Broken Arrow: ‘Udta Teer’ begins as a satire on spy movies but ends up losing the plot

Put him in the cell next to Imran Khan, says the Pakistani general to his men about a man who has betrayed him. As jokes go, it is one of the better ones in Udta Teer, where a Pakistani spy (Ayushmann Khurrana) infiltrates Indian intelligence and works for his “mulk”. There is another where the same general quietly passes a slim book titled ‘How to Learn Chinese’ to his subordinate, declaring he will need it if he has to rise up the ranks. But a few jokes do not a satire make. Even when they are aided by a series of physical gags, which range from a Pakistani terrorist based in Kashmir swiping on Hinder to meet his match to the Indian spy chief dancing like a robot to ‘It’s the Time to Disco’ while in coma (an outstanding Rahul Bose).

Unfortunately, Udta Teer has the unintended consequence of showing us how weaponised our imagery and vocabulary has become. A servant serving kahwa in a samovar at a wooden cabin deep in the forest to a bearded, shaggy haired man can only mean Kashmir and militancy. A smart, middle-aged woman wearing pants and issuing orders can only be a spy chief in India. And there is always a Pakistani prime minister called Sharif waiting endlessly for a meeting with the Pakistani army chief.

What begins as a spoof on our chest-beating spy movies ends up as a flag waving spy movie though Khurrana tries his best to look enigmatic and impenetrable. But with memory losses that rival even Jab Tak Hai Jaan or the oft-referenced Ghajini, the movie tests our patience—enough to order the makers to the other cell next to Imran Khan (for clarification in these confused times, their Imran not ours).