Cast: Jimmy Sheirgill, Asha Negi, Sparsh Srivastav, Rajshri Deshpande, Naman Jain
STORY: The story takes place in a small town in Himachal Pradesh where a suicide bomber holds a school full of children hostage. The key to saving their lives lies in the past of the celebrated cop (who is also captive). Will he be able to catch the mastermind and save lives?
REVIEW: Collar Bomb follows Manoj Kumar Hesi (Jimmy Sheirgill), a decorated cop with a tumultuous history. Before a suicide bomber Ali (Sparsh Shrivastava) threatens to blow up a school where he has kidnapped students, Manoj Hesi is plunged into chaos and compelled to conduct a series of heinous crimes. The lovely hamlet around Manoj falls into lunacy as he races against time to complete this scavenger hunt from hell, confronted by an evil that seems to have no other objective than to strike terror. Over the course of the film, the mystery around the cop’s own past is also unraveled.
This crime drama, written by Nikhil Nair and directed by Dnyanesh Zoting, is packed with enough twists and turns to keep the viewers on the edge of their seats. There’s a good combination of crime, drama, action, mystery, and emotions in this story. The plot revolves around a ticking bomb, creating a pressure cooker situation for both Manoj Kumar Hesi and the audience. The screenplay is fast-paced, yet it loses its grip at times. When compared to other films in the same genre like ‘A Wednesday’ and ‘Madaari,’ the tale has a lesser impact. The climax, on the other hand, will capture your attention and reveal everything that has been kept hidden.
The cinematography by Jitan Harmit Singh is fascinating with scenic locales of the hill station that are soothing in this otherwise serious crime drama. Nisarg Mehta and Gaurav Sharma’s dialogues are quite average and reminiscent of the 80s cinema. For example, “Wardi wale kuch nahi kar paayenge toh khadi walo ko toh maidaan mein utarna padega na (If people in uniform cannot perform their duties properly then politicians have to take charge in their hand).”
As SHO Manoj Hesi, a renowned supercop, Jimmy Sheirgill steals the show. But he is trapped in a script that leaves little room for vivid character development. Despite this, Hesi takes a centre stage along with the other police officials, especially ASI Sumitra Joshi (Asha Negi), who is a no-nonsense cop. Asha Negi who recently appeared in ‘Ludo’ and ‘Abhay 2’ opposite Kunal Khemu, is impressive. She is also seen doing some stunts as well (the scene where she enters into a dhaba, which is set on fire by some locals, is quite the entry) and even her local dialect is spot on. Sparsh Shrivastav as the suicide bomber Ali, Naman Jain as Akshay Hesi (Manoj’s son), Rajshri Deshpande and the rest of the ensemble cast have given decent performances in this intense crime-thriller.
“Life is a chain that is built from the decisions we make,” as Jimmy Sheirgill says in the end, perfectly summing up this 87-minute riveting drama. It will have you hooked to your seat the entire time.
The 1-hour-26-minute film is streaming on Disney+Hotstar.
