Mission Raniganj: Akshay's Rinse, Repeat Rescue Formula

Surrounded by a mass of needy professionals, weepy family members and terrified miners, a one-note Akshay basks in all the attention, thumbs down Sukanya Verma.

All eyes on Akshay Kumar to save the day as he valiantly rises to the occasion *every* *single* *time* on the pretext of retelling a true story is a scenario so monotonous and conceited, you'll probably find more merit in his karate-flexing action hero of '90s B-movies.

That's not the sad part.

Watching an inspiring reality dumbed-down to a vanity exercise, is.

Devoid of any nuance or personality, Amritsar engineer and Sarvottam Jeevan Raksha Padak recipient Jaswant Singh Gill deserved a better depiction of his courageous character than a melodramatic mess like Tinu Suresh Desai's Mission Raniganj: The Great Bharat Rescue.

Responsible for the 1989 rescue of over 60 workers trapped inside a flooded mine of Raniganj in West Bengal, Jaswant Singh Gill's clever capsule technique and personal interest in ensuring every single mine worker's safety is a proud moment in humanity and history.

But it is histrionics that Mission Raniganj has on its mind.

Yash Chopra's Kaala Patthar, hailed as a landmark in the same milieu, came out a couple of years after the 1975 Chasnala mining disaster (from which it was loosely inspired). But its intensity and intelligence is telling of the challenges and claustrophobia faced on the underground level and the rampant power play at work.

Though Mission Raniganj ropes in a bevy of talents like Kumud Mishra, Pavan Malhotra, Rajesh Sharma, Arif Zakaria, Sudhir Pandey, Virendra Saxena, Ravi Kishan, Jameel Khan and Varun Badola, no effort is made to give then a lasting identity or interpersonal interaction.

They never become more than a crowd caught in a tunnel of darkness and despair.

Shoddy VFX makes matters worse.

The magnitude of danger and suffocation barely comes through.

Perennially in fast forward mode, Mission Raniganj plays out like a video scrubbing tutorial.

Bypassing whatever few technical details and line drawing descriptions, it appears to be in a mad rush to arrive at the point Akshay Kumar's gallantry can be highlighted.

I say Akshay Kumar and not Jaswant Singh Gill because beyond some old pictures and articles -- freely available in public domain -- neither Mission Raniganj nor Akshay reveal anything about the man.

What is going on in his mind?

What fuels his instincts?

What's the basis of his scientific impulses?

Capsule Gill, as he was fondly rechristened following the episode, was the original title later changed to Mission Raniganj: The Great Bharat Rescue and enable its leading man's cinema of grandstanding.

Surrounded by a mass of needy professionals, weepy family members and terrified miners, a one-note Akshay basks in all the attention.

Parineeti Chopra shows up in a couple of scenes and sangeet as his pregnant wife. Her role is less of a character and more of a cheerleader.

Truth be told, there's no space for trial, error, desperation or urgency in its scheme of silly contrivances, hammy excesses and deafening background score.

Instead, a pair of bitter Bengali officials (Shishir Sharma, Dibyendu Bhattacharya relegated to caricature) conspire to hamper the mission and endanger innocent lives for personal gain.

Emotional meltdowns happen at regular intervals, less out of need and more to provide Akshay reasons to lend a shoulder, accept daredevil assignments and fuel his saviour complex by saying lines like 'Main oopar se aaya hoon.'

Except it's an earthly creature, a four-legged stray's ear for empathy that goes on to become the best thing about this banal movie.