Uri: The Surgical Strike

In 2016, nineteen Indian soldiers are killed in an attack on the army base at Uri. The film narrates the operation launched across the border in response. Its protagonist is Major Vihaan Shergill, whose mother has Alzheimer's and who is about to leave the service. The subject is not military strategy but preparation. Most of the film is not the operation but planning, rehearsal and waiting, and the emphasis falls on this being a calculated answer rather than revenge. The form is divided into five named chapters. Night vision, drone imagery and transitions built to feel like a single take are used throughout. After release the production became a political event. One line in it, a short question asked to test the soldiers' morale, began to be repeated at political rallies during India's general election, and the film's closeness to the governing narrative was debated. It was among the highest-grossing Indian films of its year and won in several categories at the national awards. Aditya Dhar directs. Vicky Kaushal plays Vihaan and Paresh Rawal the national security adviser. Who it is for: viewers who like military operation films and thrillers drawn from real events. Who it is not for: anyone expecting a detached view; the film narrates openly from one side and never gives the other a face.