I’m starting to find watching movies on YouTube a bit tedious. Its search function is not built to categorically find movies to watch and its algorithm does not support a movie buff’s watch pattern. Further, misleading titles and low-quality uploads make the process medieval, especially when one’s used to watching high-resolution OTTs which are meant for one function only—watching movies and series.
Nonetheless, there is a little reward (if you like to call it that) on YouTube for finding some hidden gems you have not watched before. But the process is still lengthy and the chances are, if you’re a cinephile, you’d probably have watched those gems on a better platform and in high definition.
I (re)watched the 2013 Hindi-language movie “Special 26” this week, for the review. Written and directed by Neeraj Pandey, the crime/thriller with some elements of dark comedy is based on the ‘Opera House Heist’ from 1987 when a group posing as CBI officers executes an income tax raid on a Mumbai jeweler.
It’s March 1987. CBI officers Ajay “Ajju” Singh (Akshay Kumar) and Pramod Kumar “P. K.” Sharma (Anupam Kher) are busybodies conducting a walk-in-interview to recruit more officers into their team and are also raiding unscrupulous businesses. Accomplices Joginder Khurana (Rajesh Sharma) and Iqbal Ali (Kishor Kadam) help the duo in the task.
But right after a raid at a minister’s house, the reality is revealed. Ajju, P.K. and their accomplices are conmen posing as CBI officers and swindling money off rich people who have things to hide. The gang not only makes away with the minister’s money but also gets SI Ranveer Singh (Jimmy Sheirgill) wrongly incriminated as a co-conspirator. SI Singh and his colleague Shanti (Divya Dutta) get suspended because they got unknowingly roped into the crime.
Also read: ‘Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui’ movie review: Bollywood grapples with new sexual identities—and how!
As the group of conmen goes back to their normal lives with their families and friends, SI Singh has sworn vengeance after finding and incriminating them. In his quest for justice, Singh meets Waseem Khan (Manoj Bajpayee), an honest CBI officer, who also wants to capture the gang that has been tarnishing his organization’s name. A high-speed cat-and-mouse game follows as the two parties try to outwit each other. Ajju and P.K. are planning to pull off a big heist so that they can retire in peace while Singh and Khan want to foil their plans and lock them up.
Special 26’s biggest strength is its screenplay. The story, taken from real incidents, is adapted for Bollywood but still kept close to reality. The writers do not waste time on Bollywood clichés but rather cut straight to the chase, literally. There is almost zero exaggeration and no glorification of the characters to create heroic impacts. Even with Akshay Kumar, one of Bollywood’s biggest names, as a lead, the film stays true to its story and does not give him any extra limelight.
For a change, in Bollywood, a quintessential ‘hero’ does not get to play the orthodox hero that has no vices and only leads from the front. The writing grounds Kumar’s character and places him in the mix to complement the story. Nothing more.
The result of the excellent screenwriting and direction can then be seen in the film’s cast. With each of the characters getting a chance to contribute to the storyline, the cast behind them gives their best performance. Granted that the film features some of acting heavyweights like Kumar, Kher, Bajpayee, and Sharma, the performance of the entire cast definitely deserves a special mention.
Who should watch it?
Anyone who loves a straight, no-nonsense crime thriller will enjoy “Special 26” on YouTube. But if you really want to enjoy all movies, get subscriptions to a few OTTs. They’re not very expensive. Leave YouTube to the “South Indian film dubbed in Hindi” audience.
On YouTube
Rating: 4 stars
Genre: Thriller, crime
Run time: 2hr 24mins
Actors: Akshay Kumar, Anupam Kher
Director: Neeraj Pandey
