Pippa Review : A sincere homage to India's generosity and humanity

Pippa story: The biographical war film follows India's 45 Cavalry regiment's Captain Balram Singh Mehta and his siblings as they bravely fought in the Battle of Garibpur on the eastern front during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.

Pippa review: When you have a biographical war drama at hand, you can expect it to be all about patriotic fervour about the nation, glorifying the hero it's based on. However, the differentiators in Raja Krishna Menon's movie are India's nobility and generosity as she contributed to the Bangladesh Liberation War (1971). And at the centre is the 45 Cavalry regiment's Captain Balram "Balli" Singh Mehta (Ishaan Khatter) – an unconventional soldier who's blunt and goes against his superiors' orders.

Although the film is named after the PT-76 tanker that Captain Balli helmed, and he expresses his fondness for it, the story does not delve much into the relationship between the man and the machine. Still, this is a remarkable narrative that's as much about how India's brave soldiers answered the call of duty for a neighbouring nation as it is about a young and brash Captain Balli's coming of age. After a brief history of West and East Pakistan's conflict, it establishes how we, as a nation, chose justice and humanity and stood by the latter. What's also refreshing about this well-created war drama is it does not solely focus on Captain Balli's bravura. It shines the spotlight on his siblings, elder brother Major Ram (Priyanshu Painyuli) and sister Radha (Mrunal Thakur), who was a master decoder of encrypted messages, which proved to be pivotal in winning the Indo-Pak War of 1971.

Writers Ravinder Randhawa, Tanmay Mohan, and Menon display their mastery in storytelling as it succinctly gives a glimpse of Captain Balli's family life and background, his personality, and how everything played a part in his journey in its own way. The film's appealing part is also its sincerity in depicting the tale. The eastern front and the war scenes are recreated authentically without succumbing to portraying the horrors of the war or the atrocities unleashed on the hapless people. The sequences leading up to the war occasionally slow down, but the narrative stays engaging overall. AR Rahman's soundtrack adds punch to the proceedings – especially with MC Heam and Krystal Garib's Rampage and Jazbaat by Shilpa Rao and Jubin Nautiyal.

Whether a brazen young soldier or one displaying leadership and presence of mind, Ishaan Khatter shines in his role. Priyanshu Painyuli, as the disciplined and brave Major Ram Mehta, is outstanding. The duo performs well together, whether in depicting the brothers' strained relationship or how it changes later. Mrunal Thakur does justice to her role. The movie also stars Inaamulhaq as a lowlife Pakistani soldier, Shibli, and Soni Razdan as the war heroe brothers' mother, who are excellent in their roles.

'Pippa' is a must-watch as a war movie, especially for its heartfelt tribute to India's spirit of standing up for humanity.