In a recent interview, Gulshan Devaiah, one of the stars of Sudhanshu Saria’s (Loev) “Ulajh,” pointed out that he and Janhvi – the leading lady of the film, do not ‘vibe together.’ He does mention that not vibing together, however, hasn’t hampered their professional ethics, and both of the actors have done their job well on screen. Now that I have seen Ulajh, I can attest that the two of them are professionals, but I can’t say that their ‘not vibing together’ doesn’t show in the scenes they share together.
In general, espionage thrillers are so full of political intrigue and twists and turns that very little to no time is spent fleshing out characters. So, I am not aversed by the idea of being offered half-baked characters if the plot, the turns, and some kind of character trait always pull me into the mystery of it all. Saria’s film is dull at arrival and doesn’t necessarily shift enough gears to ever get interesting. A lot of the film’s major flaws come from the way it deals with an intelligent plot without giving it enough ground to stand on.
The story follows Suhana Bhatia (Janhvi Kapoor), who is appointed as the youngest Deputy High commissioner of the IFS. Suhana comes from a long line of foreign diplomats who have made a name for themselves and the country. So, following in on the legacy of her father and the ones before him has already put a lot of burden on her weak shoulders. Add to it the nepo tag that fellow IFS officers and agents put on her; the young girl’s identity is up for a toss. She is holding on for dear life by keeping all the built-up emotions inside her. If the constant dismissal from colleagues, superiors, and her own father wasn’t tragedy enough, double tragedy strikes. She finds herself tangled (get it?) in a sick, conceited web of corporate espionage that carefully traverses into bigger, more complex political intrigue.
Now, Janhvi Kapoor is no longer a newcomer. However, being a nepo baby and the constant conversation surrounding the privilege, the resources, and the general lack of talent that is imposed on them has always put her at the forefront of judgment. So, in a way, the espionage thriller where a nepo baby is caught in the crossfire of threats to the country can be seen as an intentional metaphor for the actress who has to prove herself in every new movie she does. Personally, I am never too critical of Janhvi; in fact, I am one of many people who actually like the way she plays strong female characters in the guise of an innocent young girl caught in the wrong situation, but here, she is not held together by a plot or sub-plots that would help her feel like she matters.
The usually dependable Gulshan Devaiah is again seen as an unhinged character that, at this point in his career, he could play in his sleep. However, I have to say that his turn here has to be the weakest link in the film. I mean, in a dull espionage thriller, you’d expect Devaiah to be the shining diamond who holds it together, but the actor doesn’t seem interested in putting some life into a man who could essentially pass off as a shapeshifter. Similarly, seasoned actors like Adil Hussain, Rajesh Tailang, Rajendra Gupta, and Jitendra Joshi are all wasted on underwritten characters that do not have anything major to do here. Also, I’d have been in complete splits if they had wasted Roshan Matthew, too, but thankfully, the second half gives him a redeeming arc that has to be one of the only good things about the movie for me.
The other interesting aspect, and only worth noting, is the use of music. Sudhanshu Saria, who got his start in indie movies, is aware of how jarring music could be in Bollywood espionage thrillers like these. So, instead of completely dropping it, he uses loud musical cues but cuts them out just in time for the action and emotions to take the front seat. This allows the plot to take hold of you instead of inducing anxiety that doesn’t stem from your reaction to the happenings.
That said, the ending of “Ulajh,” which confidently establishes a sort of spy universe for itself, felt like a real cop-out. I am sure Sudhanshu is capable of whipping out another spy subplot from the one he so complicatedly tries to establish here, but if this wasn’t as dull as it is in its current state, I’d be read of seconds or even third. Alas! It isn’t.
