can give it to the makers for not creating a forced romantic angle but making it an undertone moment between Aditya and Sanjana.

The supporting cast includes the senior actors, namely Prakash Raj, Jackie Shroff, and Ashutosh Rana. Packed with heavy dialogues and juggling between being a Deshkbhakt and a Desh ka Gaddaar, the trio try very hard to save the film. But we could only wish they were protected from the script, like us, from watching it on the big screen.

Kapil Verma has made his directorial debut with Rashtra Kavach: OM, and unfortunately, not a great start, I must say.

Rashtra Kavach: OM could have just skipped the theatrical release and not released it at all. In the times when Hindi movies are creating good content out of many releases, Aditya Roy Kapur starrer is just another "Kalank", one of the actor's flops. I hope you create a "Kavach" for yourself and stay away from this film. Jai Bhavani!