Army drama based on an acclaimed book misfires

THE period war movie based on the book The Burning Chaffees by army veteran Balram Singh Mehta recently premiered on streaming site Amazon Prime. The story set during the battle of Garibpur during the 1971 Indo-Pakistan war revolves around two brothers in the army with distinctively different personalities.

While one is strictly disciplined and seen as heroic, the younger one is a rulebreaker, who must step up with a tank squadron to help Bangladesh gain independence and ultimately prove himself. Their sister also uses her unique skills to help the Indian war effort.

The latest addition to the barrage of Bollywood war movies centred around deadly battles against Pakistan attempts to do things differently, with limited results. Instead of having Indian soldiers defeating laughable caricature like enemies, Pippa is rooted more in reality. Director Raja Krishna Menon combines family dynamics and human emotion with big battle sequences.

There is also a coming of age angle with a young soldier finding the courage to help win a history-changing battle and show maturity way beyond his age. Despite having a source material from a detailed book that received wide acclaim, Pippa doesn’t quite reach the mark because of a fractured screenplay that doesn’t delve deeply enough into key areas. There are also too many unnecessary tangents, which makes this movie around 20 minutes too long. The surprisingly average music and poor special effects also do a disservice to this military drama. The performances are decent, but the material isn’t quite strong enough to do them justice. Some will also feel that the people of Bangladesh are victimised.

Pippa ultimately scratches the surface of an important chapter, despite a sincere effort to do things differently. What remains is a frustrating watch that will only engage a limited audience of flag wavers.