Operation Valentine: Honest but ordinary

 

Movie: Operation Valentine
Rating: 2.75/5
Cast: Varun Tej, Manushi Chillar, Navdeep, Sampath Raj and others
Director: Shakti Pratap Singh Hada
Produced By: Mudda Sandeep

Release Date: 1st March 2024

Story:

Arjun Dev (Varun Tej) is a Wing Commander in the Indian Air Force, who lost his friend Kabir (Navdeep) while testing for Project Vajra. Following a few years of the project being shelved, he re-enters the workforce as a test pilot. As the IAF learns that Pakistan is responsible for the terror attack in Srinagar, they plan to retaliate. How does India fight back? What is Project Vajra's contribution to India during the attack? How does Aahna Gill (Manushi Chhillar) help the mission? Will Arjun be victorious, or will he become a martyr? The movie provides these answers.

Performances:

Varun Tej, and Manushi Chhillar perform very well and made a good impression. Navdeep's character had a very limited screen time. Ruhani Sharma, Paresh Pahuja, Shataf Figar, Sampath, Ali Reza and others were alright.

What worked for the film:

The aerial combat scenes in the second half are truly engaging and effectively brought the required high. The actors' decent portrayal of characters also comes good for the film, which adds to the authenticity. The VFX was also fine except for a few parts. It is clearly visible that the film's director, Shakti Pratap Singh Hada has done a good amount of research on the real incidents and the work structure of the Indian Air Force.

What did not work for the film:

Translating real-life events into a film like Operation Valentine can be difficult. Although the movie has its strong points, there are some scenes that fail to captivate the audience, not meeting the anticipated level of engagement. The depiction of the terror attack and its aftermath doesn't have the desired emotional impact, missing a chance to evoke strong emotions. The initial half, which had to showcase the IAF's skills, is affected by unnecessary scenes like romance track between the main leads. 

Operation Valentine Review and Verdict:

Operation Valentine is a standard aerial action movie, featuring strong performances by Varun Tej and Manushi Chhillar, as well as exciting air strike scenes. However, the film's slow start, unnecessary love track, weak climax and lack of emotional depth are its main flaws.