Ground Zero Review: Emraan Hashmi balances action and emotion in this gritty thriller

Ground Zero, directed by Tejas Deoskar, is a film based on the real-life incidents which happened in India during the early 2000s and how it led Kirti Chakra awardee Narendra Nath Dhar Dubey (played by the actor) in capturing of notorious Jaish-E-Mohammad Leader Ghazi Baba

Director Tejas Deoskar should be lauded for keeping this film concise and crisp in both the halves and keeping the viewers engaged in every scene with something new happening at every moment. The direction is also praiseworthy for keeping the action fast yet understandable

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Emraan Hashmi plays Narendra Nath Dhar Dubey, the BSF officer who took down the notorious militant in this film and has done an almost flawless job at it. His dialogues are equally impactful. His role is more of a human connection between Kashmiris and the Army rather than antagonising the locals of Kashmir, which is pretty evident in dialogues and his interactions with characters like Husain whom he treats no less than a younger brother.

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The film also deals with the dilemma of soldiers and their families. in one of the sequences featured in the film, the daughter of NND Dubey refuses to go to school as she’s sacred of the 'Gun wale Bhaiya' in her bus and wants a Santa Claus instead

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While the movie is filled with action and suspense, it also deals with sensitive issues of stopping the unnecessary violence against Kashmiris. At one point, NND Dubey says, “Asli mein ye tab azaad honge jab inke haath mein bandook ki jagah paintbrush hoga” which hints at the need of psychological change that is required to deal with the issue of separatism

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The film fails to portray that feeling of loss when Emraan’s character loses his colleagues. Emraan’s character does appear sad, but the loss just doesn’t hit as hard as the soundtracks and the direction. This can be seen repeatedly when Emraan loses his informant/best friend Husain

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The film does an excellent job in avoiding any political confrontations from either of the sides and mostly succeeds in producing a neutral narrative. It also manages to avoid any statements which would further add fuel to the already complicated situation of the latest Pahalgam incident