Review : Tango Charlie

As far as war movies go, this is a fairly decent film, with the story being told with some sensitivity. The movie is about a man’s journey, his coming of age, so to speak, from a fresh-faced ready-to-fight young soldier to a man aware of the perils and futility of war. However the film has a somewhat meandering/episodic style to the story and weak acting. Bobby Deol has the lion’s share of the role, with Ajay Devgan a close second.

The film starts with a photo-surveillance mission, near the border, by two airforce officers Flight Lieutenant Shezad Khan (Sunil Shetty) and Squadron Leader Vikram Rathore (Sanjay Dutt) in a helicopter. Remain alert now, because seeing two bad actors mouthing inane dialogue, sans emotion, can put the most enthusiastic movie watcher into a stupor (and this is just the begining). Now patriotism runs in these officers veins instead of plain, good old blood, and therefore when they spot an unconscious man down in the snow, they put down the chopper to rescue him, against the wishes of mission command. Man rescued and still unconscious the officers discover the man’s personal diary. Having no qualms about reading personal stuff for pure amusement, they dig into it with gusto.

The diary reading then, is played out in a series of flashbacks, detailing for us the life of the rescued man Sepoy Tarun Chauhan (Bobby Deol) also known as Tango charlie. Tarun is a soldier in the Border Security force, and his first mission is in Eastern India, under the leadership of Havaldar Mohammed Ali (Ajay Devgan) fighting the Bodos. Tarun faces war and the loss of innocence as he realises its futility. He however displays bravery, and integrity, and continues his missions in other parts of India (Andhra fighting the Naxalites, and Gujarat dispersing riotous mobs).

Interspersed with all this are the romantic love stories of Tarun and Ali. Lachi (Tanishaa) is the English-speaking, bubbly daughter of the village pharmacist (Tiku Talsania), and a Computer engineer herself. Tarun is besotted with her inspite of the fact that her father will not agree to pay a dowry, much to the chagrin of Tarun’s father (Alok Nath). Ali’s wife is played by Nandana Sen, seen recently in “Black”.

The women have small roles, and thankfully so do Sanjay Dutt and Sunil Shetty. Devgan displays his considerable acting talent, while Deol displays his limited theatrical range. The dialogues could have been better, and the music is nothing to write home about. Still, a valiant effort from the director, and worth watching once.