State of the Siege is a 2021 movie released on Zee5. It is an amazing thriller rescue. State of Siege: Temple Attack is a fictional story, not bearing deliberate resemblance to any events or persons, living or dead. But through the course of its first 30 mins, director Ken Ghosh tries every trick in the book to let you know that he has made a film about the 2002 Akshardham Temple attack in Gandhinagar. State of Siege begins on a promising note, with an opening sequence set in the picturesque hills of the Kupwara District in J&K, at a make-believe Indo-Pak border. Akshaye Khanna plays Major Hanut Singh, the man running a mission to extract a minister’s kidnapped daughter. There are some great visuals in this scene, some atmospheric sound design, and a slow-burn pace that steadily increases as the stakes rise. In more good news, the extras don’t act like they are in a TV commercial. The cinematography and the performances take a plunge when the action moves to the Gujarat temple. Acquaintances are made with characters that will potentially be captured or murdered. From the temple guide to the priest, to the woman visiting the temple with her entire family, not one character seems to belong to our planet. Absolutely everyone is acting extra-happy about their lives. Anyway, none of these gleeful people have been given much thought in the script, by William Borthwick and Simon Fantauzzo. The are all unimaginably decent, just in case you were wondering if they deserve to die.
Hanut Singh is one of only two characters that are not written as uni-dimensional beings. When his mission from the opening sequence ends poorly, it gives him a reason to prove himself in whatever assignments follow. The other is Gautam Rode’s soldier #2, awaiting the birth of his first baby, but called to duty before he can see her face. Akshaye Khanna delivers a satisfying enough performance as the steely senior soldier, ridiculed by a junior only to ultimately earn his respect. However, it would be a stretch to say that he has been given his due. Someone of his calibre could have accomplished more had the writing been more complex.
Story Line
Major Hanut Singh is haunted by his past where he was injured badly in a terrorist attack and lost his colleague when they were close to completing a mission. The state of Gujarat has just calmed due to ongoing riots but a terrorist organization led by Aby Hamza plans to attack a temple in order to free their leader Bilal Naikoo. The terrorists enter the temple and start cross firing and killing whoever comes on their way but further they get orders from Abu Hamza to hold the civilians as captive and demands the government to free their leader Bilal Naikoo or every hour there will be a blood shed. Major Hanut Singh along with his team of NSG commandos decides to lead the mission but his senior’s ask him to back out when he does not follow the orders leading to cross firing between the terrorists and NSG Commandos.
