"We are not going to stay quiet," Vicky Kaushal's grizzled battalion leader screams in the trailer of Aditya Dhar's upcoming film Uri, based on the Uri attacks of 2016. The trailer captures the preparation, emotional turmoil, and the operation that went into the action of the surgical strikes which followed.
A terrorist attack in the Indian border led to the loss of 19 Indian soldiers, and was reported as the 'deadliest attacks on military forces in Kashmir in the last two decades'. India soon launched a counter-offensive in the form of a successful surgical strike that hit terrorist bases deep in Pakistan territory.
The trailer captures the cause and effect of this entire event in a gripping action-packed montage. From the first cut of terrorists blowing their way through the Indian military base and the following scenes of mourning families, the trailer sets an emotional tone to the entire operation. The terrorist attack sets in motion a complex military operation that goes from Yami Gautam's no-nonsense intelligence officer to Paresh Rawal's strategic head of operations.
Rawal's look and appearance prompt an immediate comparison with then national security advisor for India, Ajit Doval. As his character promises, "This is a new India. It will enter their homes, and hit back," it is not hard to surmise the plan of action.
The key through the trailer is Vicky Kaushal. The actor's transformation into a ramrod-straight army officer seeking vengeance is a sight. He brings both emotion and a straight-faced realism to his character. As he recruits his team for the operations, which includes Kirti Kulhari as the pilot, the trailer shifts into action mode.
The trailer is well cut, with its action sequences looking particularly impressive. There is a touch of Katheryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty (2012) in the colourscape and style of the trailer, but that would be incidental.
The film is produced by Ronnie Screwvala's RSVP, and is set to be released on 11 January 2019.