Uri: The Surgical Strike is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language war action film written and directed by debutant Aditya Dhar and produced by Ronnie Screwvala under the RSVP Movies banner. An account based on the real story of the retaliation to the 2016 Uri attack, the film stars Vicky Kaushal along with Yami Gautam, Paresh Rawal, Kirti Kulhari, and Mohit Raina in pivotal roles, and tells the story of Major Vihaan Shergill (Kaushal) of the Para (Special Forces), who played a leading role in the events.
Screwvala announced the film in September 2017, a year after the 2016 Indian Line of Control strike. Principal photography began in June 2018 in Serbia where it was largely shot before being wrapped in September in Mumbai.
Uri was released on 11 January 2019. It received acclaim from the critics; it was praised for direction, cinematography, superbly executed single shot combat scenes and the performance of Kaushal. Made on a budget of 44 crore, Uri: The Surgical Strike grossed worldwide, emerging as the fourth highest-grossing Hindi film of 2019. The film received various accolades including four National Film Awards, including Best Director, Best Actor, Best Audiography and Best Music Director. It received 13 nominations at the 65th Filmfare Awards, winning Best Editing and Best Debut Director for Dhar.
Plot
The film is divided into five chapters.
The Seven Sisters (North-east India) The first chapter opens up with an ambush in June 2015 on a convoy of Indian Army troops in Chandel, Manipur by NSCN(K) militants. In retaliation, Major Vihaan Singh Shergill, a Para SF officer and his unit, including his brother-in-law Major Karan Kashyap, infiltrate and attack the Northeastern militants and also kill the key leader responsible for the ambush. After a successful strike, the Prime Minister of India congratulates him and the whole unit at a formal dinner. Vihaan requests early retirement as he wants to be close with his mother, who is suffering from Stage VI Alzheimer's. The prime minister offers him a desk job at New Delhi near his mother instead of retirement, to which he agrees.
An Unsettling Peace (New Delhi, India) The second chapter shows Vihaan taking up a desk job at the Integrated Defence Staff HQ in New Delhi and spending time with his family. This segment also briefly describes the Pathankot attack and the Pampore attack. Nurse Jasmine D'Almeida is assigned to take care of Vihaan's mother. Vihaan meets an Indian Air Force pilot, Flight Lieutenant Seerat Kaur, who is trying to prove her patriotism to her dead husband Captain Jaskirat Singh Rangi, an army officer who died in an ambush. One day, Vihaan's mother goes missing. He searches for her, and blames Jasmine for her ignorance, saying there is no need for her security. Vihaan's mother is found under a bridge, and Jasmine reveals she is an intelligence agent.
Bleed India with a Thousand Cuts (Uri, Jammu Kashmir, India) On 18 September 2016, four heavily armed militants attack the brigade headquarters at Uri in Jammu and Kashmir at dawn, killing 19 soldiers in their sleep. The terrorists are killed, but Karan dies in a grenade explosion as he accidentally pulls the pin attached to a terrorist's rifle he picked up to examine. The whole family is devastated, including Vihaan. The Ministry decides to take strict action against the perpetrators of the attack. National Security Advisor Govind Bharadwaj suggests the idea of a surgical strike, inspired by Operation Wrath of God conducted by Israel. The prime minister gives it a go and gives ten days for the strike. Vihaan leaves his desk job and leaves for the Northern Command base in Udhampur. He requests Chief of the Army Staff General Arjun Singh Rajawat to add him to the operation and he agrees. Vihaan chooses the elite Ghatak Force commandos from the Bihar Regiment and the Dogra Regiment along with the special forces as most of the soldiers killed in the attack were from these regiments. Vihaan informs them they can no longer use their phones and disguises the mission as regular training exercises. The commandos begin their training.
Naya Hindustan (New India) (New Delhi, India) During the planning, Govind ropes in ISRO (for providing satellite images), DRDO (for drone surveillance), and RAW (for intelligence). When he goes to meet DRDO Chief Brian D'Souza, he meets an intern named Ishaan who has developed a drone called Garuda which looks and is shaped like an Eagle. With the help of the drones and satellite images they get the exact location of the hideouts and training camps of the terrorists. Jasmine reveals her true name Pallavi Sharma to Vihaan, and during an interrogation, the two extract information about who planned the attack. Vihaan chooses Seerat as his pilot, she agrees. The commandos also start training under Vihaan. The Pakistani officials suspect the Indian activities but dismiss them due to underestimation.
The Surgical Strike (Azad Kashmir, Pakistan) On the night of 28 September, the commandos leave for the strike in Pakistan-administered Azad Kashmir in Mi-17 helicopters. During the mission, Vihaan's helicopter is forced to not cross the Line of Control due to latest intelligence from spies in Pakistan that the Pakistani Army has deployed an "AWAC" radar-based surface to air missile system in Muzaffarabad sector to bring their helicopter down. He and his team improvise by going on foot through a manned cave. His teams successfully infiltrate and kill all the terrorists at the launchpads. Vihaan kills Idris and Jabbar, the perpetrators of the Uri attack. The local police are alerted, and the commandos who are low on ammunition and time escape. On their way back, they are attacked from both a nearby machine gun bunker and a Pakistani Air Force Mi-17 Helicopter scrambled to intercept Vihaan's team. Flight Lieutenant Seerat comes to their rescue by firing back at the Pakistani gunship, thus driving it away and eliminating the machine gun bunker. His team successfully crosses the LoC on the Indian side with no casualties. Vihaan lands at Hindon Air Force Station. The film ends with him, Pallavi, Govind, and the commandos having dinner with the prime minister.
In the post-credits scene, Zameer, a Pakistani minister, wakes up and shouts in frustration while seeing the news of India's successful surgical strike. The scene cuts to a title card reading "Jai Hind".
Cast
Vicky Kaushal as Major Vihaan Singh Shergill, Para SF (based on Colonel Kapil Yadav) Paresh Rawal as NSA Govind Bhardwaj (based on Ajit Doval) Yami Gautam as Jasmine D'Almedia / Pallavi Sharma, an undercover R&AW agent Mohit Raina as Major Karan Kashyap (Para SF sniper), Vihaan's brother-in-law (based on Colonel MN Rai) Kirti Kulhari as Flight Lieutenant Seerat Kaur, Indian Air Force Rajit Kapur as Prime Minister of India (based on Narendra Modi) Shishir Sharma as General Arjun Singh, Chief of the Army Staff (based on General Dalbir Singh Suhag) Swaroop Sampat as Suhasini Shergill, Vihaan's mother Dhairya Karwa as Captain Sartaj Singh Chandhok, Para SF Akashdeep Arora as Ishaan Wattal, intern at the DRDO Manasi Parekh as Neha Shergill Kashyap, Karan's wife and Vihaan's sister Riva Arora as Suhani Kashyap, Vihaan's niece Satyajit Sharma as Lieutenant General Ajay Garewal (based on Lieutenant General Deependra Singh Hooda) Yogesh Soman as Defence Minister Ravinder Agnihotri (based on Manohar Parrikar) Navtej Hundal as Home Minister of India (based on Rajnath Singh) Kamal Malik as Interior Minister of Pakistan Ivan Sylvester Rodrigues as Brian D'Sousa, DRDO Chief (based on S. Christopher) Abrar Zahoor as Idris Qayoom Al Baghdadi, Uri attack planner Ujjwal Chopra as Shahid Khan, Aasma's husband; an undercover R&AW agent in Pakistan Rukhsar Rehman as Aasma Khan, an undercover R&AW agent in Pakistan Rakesh Bedi as an ISI agent, working as an undercover R&AW agent Anil George as Zameer Ul Hasan, Pakistani Minister Sunil Palwal as Jabbar Firozi, Uri attack planner Sunil Mehra as Defence Minister of Pakistan Adarsh Gautam as Brigadier Afzal Ajit Shidhaye as Pakistan Army officer Zubair Mehmood Guru Bhullar as SF Commando Akash Singh Narula Padam Bhola as SF Commando Vikram Dabas Amaan Asif as SF Commando Zeeshan Khan Amit Saproo as SF Commando K. S. Venkatesh Anurag Mishra as SF Commando K. S. Venkatesh Bhupendra Singh Negi as SF Commando Ajay Shukla Beant Singh Buttar as SF Commando Chetan Jha Dev Raj Ghosh as SF Commando Neloy Banerjee Gagan Singh Khanna as SF Commando Jagjit Singh Sandhu Harshit Dang as SF Commando Rohit Vyas Himanshu Sharma as SF Commando A. S. Rao Nishant Singh as SF Commando Rahil Hussain Rahul Tyagi as SF Commando Shiraz Ali Rajvir Chauhan as SF Commando Uday Singh Rathod Tashi Tobgay as SF Commando Ratan Thapa James W. C. Meetei as SF Commando Robin Nagrum Aamir Yaseen as Faheem Khan, Pakistani terrorist involved in the URI attack
Production Uri was announced by producer Ronnie Screwvala one year after the surgical strike in September 2017. The film was to be directed by debutant Aditya Dhar. He said the film is "the story of what was imagined to have happened in those eleven days." Principal photography began in June 2018 and was finished in September. Kaushal went through extensive military training for five months and gained weight. He trained for five hours a day and did three to four hours of military training to enhance stamina. He also received gun training at a naval base in Cuffe Parade in Mumbai. He called it "physically the most challenging film for me". He injured his arm while filming an action sequence in the film.
Kaushal and the supporting cast trained at Mumbai's Navy Nagar with Captains and Majors teaching them slithering, using arms and ammunitions and other drills used by the armed forces. Uri was largely shot in Serbia and was wrapped up in Mumbai. The Indo-Pak border, the LOC and other areas resembling military posts and terrorist camps were recreated in Serbia. Yami Gautam underwent mixed martial arts training. She called the process of shooting "exhausting yet enjoyable." The film also stars Paresh Rawal, Mohit Raina, Ivan Rodrigues and Kirti Kulhari. Screwvala said the film has elements of "war, action, and strategy based on a true story" and the "Indian audience is yet to watch such experience in cinema."
Marketing and release The film was released in theatres on 11 January 2019, and digitally on ZEE5 on 19 March 2019.
To curtail piracy, the makers of Uri: The Surgical Strike deployed a 3.8 gigabyte fake version of the film over networks like torrent. However, the film was leaked by the bootleg website Tamil Rockers within a week of release. The Telugu dubbed version of the film was released with the same name on 14 June 2019.
Music
The film score and songs were composed and produced by Shashwat Sachdev, with lyrics written by Kumaar, Raj Shekhar, and Abhiruchi Chand.
Reception Critical response
Namrata Joshi, writing for The Hindu, said "Whichever side of the political divide one may stand, one can't dismiss Dhar's canniness and craft and Vicky Kaushal as the Army officer was brilliant." Amman Khurana of Times Now News, giving 4 stars out of 5, said "Uri: The Surgical Strike is a rather mature film. It somehow knows that it is catering to the viewer that is tired of watching the men in uniform who thump their chests to show their love and passion for the country." He further said: "The stunning cinematography and the VFX work ensure that Uri: The Surgical Strike does not pass off as a comic-book account of the operation." He concludes: "Uri: The Surgical Strike is a good one-time watch. If not for anything else, watch it for Vicky Kaushal, who brings the right amount of intensity to his role and drives the film from start to finish."