Operation Valentine Review: Varun Tej Lacks The Gravitas Of An Air Force Officer

Patriotic fervour and its gallant cinematisation appears to be toast of season when it comes to atrical trends. Varun Tej and Manushi Chhillar's Operation Valentine makes an attempt to jump on to that bandwagon. Shakti Pratap Singh directorial, however, has gaping cracks to mend when it comes to less than savoury final product.

Hot Take

Operation Valentine's first impression is that it is a de ringer for late January release Fighter, albeit a much more unsure, fed and under-crafted version of it. Shakti Pratap Singh's inexperience as a debutant director shows as narrative fails to honour eir characters or crux of film - 2019 Pulwama attack.

Manushi Chhillar is particularly disappointing, proving that every eloquent pageant title-holder is not necessarily meant for a life in front of cameras.

Does Operation Valentine live up to hype?

It would be wrong to say that Operation Valentine h no hype surrounding it in runup to its atrical release. aggressive promotion strategy undertaken by makers did go a considerable length in establishing film as one among major releases slated for March. However, it is now apparent that an all-guns blazing promotion schedule was not a strategic decision, but a preventive measure.

Operation Valentine is a fed out version of Fighter

re was a lot that Siddharth Anand helmed and Hrithik Roshan led Fighter did not get right. However, when it came to capturing essence of grandeur and nobility that comes with being Indian Air Force officers, Hrithik, led by Anand, delivered above and beyond. Not just that, Fighter's pulse, 2019 Pulwama attack, was one of its biggest wins, managing to induce goosebumps and feelings of heart-thumping nationalism.

Operation Valentine tries in this regard - but fails miserably. Hrithik's Shamsher Pathania was star of Fighter but that never cast a show on greater premise of film. Director Shakti Pratap Singh, on or hand, was clearly confused between prioritising Rudra's (Varun Tej) traumatic past (incidentally anor beat similar to Fighter) and overarching backdrop of IAF, almost always picking former over latter.

Varun Tej and Manushi Chhillar are miscast

Varun Tej and Manushi Chhillar are probably biggest disservice to what Operation Valentine could have potentially been. One goes back to Fighter again for reference, where Hrithik Roshan leing cast is what saved film. Manushi may be new to world of acting, but she is no stranger to camera or arc lights.

Despite same, former Miss World, appears downright uncomfortable on screen, shuffling between trying too hard and n, not at all. Varun Tej on or hand, is just re.

Operation Valentine is a misnomer

One would assume that if a film has been titled Operation Valentine, operation itself would be an underlying current through length of film. audience however, finds no mention of same till five seconds before film cuts for interval.

It would have actually served Varun Tej in better ste, h narrative been shamelessly center-lined to fit his redemption arc, both in film and for his career at large, latter being particularly pressing after colossal disaster of his 2023 release Gandeevhari Arjuna.

Watch it or skip it?

If you really want to watch Operation Valentine, having seen some retaining quality in film's well-edited trailer, just go and watch Fighter.

Bottomline

Manushi Chillar's Telugu acting debut fails to take off - much like its Bollywood counterpart. Varun Tej appears to have entirely lost all his screen presence.

screenplay doesn't to do justice to eir poorly written characters or promising premise.

Rating: 1/5