‘Udta Teer’ review: Ayushmann Khurrana is on target in spy misadventure

A Pakistani spy loses his memory and unwittingly starts working for Indian intelligence. Sometimes, a single-sentence logline is enough to trigger an urge to watch a film. Writer Aakash Kaushik, making his directorial debut with an espionage satire, nails that hook.

Memory is perhaps a spy’s biggest asset. He assumes a new identity, but what happens if the operative sheds his original personality altogether? It opens floodgates for creative possibilities. When Bilal Ahmad (Ayushmann Khurrana), a Pakistani mole who has infiltrated an Indian security agency, loses recollection of his true role in a sudden blast, the script flips the spy action genre on its head.

With Laxmikant Pyarelal’s iconic ‘Nayak Nahin Khalnayak’ tune repurposed by Sachin-Jigar playing in the background, Bilal now firmly believes he is a hyper-patriotic Indian soldier, Vikrant, out to guard his country from the evil designs of the enemy.

The film features Mukul Dev, in his last hurrah, playing top terrorist Azhar Maqsood, alongside Sara Ali Khan, Rahul Bose, Ram Kapoor, Gulshan Grover and Brijendra Kala.