Rahul Desai
I’d like to say that Khufiya is engaging in parts, but disjointed as a whole. Or even that Khufiya delivers less than it promises. But using crutch phrases for a Vishal Bhardwaj film is like dismissing Rohit Sharma as “gifted but lazy”.
It comes nowhere close to conveying what is right (or wrong) with the storytelling. There are layers and reflections, indulgences and intent-fuelled failures. There’s Shakespeare and Sriram Raghavan, awe and awkwardness.
Khufiya is about Krishna Mehra (Tabu), an officer with the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) who sets out to avenge the murder of her lover who is a spy for National Security Intelligence.
Despite Gabbi’s spirited turn, the character doesn’t feel right. The problem is we aren’t seeing Charu through Krishna’s eyes. She seems like a fetishised version – a male fantasy – of a housewife.
There’s a film that defies its rushed climax, a muddled personal-political voice, a tantalising journey, and a story that’s stranded between two cinematic mediums.