Udta Teer Review: ★★★½☆ (3.5/5)
Udta Teer takes a familiar spy story and turns it into a comedy of errors. It may not change the genre, but the humour comes naturally, the cast is in good form, and the film never gets preachy.
Rating: ★★★½☆ (3.5/5)
Platform: Theatres
Genre: Spy Comedy
Director: Akash A. Kaushik
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Sara Ali Khan, Suhail Nayyar, Ram Kapoor, Gulshan Grover
Runtime: 137 minutes
Spy films usually take themselves very seriously. Udta Teer does the opposite. It looks at the tense world of secret agents and double lives and asks a simple, silly question: what if a spy forgot who he really is?
Ayushmann Khurrana plays a man living a double life. He is a Pakistani agent who has slipped into India’s counterterrorism team while pretending to be an Indian officer. His marriage to Yamini, played by Sara Ali Khan, is already close to falling apart. Then comes an accident that leaves him with memory loss. When he wakes up, his colleagues tell him he is the Indian officer Vikrant, and he believes them.
That is where the fun begins. He remembers his love for his country, but he has forgotten which country that is. His new, fierce patriotism creates plenty of funny moments, especially for the friends and fellow agents who can’t understand why he is suddenly acting so different. The film also keeps a mole hunt running in the background, so the comedy and the spy plot move together.
The best part of Udta Teer is how it plays with its hero’s identity crisis. The humour comes from situations, not forced jokes. The gap between what the characters know and what the audience knows keeps the laughs coming. The hospital scenes are a highlight, and the temple scenes involving the lead and the household help are also fun.
The film also uses Bollywood nostalgia well. A line comparing the hero to Sunny Deol’s famous Tara Singh gets a smile, and the old Julie song is placed at just the right moment. The story has shades of Dhurandhar, but it keeps comedy at its heart instead of chasing big, serious action.
Another good choice is the tone. The film talks about patriotism, but it doesn’t go over the top or lecture you. The characters never get preachy, which is harder to pull off than it sounds.
Ayushmann Khurrana fits the role well. He plays the two sides of his character with ease and doesn’t overdo the confusion. His comic timing works best in scenes where his actions make sense to him but leave everyone else puzzled.
Suhail Nayyar is a great match as Ashfaq, and his scenes with Ayushmann add a lot of fun. Rahul Bose gets laughs with very little, and a lot of it comes just from his expressions. Ram Kapoor plays his part with a quiet, steady touch instead of going loud. The late Mukul Dev also makes a mark with a short but funny role that sets the tone for the film’s odd humour.
Sara Ali Khan has limited screen time, and she is believable in what she is given. The unhappy marriage adds a personal layer to the story, though her character could have used more depth.
The film is not perfect. A few moments lean on familiar movie tropes, and a sudden song in the middle feels unnecessary. A small detail about Yamini’s job also comes late. These are minor problems, though, and they don’t take away from the fun.
Udta Teer is a breezy, entertaining comedy that treats the spy genre with a wink. If you want a light watch with good laughs and a strong cast, it is worth catching in a theatre.
If you prefer something gentler after this, our Matargashti review covers a Netflix father-and-daughter drama that works as a comfort watch. And if you are curious about remakes, our Varam review asks whether JioHotstar is selling you the same show twice.